Let's talk about light requiement on different colors

kfd · Oct 25, 2012

Ok, I'm officially addicted to zoas.

Assuming you have good parameters, fair level of disolved organics, moderate flow, under what light intensity (par reading?) would you put these zoa to have better color?

Yellow zoa/paly - ?
Pink zoa/paly -I have them mid high 300par+, the color will hold)
Red zoa/paly -blue agave's red will lost the bright red to dull red under high light?)
Green zoa/paly -i can never get eagle eye back to neon green skirt under 100-200par, suggestion?
Blue zoa/Paly - lost color to greenish grey when par above 250
Purple zoa/paly -?
Orange zoa/paly -?

SeymourDuncan · Oct 25, 2012

I would mix them up and let them grow all over the place...the wonderful thing about zoas is that zoas are wonderful things. Lol. If they don't look so bright, just move them up or down accordingly, I have had fruit loop zoas and one frag liked it darker then the other one...so I can't really say, there are people that can.

There are zoanthids on the peaks of the reefs...they get constant waves smashing down on them. Then they sit in the low tide in the sun all day, but not all species.

kfd · Oct 25, 2012

when one zoa darken up, how long will it brighten up at another location?

SeymourDuncan · Oct 25, 2012

I've had em go a week and change colors, others 6 weeks. Every species is a little different and unless you get the specific name for each coral and ask a marine biologist where it originated from than its really just basing it off of experience...which isn't always accurate since individuals can differ as well. Say you frag a zoa and put the frag in a different part of your tank...its new sprouts will be more adapted to the lighting/flow than the original colony. So to get the exact sweet spot of each coral would require a reverse trace of its origin. What color was it when you got it was a result of who had it last, if you like that color, match with their placement...if you want other color morphs its just a matter of tinkering and waiting, rinse and repeat.
Its really fun to see what colors can arise. Some that I can't find on the web appear, and it confuses people when I give them an orange zoanthid that was once pink. Lol. If only I could make my kenya trees turn yellow...that would be a new one!

My favorite thing about zoas is their ability to mix with eachother. Every frag I get I add 2 more colors to before I sell it.

Another thing that I am learning is that if you have a bright orange zoa and a pink zoa together and the orange one looks brighter, the pink will also turn orange, but if you put a pink one where it will stay pink....the orange ones would lose their black accent and be all orange...I know this all sounds confusing, because it boggles me...soi basically mix them up, scatter them, and let them be unless they start to look like they aren happy. You can have a vast range of color out of a few species.

With palythoas, I had yellow colony polyps that would develop a black tint in the base, and their polyps would have diferent sized fingers at different depths/flow rates. Wave motions seemed to get the longest extension over anything, same with weepers and other buttons.

The ones I'm having trouble with are little tiny red/yellowish zoas that have not grown a head in 6 months...I think they might be plastic lol. Not really, but its odd...I have yet to id them on here, and plan on it soon.
Also, diversity in feeding helps colors...I found mixing everything together is better than one day brine the next something else, etc...