Looking for some tips on Zoa care

[Cody000125]

Hi all, looking for some tips are keeping healthy zoas. I have a few pairs of zoas and some seem to be doing okay, but the illuminati zoas are hardly opening and shrinking. They're hard to see but they're in the middle in the picture.

I have them in low flow with the following parameters,
Ph:8.1-8.2
Salinity:1.026
Alk:8.6
Calc:453
Mg:1393
Nitrate:~2.4
Phos:~0.08
Par:~140

I try to feed them a few times a week just broadcast feeding aminos and target feeding some reef roids. Any help would really be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Daz_1978]

Some Zoas are weird!

I have one colony, that I just knew was going to waste away… until a large snail died and my Nitrates went to 20+. Prior to that I had do dose Nitrates, just to keep them up to 1 or 2. Since then, they hover around 15ish. That colony started opening up and has been thriving. Nothing else seems to mind it either.
(Mean Greens)

Another colony seemed to hate its frag plug when I got them. They grew outwards, while disappearing from the center of the plug. Once they reached the rocks, they took off like champions.
(Angry Birds)

Those two colonies were just more strange than the others.

I would let the Nitrates creep up… to match your phosphates with the 100:1 ratio, the nitrate would need to be 8.

 

[sturgesz]

I don’t feed anything and use what others would call heavy flow and mine grow like crazy.

 

[sturgesz]

I don’t feed anything and use what others would call heavy flow and mine grow like crazy.

Just find an area they like (lighting wise) and let them go

 

[Cody000125]

Some Zoas are weird!

I have one colony, that I just knew was going to waste away… until a large snail died and my Nitrates went to 20+. Prior to that I had do dose Nitrates, just to keep them up to 1 or 2. Since then, they hover around 15ish. That colony started opening up and has been thriving. Nothing else seems to mind it either.
(Mean Greens)

Another colony seemed to hate its frag plug when I got them. They grew outwards, while disappearing from the center of the plug. Once they reached the rocks, they took off like champions.
(Angry Birds)

Those two colonies were just more strange than the others.

I would let the Nitrates creep up… to match your phosphates with the 100:1 ratio, the nitrate would need to be 8.

Will try and get my nitrates up a bit more, thanks!

 

[Cody000125]

Just find an area they like (lighting wise) and let them go

What lighting do you usually keep yours at?

 

[sturgesz]

I use a 8 bulb t5 so I’d guess I’m close to 200-250 par