Paly/Zoa Stem Extension, how do I fix it???

[b0bby1]

ok guys, i have a bunch of little 2 to 5 polyp frags of rare palys/zoas on frag plugs sitting in the sand bed of my tank. over the past few months their stems have really extended from nothing to about half an inch. i no they want more light, but i don't want to put them up in the tank sitting on live rocks because whenever i do that they die from hair algae. but when they are on the sand, they are free of hair algae cus all of my hermits pick it off of them. im switchin tanks next week, the new tank will have a frag rack in it so i can place my corals where they want to be. my question is, when i put those palys/zoas farther up in the tank will their stem receed back to normal?

 

[DogfoodEnforcer]

i apologize that i dont have an answer, but i had a question that kind of applies to what you are talking about.

do some palys and zoas naturally have longer stems? because in my tank 2 types of my palys have much longer stems that the zoas...but the palys seem to be doing fine. then i have some sunshine zoas that are doing amazing, but have longer stems than most of my other zoas. is there something i should be checking for?

 

[b0bby1]

bump...

dog, the stem length depends on where you put them. no paly has a naturally long stem. as long as they get the right amount of light they will have small stems.

lets try not to get off topic though, can anyone answer my question?

 

[killingseed2000]

yes and no, some have long Stem and it doesnt matter where you put them. they will not get smaller. some dont and if the are long they might be deprived of light.

do you have a picture?

what type of zoa?

 

[b0bby1]

well my sour apples, candy apple reds, and nuc greens have extended a little bit but its not that bad. my raptor rainbows and rainbow morphs had small stem and now they are very long. will some of these receed?

 

[cardgenius]

If mine dont get enough flow they start streching. Point a powerhead in there direction and I bet theyll go back down.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Mostly they are looking for more light. Gotta do something about your hair algae if you can't keep anything on your rocks!

 

[b0bby1]

i no man, right now i have a crappy set up. aga 20 gallon tank, aquaclear hang on filter with all the media in it. thats about it, with weekly ro water changes (buy the water at walmart). but luckily, next week will change that around. i'm ordering a phosban reactor, ro/di unit (still don't no which one to buy, and last but not least a Finnex 30M gallon tank. thats gonna get rid of all my problems hopefully. once i get that going with the frag rack in it, all my problems will be solved hopefully.

 

[fishes2889]

So to summerize, more light, more flow, and an RO/DI unit to take care of the algae problems...

 

[Pitcom]

i no man, right now i have a crappy set up. aga 20 gallon tank, aquaclear hang on filter with all the media in it. thats about it, with weekly ro water changes (buy the water at walmart). but luckily, next week will change that around. i'm ordering a phosban reactor, ro/di unit (still don't no which one to buy, and last but not least a Finnex 30M gallon tank. thats gonna get rid of all my problems hopefully. once i get that going with the frag rack in it, all my problems will be solved hopefully.

You ought to take out that filter media and make a refugium out of the aquaclear 110. I have one on my 12 gallon tank, its actually too much for the tank so i over feed a whole lot so the chaeto doesnt starve. Works great though for the tank.

 

[Pufferpunk]

AGREED! I have cheato in Aquaclears on my smaller SW tanks.

 

[b0bby1]

i'll pick some up this weekend. my new tank which im setting up next week is gonna have a sump, fuge, skimmer, phosban reactor, and im pickin up an ro/di unit sometime this week. im also gonna look into another powerhead for more flow.

 

[NapoliNewJersey]

Build a frag-rack ... http://www.mag-racks.com/ ... don't buy one (especially this one .. cause it sucks) .. just build it. It will give them more light and won't get overwhelmed with hair algea.


Also, as mentioned, some zoas and palys have long stems. And get a phosban reactor .. maybe that will slow down your hair algea problems.

 

[rossco]

To answer your original question, my experience has shown that certain zoas will stretch for light and retract when the lighting intensifies. I received a frag of AOG's from a friend and the stalks were a full 2 inches long. Within a month, they were flat next to the rock in my tank. Same deal with zoas in the back corner in my tank moving them more directly under the light.

 

[b0bby1]

thanks guys