Question about Zoas vs. SPS

[dhof]

About a year ago, I got some nearly dead Zoas on a plug that a friend had in his sump.


The zoas are really healthy now, and are quickly marching all over my rock surfaces. The Zoas have grown into a large Tonga Shelf where I have a decent SPS colony in the center, and I'm going to place 3 or 4 more young SPS frags around the empty space on the shelf.


It sure looks like the zoas will march right up to the SPS very soon, and I'm sure eventually they will totally cover the bare spots on the Tonga Shelf.

My question is: Will the Zoas hurt the SPS coral and start to climb up on the SPS, or will they just surround the SPS and prevent it's base from really gaining any ground? Or will the SPS win vs the Zoas and continue to encrust at the base, pushing back the zoas on it's own? I'm just trying to determine if I need to take action to stop the zoa progression or if I should let them continue to progress.

I've seen where people try to peel the Zoas off the rock, but this Tonga rock has so many crevices and pits, that I don't see how peeling them off will be possible. If I have to stop the Zoa progression, how do I stop them? Kalk paste? Aiptasia-X? Epoxy some frag plugs over them?

Appreciate any thoughts you can share,

 

[Ron Reefman]

Zoas, sps and all corals are a lot like people. Some are good neighbors and get along just fine. But some are just the kind of neighbors you have to call the police on to keep them in line.

My tank is mostly zoas with just 5 sps frags. My zoas have grown up to, but don't seem to be bothering the sps corals. Although it may be the sps are able to push back on the zoas. Either way, so far my neighborhood looks to be pretty calm and happy.

If zoas do start to have an impact on your sps, I'd cover the zoas near the base of the sps coral with something to keep them from getting any light. Maybe very small rubble rock, or some kind of a skirt made of some soft material like thin rubber sheet cut into a doughnut.