WWC Gaia Zoanthid

[Ober_Reef]

Hello All,

I have had these Gaia Zoanthids for about a month now and they seem to be doing fine but I was wondering if there is anything I could do to bring out more color. Mine look a bit more grey and greenish yellow than they do in the WWC picture. All my parameters are good and the Rastas I ordered are flourishing. Just wondering if it should try different placement or something else to bring out more blue color. I run the BRS AB setting on my Hydra 32s. I assume they are probably using a good camera and potentially a special lens for their picture but I still figured I would check to see if there is anything I could do.

Thanks for any advice

 

[Reefing_addiction]

I’m gonna go with that photo was photoshopped

I bought some utter peace zoas and they did t look like my picture

 

[littlebigreef]

WWC is a pretty venerable shop, I wouldn’t flippantly accuse them of photoshopping.

@PapaPat strains with some of these more dynamic patterns need time to settle in and get ‘happy’ especially if they are speckled, mottled etc. To me it looks like a Hawaiian PE they slapped a name on but it is pretty unique looking. Zoas don’t color shift to the degree sps do but we take it for granted they’ll always present consistently, indeed this is the case for strains like rastas, oxides, LSOH. On the other hand probably a quarter of the ID requests in the forum are for strains that have morphed. I’d say just time, patience, and good husbandry will get your specimen closer to the pic. If it’s open and looking happy just let it ride.

 

[Reefing_addiction]

WWC is a pretty venerable shop, I wouldn’t flippantly accuse them of photoshopping.

@PapaPat strains with some of these more dynamic patterns need time to settle in and get ‘happy’ especially if they are speckled, mottled etc. To me it looks like a Hawaiian PE they slapped a name on but it is pretty unique looking. Zoas don’t color shift to the degree sps do but we take it for granted they’ll always present consistently, indeed this is the case for strains like rastas, oxides, LSOH. On the other hand probably a quarter of the ID requests in the forum are for strains that have morphed. I’d say just time, patience, and good husbandry will get your specimen closer to the pic. If it’s open and looking happy just let it ride.

I’ve bought from them multiple times so I’m talking from personal experience and can’t say that anything I’ve gotten looked exactly like the photo. Colors don’t pop as much. Latest example was the utter peace zoas I got Trust me they edit their photos which is photoshopping something even if it is just adjusting it to a warmer setting. Which means once it’s in your tank it won’t look exactly like the photo.

it is possible that the Zoa could color up a bit better or even morph a bit once settled in.

is it possible to get the Zoa in your tank to look exactly like the Zoa in the photo? To some degree yes.

 

[rhostam]

Latest example was the utter peace zoas I got Trust me they edit their photos which is photoshopping something even if it is just adjusting it to a warmer setting.

Using that definition, using a lens filter on a camera would be considered “photoshopping.”

Acclimation considerations notwithstanding, I’d consider contacting WWC. They’re the ones that can provide their camera and lighting conditions used to take their photos. Tidal Gardens does this and even provides YouTube sessions on their photography.

 

[Ober_Reef]

WWC is a pretty venerable shop, I wouldn’t flippantly accuse them of photoshopping.

@PapaPat strains with some of these more dynamic patterns need time to settle in and get ‘happy’ especially if they are speckled, mottled etc. To me it looks like a Hawaiian PE they slapped a name on but it is pretty unique looking. Zoas don’t color shift to the degree sps do but we take it for granted they’ll always present consistently, indeed this is the case for strains like rastas, oxides, LSOH. On the other hand probably a quarter of the ID requests in the forum are for strains that have morphed. I’d say just time, patience, and good husbandry will get your specimen closer to the pic. If it’s open and looking happy just let it ride.

Yeah I am not assuming that at this point as they do come highly recommended. That’s why I was curious if there was something I could do like less light or more, more flow or less, something of that nature.

 

[littlebigreef]

Yeah I am not assuming that at this point as they do come highly recommended. That’s why I was curious if there was something I could do like less light or more, more flow or less, something of that nature.

Right on, as I’d mentioned time is usually your best friend in these cases. If it was a straight wysiwyg purchase then it’s easier to attribute any disparity in appearance to either lighting or perhaps photo manipulation.

Stressors like shipping, heat, change in par, change in wave length of light and even water chemistry (in some strains) can all affect presentation in both the short and long term. That’s why it’s important to get a base line. It’s always good to ask any vendor what type of lighting they’re using and approximate par because those are going to have the largest immediate effect. Also for the fact that zoas kept under different brands/types of lights will fundamentally look different. From there you can gauge whether to move it up or down in par. If I’m not mistaken the AB setting for the Hydras is favorable to the widest range of zoas.

I would add that a fed zoa is a happy zoa and will always look better. Changing flow is more likely to affect lash length and polyp size than color.