Zoa colony question

[Lavey29]

Hi everyone, new guy here with another question. Several weeks back I purchased a small zoa colony. It was on a 6" long piece of rock about 2" wide and they appeared to be the smaller type zoas about the 1/2" diameter at the most but mainly smaller. So everything seems to be going ok but this morning I am looking at the piece sitting atop some other rocks in the lower portion of my tank. There is a 2" by 1" piece of rock on the end corner and the whole corner keeps moving side to side intermittently. Not the zoas on top but the rock portion they are affixed to. I keep thinking the corner rock end is going to bust open now and some major ugly pest is going to jump out of it and get loose in the tank. Flashbacks to the the first alien movie I guess.

What exactly is going on here? The rock they are living on is not alive so are the zoas just forcing the rock to separate or something so they can expand their colony?

 

[Jekyl]

Snails moving it?

 

[Reefing_addiction]

I would think the rock is not secure. That’s why it looks to be wobbly in the tank. Possible the flow of the tank making it move. It’s possible the snails knocked it

 

[Lavey29]

I would think the rock is not secure. That’s why it looks to be wobbly in the tank. Possible the flow of the tank making it move. It’s possible the snails knocked it

That was my first thoughts also but I continued to watch it and the left corner rotates about 1/2 counter clockwise and then immediately back 1/2 " clockwise. I need to video it.

 

[srobertb]

Hi everyone, new guy here with another question. Several weeks back I purchased a small zoa colony. It was on a 6" long piece of rock about 2" wide and they appeared to be the smaller type zoas about the 1/2" diameter at the most but mainly smaller. So everything seems to be going ok but this morning I am looking at the piece sitting atop some other rocks in the lower portion of my tank. There is a 2" by 1" piece of rock on the end corner and the whole corner keeps moving side to side intermittently. Not the zoas on top but the rock portion they are affixed to. I keep thinking the corner rock end is going to bust open now and some major ugly pest is going to jump out of it and get loose in the tank. Flashbacks to the the first alien movie I guess.

What exactly is going on here? The rock they are living on is not alive so are the zoas just forcing the rock to separate or something so they can expand their colony?

To further your alien theory. I once had like a 2 foot Eunice worm living in my biocube29. He hitchhiked in on some live rock from the gulf. He used a zoa frag as a front door.

 

[Reefing_addiction]

That was my first thoughts also but I continued to watch it and the left corner rotates about 1/2 counter clockwise and then immediately back 1/2 " clockwise. I need to video it.

Get a video upload to YouTube and post link

 

[workhz]

Water, snail, crab, or some other creature.

 

[Reefing_addiction]

Pick up rock and move to sand bed or new location closer to glass and keep your eye on it

 

[Lavey29]

Get a video upload to YouTube and post link

It's hard because it is so intermittent and I can't sit there with my phone running hoping to catch it.

 

[Lavey29]

Water, snail, crab, or some other creature.

I don't think so. If you look at the pictures it is the front left roundish shaped end piece. I just saw it again. It rotated a half inch to the left then immediately back to the right while the main portion of the rock base stayed perfectly still. The zoas on that side also appear to have larger diameter then when I first got the piece 3 weeks back.

 

[Lavey29]

Pick up rock and move to sand bed or new location closer to glass and keep your eye on it

It's only a few inches from the glass now right in front.

 

[Roli's Reef Ranch]

Clam?

 

[Lavey29]

What I think it is possibly is just a whole section of zoas moving themselves on the rock maybe to try and create more space?

 

[Lavey29]

It's the roundish front left tip.

 

[Lavey29]

And for those wondering, no I haven't started drinking yet today either.

 

[Lavey29]

Clam?

At first I kind of laughed at your response but now I think you might be spot on right. I took the below picture at night with a flashlight and you can clearly see the separation line of a claim possibly but it is in a vertical position not horizontal.