zoa gamete release?

[Briney Dave]

I know that sexual reproduction in zoanthids is not documented in captivity. (at least not that I have found in literature searches)

but this morning I had to move a new zoanthid frag plug. A few minutes later the a couple of the polps began to "smoke". Not a stringy slime of sheding proteins or gunk but a very fine wispy smoke like release. Nothing seemed to stick to each other or to be a gas.

If I were to imagine what a broadcast egg release would look like from that size of a small single polyp, what I saw would be it. No other polyps on the frag or other frags released anything.

thoughts??
I am only running a sponge filter on the frag tanks which have worked well over all and may avoid killing a gamete if one were to form from this.

 

[paintballer768]

Its possible that corals, zoanthids too, undergo broadcast breeding occassionally. Otherwise there would be a huge colony of zoanthids in the middle of the ocean, no way to get to another location. I had a sun coral colony go sexual on me about 6 months ago, before I sold it, and a few of the baby polyps are still alive in random spots in my tank.

As for success of the gametes, I only have a blue sponge in the back and a protein skimmer. Some of mine managed to survive, Id imagine some of those definitely have a chance to survive, assuming those probably get swept into the rocks as opposed to the filter.

 

[psychedelicwonders]

What kind of conditions do sun corals need to go sexual and spawn babies through out the tank?

I assume they have to be in the best of health right?

I have some polyps that have gone down hill over the last couple of months because of neglect, but I am trying to feed them as often as possible to help bring them back to health.

Will the hold skeleton start to grow back, or will only new heads pop out of new spaces?

 

[paintballer768]

What kind of conditions do sun corals need to go sexual and spawn babies through out the tank?

I assume they have to be in the best of health right?

I have some polyps that have gone down hill over the last couple of months because of neglect, but I am trying to feed them as often as possible to help bring them back to health.

Will the hold skeleton start to grow back, or will only new heads pop out of new spaces?

I never actually saw it happen really. The moon cycle has something to do with it I think. I never leave my moon LEDs on, its possible I forgot them one day. It was a colony in excess of 50-60 polyps though. Feeding it meaty foods and keeping detritus/cyano off of the skeleton (meaning in between the polyps) will prevent most receeding. Go meaty foods for sure, the tissue will regrow over existing exposed skeleton.

 

[Briney Dave]

I had just flipped the lights on this morning in an otherwise completely isolated lab room. so mine(if that is indeed what happened ) spawned at first light.

I would offer a nearly completely unsupported hypothesis: that this was a response to stress.

 

[Briney Dave]

Does anyone else have a thought about this. I know its unlikely to be what I saw, otherwise it would have been observed before me. Just wondering????

 

[ahayes13]

personally i have never had it happened. but i have heard of others that have witnessed their zoas smoking. most are in the opinion that it is broadcast spawing. although there doesnt seem to be much research or inforamation on it.
i do think that many things in our tanks need lunar lights at night. many fish and corals reproduce during hours of the lunar cycle. although i dont think that they only reproduce during these hours. it may have just been their time...

 

[ahayes13]

Ryland, and Babcock (1991) describe the reproductive cycle of Protopalythoa on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. There it spawns along with corals during the mass spawning event during the week after the full moon in November. Zoanthids may have separate sexes, but some are also hermaphrodites (Fosså and Nilsen, 1998). The product of the union of gametes develops into a free- swimming larva called Zoanthina for Zoanthus spp., and Zoanthella for Protopalythoa spp (Delbeek and Sprung, 1997).

hard to say how this changes though once they are in captivity. ​

 

[Briney Dave]

The rather dim room light may have been left on which might simulate moon light to some degree. Its just a poor N/O tube light

I have been looking for any signs of gamete production or growth on the sponge filter but nothing visable.
Ahayes thanks for the quote. I will be sure to go back and read those sources.
David