Zoanthids question

[Mike1995]

I've recently gotten into liking zoas a lot. I have 5 frags. Is it possible to have a tank filled with them all over the rock? Is that how they grow?

 

[James M]

Yes you can have a tank full tank of zoas and the spread along the rock . They can also choke out other corals too .

 

[Mike1995]

Yes you can have a tank full tank of zoas and the spread along the rock . They can also choke out other corals too .

That's what I was a little worried about. Do you know how fast they grow?
One of my frags is never open .I keep trying to move it around to a less flow spot but nothing seems to be working. It's not on a normal frag plug, it's on a piece of rock.

 

[James M]

Every system and coral are different . How long have you been leaving the frag in one place ?

 

[Michael Naegeli]

Yep.

 

[Mike1995]

Every system and coral are different . How long have you been leaving the frag in one place ?

About 2 weeks since the last time I moved it.

 

[Mike1995]

Yep.

Oh wow! In general are zoas fast or slow growers? Right now my tank looks meh because the majority of what's in there is rock and 2 fish.. my zoas don't seem to grow

 

[DSC reef]

That's what I was a little worried about. Do you know how fast they grow?
One of my frags is never open .I keep trying to move it around to a less flow spot but nothing seems to be working. It's not on a normal frag plug, it's on a piece of rock.

I'd leave it be for a while without moving it around. Give it time to acclimate in it's current location. Zoas can grow anywhere, even on the glass.

 

[Mike1995]

I'd leave it be for a while without moving it around. Give it time to acclimate in it's current location. Zoas can grow anywhere, even on the glass.

Would that be good to do for all my zoas? Just let them be? Not that I move them but I just get worried..

 

[DSC reef]

Zoas can be finicky. Flow, lighting, nutrients can all play a roll. Typically I would never glue a frag until I was sure it was happy in it's current spot. Some zoas just don't do well in some tanks.

 

[James M]

I'd leave it be for a while without moving it around. Give it time to acclimate in it's current location. Zoas can grow anywhere, even on the glass.

Send me some frags

 

[Tarilynnlynn]

I was wondering why some zoas open and others on the same plug don't.

 

[brad65ford]

Time.. which i agree. Need to take some pictures of my 120g, the floor is now almost completely covered but a few different types of zoas.

 

[Mike1995]

I was wondering why some zoas open and others on the same plug don't.

Thats what some of mine do. Most open but a few just never do

 

[Docpayne82]

I've had some have explosive growth right away and others take almost six months before they settle in and start popping off babies.

 

[littlebigreef]

I have my mother colonies on the substrate in my aquarium. Over time I have added some zoas to my rock structures, however, since I keep minimal rock in the dt there really isn't that much space for them to grow. So, unless they're trimmed back the different strains tend to grow through each other. I decided to limit my zoas to one rock so that they don't choke out the sps and lps.

As for growth its a few different factors not limited to strain, light, dosing, feeding and overall dissolved organics in the water. Some strains just grow painfully slow (often times making them more valuable). Being colorful and fast growing is (perversely) a knock against some strains (mostly among those people looking to make a quick buck). But, this works in your favor as you can get mini colonies of common strains for a reasonable prices which will then grow out and cover an entire area quickly. Its very cool to do a 'rubble zone' with small pieces of live rock and a couple zoa frags. Plunk down the frags and let them do their thing.

The only knock I have against zoas (which I love) is that you can forget about adding pretty much any angelfish (which I also love) except Genicanthus sp. That's a trade off I'm willing to make though.