Zoas changing color

Tankkeepers · Nov 18, 2020

So as this is my first soft tank commjng from lps sps mixed reef I have a question about why the zoas have developed more colors over time not just brighter but actually developing new colors they did not have before got some up front for instance that started out puke green and dull orange but now have got neon green tips with a neon blue outter surronding. Area then some of the puke green and the orange center has taken over most of the middle as oposed to only the mouths iv had Lps and sps bleach in the past and come back a difrent color but have never had coral morph on me before any idea what cause this to happen

Stuartmercer · Nov 18, 2020

Pictures???

Tankkeepers · Nov 18, 2020

Stuartmercer said:
Pictures???

I will try and get some once the main lights go off and you can really see tje colors I'm talking about(well mabey not as my camera sucks lol)but here are a few with main lights of and you can see the progression of the orange center getting bigger with each new head

Tankkeepers · Nov 18, 2020

Here's is frag from same colony they really changed

ReeferWarrant · Nov 18, 2020

I think as they grow larger they change a lot too. I have similar Zoas and they now have green/yellow in the tips that werent as noticeable at first.

Tankkeepers · Nov 18, 2020

Nice but whats causing the orange to spread and overtake the green as you can see the original ones had a orange moths and are the same size as the newer heads but most of the newer heads are mostly orange in color kinda tie died at this point what would I even call them as they wont be the original name they were before

Tankkeepers · Nov 18, 2020

And its mainly this 1 colony thats doing it the rest are basically the same just brighter then when I got em

ReeferWarrant · Nov 18, 2020

Yeah not sure, I got mine from AquariumDepot as "Spring Zoanthids" advertised below. Mine are exactly the same as yours in coloration though. What are yours? I have had people tell me they are Gorilla Nips.

Mine below

Tankkeepers · Nov 18, 2020

They were soposed to be wahmin watermelon but I dont think they are lol so no real clue honestly

Tankkeepers · Nov 18, 2020

ReeferWarrant said:
Yeah not sure, I got mine from AquariumDepot as "Spring Zoanthids" advertised below. Mine are exactly the same as yours in coloration though. What are yours? I have had people tell me they are Gorilla Nips.

Mine below

Yours are pretty

Tankkeepers · Nov 18, 2020

Only ones that look tje same as in the pics I have are the magicians and the green apples the rest dont look anything like what they are soposed to lol but I like an so its all good

Reefing_addiction · Nov 18, 2020

As zoas get older and bigger some change. Some also change due to better care and lighting

Tankkeepers · Nov 18, 2020

dyerrm said:
As zoas get older and bigger some change. Some also change due to better care and lighting

The oldest ones are the same as they were only the new heads have morphed so if I had to guess I'd say it's better care then what they had before mabey better light but since I'm running the stock leds in the biocube probly not but again hard to say what the seller had them under just odd they have changed as much as they have but no others in the tank are doing it

Reefing_addiction · Nov 18, 2020

Tankkeepers said:
The oldest ones are the same as they were only the new heads have morphed so if I had to guess I'd say it's better care then what they had before mabey better light but since I'm running the stock leds in the biocube probly not but again hard to say what the seller had them under just odd they have changed as much as they have but no others in the tank are doing it

It is possible that they morphed. Or maybe the younger ones are what they look like till they get older? Corals do things I guess we will never understand. @footgal told me she bought some zoas that morphed into something completely unexpected. Maybe she will have some insight for you

Tankkeepers · Nov 18, 2020

dyerrm said:
It is possible that they morphed. Or maybe the younger ones are what they look like till they get older? Corals do things I guess we will never understand. @footgal told me she bought some zoas that morphed into something completely unexpected. Maybe she will have some insight for you

Definatly morphed as not all of the new heads are showing the new colors only about half are and most of the morphed ones are full grown now and producing new ones showing the same colors hope the other person chimes in as I would really like to know what causes it to happen they were never stressed or bleached which recovering from bleaching is usually why things morph but these just took it upon themselves to change not mad as its pretty just interested in why and also what do I now call them do I name them or find somthing close to them and call them that lol

Tankkeepers · Nov 18, 2020

Also the frag of the norphs I broke off months ago is nothing but the new colors with 0 of the original and there are several full grown heads around 8 with a few almost full grown ones so its definitely a new coloration they have developed and kept while the original colony is about half and half and they all started from 3 heads 8 months ago that were all the same and did not start changing untill about 3 months ago the colony got a new head that was difrent then the rest and took off from there

Tankkeepers · Nov 18, 2020

Tjat was also around the same time one of the magishians was not happy and had a pest eating it so I squeezed it to kill the pest before it took hold and when I did that it got scattered arou d some wonder if one of the head of the morphed colony ate some of that and took some of its color just a thought I would not try and replicate

PicassoClown04 · Nov 18, 2020

Tankkeepers said:
So as this is my first soft tank commjng from lps sps mixed reef I have a question about why the zoas have developed more colors over time not just brighter but actually developing new colors they did not have before got some up front for instance that started out puke green and dull orange but now have got neon green tips with a neon blue outter surronding. Area then some of the puke green and the orange center has taken over most of the middle as oposed to only the mouths iv had Lps and sps bleach in the past and come back a difrent color but have never had coral morph on me before any idea what cause this to happen

Hi! (Thanks @dyerrm for the mention!) I have had several zoas morph completely in my tank. Right now I have radioactive dragon eyes (bright green center with forest green skirt, not really any other markings) that are developing pink splotches in the center! I’ve had quite a few morph in my tank and it’s always really cool to see what happens.

As dyerrm mentioned, theres quite a few factors that can make a zoa morph. Lighting is probably the most common with zoas getting brighter/more vibrant or bigger after a change in lighting. Chemical levels in the tank also matter, I suspect it’s mostly nutrient levels but I have yet to experiment to find out. Flow also alters the look of a zoa by giving it a longer/shorter skirt!

Tankkeepers · Nov 18, 2020

footgal said:
Hi! (Thanks @dyerrm for the mention!) I have had several zoas morph completely in my tank. Right now I have radioactive dragon eyes (bright green center with forest green skirt, not really any other markings) that are developing pink splotches in the center! I’ve had quite a few morph in my tank and it’s always really cool to see what happens.

As dyerrm mentioned, theres quite a few factors that can make a zoa morph. Lighting is probably the most common with zoas getting brighter/more vibrant or bigger after a change in lighting. Chemical levels in the tank also matter, I suspect it’s mostly nutrient levels but I have yet to experiment to find out. Flow also alters the look of a zoa by giving it a longer/shorter skirt!

Thank you for the info it must be the lighting is better then where they came from(all the other zoas I have are much brighter then when I got them) they may also be better taken care of as I spot feed them regularly the nutrients in the water is kept pretty low atound 2ppm nitrates and around .1ppm phosphates the last time I tested and may be alittle lower then that now as what goes in has not changed only the tank is more mature now then when I stabalized it so there is a ton more stuff to eat the leftover food rather then it turning to nutrients in the water would go alittle lower but last time I did that the flordia ricordias melted so I'm keeping it right where its at as everything is super happy

Tankkeepers · Nov 18, 2020

footgal said:
Hi! (Thanks @dyerrm for the mention!) I have had several zoas morph completely in my tank. Right now I have radioactive dragon eyes (bright green center with forest green skirt, not really any other markings) that are developing pink splotches in the center! I’ve had quite a few morph in my tank and it’s always really cool to see what happens.

As dyerrm mentioned, theres quite a few factors that can make a zoa morph. Lighting is probably the most common with zoas getting brighter/more vibrant or bigger after a change in lighting. Chemical levels in the tank also matter, I suspect it’s mostly nutrient levels but I have yet to experiment to find out. Flow also alters the look of a zoa by giving it a longer/shorter skirt!

Thank you for the info it must be the lighting is better then where they came from(all the other zoas I have are much brighter then when I got them) they may also be better taken care of as I spot feed them regularly the nutrients in the water is kept pretty low atound 2ppm nitrates and around .1ppm phosphates the last time I tested and may be alittle lower then that now as what goes in has not changed only the tank is more mature now then when I stabalized it so there is a ton more stuff to eat the leftover food rather then it turning to nutrients in the water would go alittle lower but last time I did that the flordia ricordias melted so I'm keeping it right where its a