anything special for zoo's?

lizzy

Member
I was wondering if zoo's need any special care...like what kind of lighting, water flow...ect. any help would be much appriciated! thanks!
 

bigarn

Active Member
I have mine under 96watt PCs in a 10 gallon .... some in low flow and others in medium flow. The ones in the medium flow area definitely spread faster. They don't require any special care, and are great corals for a beginner also. :D
 

murph145

Active Member
i think zoo's will tolerate lower light conditions like around 2-3 watts.... lower light though might not show there colors off as nicely.... i would also say lower water movement..... i have some placed on the sand on a piece of LR they came on then another small frag on a rock .... mine seem to be doing good and are multiplying too... as for food they will eat some brine / mysid shrimp that happens to be blown there way during feeding time otherwise they live off of light ...
 

bigarn

Active Member
Yeah, you definitely don't need real strong lighting for zoos ..... I just stated what I have. :D
 

murph145

Active Member
i agee bigarn :yes: but i would also agree that more lighting is better!
i have 400W over my tank and i think the colors show off a lot better than if i only had 200W
 

smarls

Member
Zoanthids are really tolerant of different conditions. I keep lots in a 55 gallon with 240 watts of PC lighitng (half 03 actinic, and half 10k), and they do great.
I would have to respectfully disagree with Murph, as IMHO the most important thing (given adequate lighting) is flow. The more flow the better. Of the 15 or so colonies I have, the ones in the highest flow seem healthiest, and multiply fastest.
Again they are tolerant...so they will be OK in lower flow...but they will be alot happier in higher flow!
 

murph145

Active Member
hmmm i never knew that zoo's liked high flow.... i knew my star polyps liked it but thought zoo's wouldnt well thanks for the info maybe ill move some of mine around to see how they do in a more high flow area.....
:thinking:
 

lizzy

Member
Thanks for all your info!
I really apprciate it! I cant wait till I get to the point where i will be able to get some. How established should a tank be before you get any?
 

smarls

Member
Honestly, for any animal, the more established the tank the better. If you are dealing with serious algae outbreaks or something else that occurs in a new tank, then it will affect the coral, reagrdless of what type of coral it is.
But, with that disclaimer stated, they are really hardy animals, and one of the toughest corals IMHO. That, combined with the color possibilities, make them my favorite coral.
HTH
Stewart
 

smarls

Member
Lizzy,
I have never dosed iodine like Andretti suggests, so I do not know from experience if that helps growth or not.
If you choose to add it, please be careful dosing anything that you do not test for on a regular basis. Iodine in the wrong dose can be fatal to a lot of things.
HTH,
Stewart
 

lizzy

Member
Thanks for all your help! I kind of have an akward situation with when my tank would be ready...but i decided to try it. Its a long story on what happened...if you want to know just let me know and i'll tell ya...but anyways. I got some zoo's for half price cuz they had some sort of weed on it..but the guy said i could just pick it off...thats all that needed to be done...so i took it home and picked off as much as i could and then put one of my emerald crabs on it and the next morning it was all gone! i was very happy! This one is kind of my tester to see how they do and i'll kind of try to move them around every once in a while and figure out where they like the best and all that stuff. Anyways...thanks for all your help!
 

smarls

Member
Lizzy,
nice news on the zoas...good for you!
If I may suggest something...do not try moving them around as you suggest unless they are not doing well in the position they are initially in. I think moving around colonies of zoas is one of the single biggest mistakes you can make with them. Find somewehere you think they will like, and if they like it, leave them alone. if they don;lt like it, then yes move them.
I don't know why, but moving zoas seems to really stress them out. The ones i have never moved seem to grow the fastest and seem to be the healthiest.
HTH
Stewart
 
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