kiefers
Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/391642/i-cant-keep-zoas-alive#post_3474661
The new TOTM on ReefKeeping Magazine website for May 2012 ...Levi Morgan's (ia2kass) 247-gallon Zoanthid Dominated Reef Aquarium... so a search. There's a lot of valuable information in there such as: (copied and pasted from the TOTM article from May of 2012:
So you wanna keep Zoantharia eh?:
Here are a few helpful hints:
• Studies on Zoantharia nutrition tend to be few and far between but generally identify dissolved organics and bacteria as large contributors of nitrogen and carbon not acquired through photosynthesis. Having a healthy system which can easily turn nutrients into bacteriobiomass works wonders for zoanthids. In addition to the bacteria, fish waste and detritus is routinely captured by species from the families Parazoanthidae and Sphenopidae while Zoanthidae tends to rely more on photosynthetic processes. Identifying the family helps identify what care is required, this unfortunately is not an easy task for beginners and experts alike.
• Zoantharia as an order tends to be vastly diverse so you need to find the correct light & flow for each colony. Anyone claiming to have the ability to keep every morph of zoanthid happy is flat out lying, a recent study out of Japan noted natural mortality rates close to 40% in the species Zoanthus sociatus, as hobbyists we can only strive to improve on numbers like this. Many zoanthids have horrible track records in captivity, these are usually the sought after ones adding to the frustration. Aquacultured corals just like SPS tend to be a little more resilient so buying cultured is the best way to go.
• Flow is pivotal, although branded as beginner coral high variable flow mixed with strong lighting is highly beneficial for pretty much all species belonging to Zoantharia. This allows for detritus to be removed from the coenenchyme and provides a constant supply of required dissolved compounds.
• Actinics make the pigments in Zoanthids fluoresce, the bluer the spectrum the more "pop" you get. There is a trade off with growth and color so finding the sweet spot is a tricky ordeal.
• Keeping wrasses from the genus Halichoeres and having a healthy wrasse population in general is a powerful way to combat zoanthid pests. Wrasses actively seek out and hunt bristle worms, copepods, amphipods, nudibranches and a whole assortment of inverts that could potentially irritate your polyps. In a tank full of infectious microbes irritation of your zoas is the enemy!
• A few Asterina starfish species do prey on zoanthids, we were initially not removing them from new additions but have since changed our stance after they reached plague proportions. Of the three species that became prolific in our tank the larger red ones were found the most directly on zoanthid coenenchyme. We have since added a pair of Harlequin Shrimp (Hymenocera elegans) which have decimated the population, as these are obligate feeders they will require biweekly starfish feeding after all the Asterinas are gone.
Thank you Seth, I did see this TOTM and it was remarkable!
One of the few reasons why I wanted to get some Zoa's again.
I did at one time have one rock dedicated to Zoa's and it was indeed buttyful (as my daughter puts it). When I got my 56 reef going I acclimated them and about 3 -5 months later they were gone.
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/391642/i-cant-keep-zoas-alive#post_3474661
The new TOTM on ReefKeeping Magazine website for May 2012 ...Levi Morgan's (ia2kass) 247-gallon Zoanthid Dominated Reef Aquarium... so a search. There's a lot of valuable information in there such as: (copied and pasted from the TOTM article from May of 2012:
So you wanna keep Zoantharia eh?:
Here are a few helpful hints:
• Studies on Zoantharia nutrition tend to be few and far between but generally identify dissolved organics and bacteria as large contributors of nitrogen and carbon not acquired through photosynthesis. Having a healthy system which can easily turn nutrients into bacteriobiomass works wonders for zoanthids. In addition to the bacteria, fish waste and detritus is routinely captured by species from the families Parazoanthidae and Sphenopidae while Zoanthidae tends to rely more on photosynthetic processes. Identifying the family helps identify what care is required, this unfortunately is not an easy task for beginners and experts alike.
• Zoantharia as an order tends to be vastly diverse so you need to find the correct light & flow for each colony. Anyone claiming to have the ability to keep every morph of zoanthid happy is flat out lying, a recent study out of Japan noted natural mortality rates close to 40% in the species Zoanthus sociatus, as hobbyists we can only strive to improve on numbers like this. Many zoanthids have horrible track records in captivity, these are usually the sought after ones adding to the frustration. Aquacultured corals just like SPS tend to be a little more resilient so buying cultured is the best way to go.
• Flow is pivotal, although branded as beginner coral high variable flow mixed with strong lighting is highly beneficial for pretty much all species belonging to Zoantharia. This allows for detritus to be removed from the coenenchyme and provides a constant supply of required dissolved compounds.
• Actinics make the pigments in Zoanthids fluoresce, the bluer the spectrum the more "pop" you get. There is a trade off with growth and color so finding the sweet spot is a tricky ordeal.
• Keeping wrasses from the genus Halichoeres and having a healthy wrasse population in general is a powerful way to combat zoanthid pests. Wrasses actively seek out and hunt bristle worms, copepods, amphipods, nudibranches and a whole assortment of inverts that could potentially irritate your polyps. In a tank full of infectious microbes irritation of your zoas is the enemy!
• A few Asterina starfish species do prey on zoanthids, we were initially not removing them from new additions but have since changed our stance after they reached plague proportions. Of the three species that became prolific in our tank the larger red ones were found the most directly on zoanthid coenenchyme. We have since added a pair of Harlequin Shrimp (Hymenocera elegans) which have decimated the population, as these are obligate feeders they will require biweekly starfish feeding after all the Asterinas are gone.
Thank you Seth, I did see this TOTM and it was remarkable!
One of the few reasons why I wanted to get some Zoa's again.
I did at one time have one rock dedicated to Zoa's and it was indeed buttyful (as my daughter puts it). When I got my 56 reef going I acclimated them and about 3 -5 months later they were gone.
