I want a Zoanthid

handbanana

handbanana

Member
Hello,
I have a pretty bare tank at the moment but I really am in love with corals and want to start trying to learn to care for them. I know some coral can be very hard to care for with out the propper setup and knowledge. I have the lights... thats about it. but I read this...
Green centers with brown skirts.Zooanthids are extremely hardy and an excellent beginner coral. They can spreadrapidly so care must be taken to ensure they don’t choke out other corals.Zooanthids are photosynthetic and don’t need special feeding.Zooanthids prefer low to moderate water motion...
So I was thinking is this true? should I try a ZOA? I dont want to kill it or it to suffer and die slowly. You guys are more experenced in this so Im very greatful with any thoughts or suggustions.
04/04/2010
PH 8.0
Trite 0
Trate not really detectable. im sure theres a little tho.
SG 1.026
Ammo 0
temp 78 deg.
I know there are other things I need to know about my water params to safely keep coral and things I need to add to my water. Could someone give me a pointer, give me a heads up of what else to test for, add, equepment?
Thanks in advance.
Oh all I have is a blenny a clown and some hermits.
 
speg

speg

Active Member
You are coral-less at the moment, correct?
Zoas are a decent starter coral. Mushrooms are usually a better start because if they start dying then something is seriously wrong... but zoas are pretty hardy. They can really survive in many different areas of the tank. I have some in almost no current/light and they're doing wonderful and stretched out trying to get as much light as possible.. I also have some right up in the highest flow/light area of my tank and they're spreading like crazy.
What type of lighting do you have and what size tank etc.
 
handbanana

handbanana

Member
Right now I am coral-less. But the reason I got into this hobby in the first place was to keep corals. How could one not keep them? their amazing...
Anyway I have a 55 gallon tank right now with two Aqua-madic 150w Mh with 14k Phoenix (?) bulbs. ( I have two extras, IDK if those are what are in the lights themselves.)
are these decent lights? got them off CL for $150
 
speg

speg

Active Member
They look good.. but man they look high up... I personally believe they may be too high.. but I'm not a halide expert so don't take my word for it.. but the fact that you got halides is a good start! I'd say to give it a shot. If all the levels are good and everything in the tank is doing good/surviving/thriving... get coral.. I personally always get coral first because I feel that fish are harder to keep :)
 
handbanana

handbanana

Member
Thanks a million SPEG!
I want a reef tank with very few fish and lots and lots of coral and inverts. I just cant jump into that so Im getting my feet wet for the first year or two with fish and some corals and inverts. get the basics down first. I never would have thought that I would hear a reefer say corals are easyer than fish. Thanks for the push! Im going to either order( I dont want to wait) or buy from the LFS a few small Zoas. Do I get Frags? I dont really know what those are. ( im guessing coral fragments that will grow out to be larger corals)((duh)) or do I get a big ol piece of coral? Would that be piece of LR with corals attached to it? or a entire thing on its own? How long does it take for a frag to grow?
Thanks in advance SPEG. you seem to be the one answering my ?'s
 
luvmyreef

luvmyreef

Active Member
Since you have halides, if you choose to get zoas, place them on the bottom of the tank to start...
 
handbanana

handbanana

Member
Thank you Luvmyreef!
Do I move the Zoas up after awhile or are they good with moderate light? That I def will read up on!
Do you know how close those Mh's should be from my water just out of curiosity? I have em high cuz all I have now is 2 fish and 50 + lbs of LR. any suggustions at all would be welcome!
 
speg

speg

Active Member
I try to help.. I consider myself a noob but I have some experience (6 years). I think we all learn new things all the time... anyways..
It's up to you.. frags are cheaper.. and yes, frags are fragments of a coral colony. Could be one zoa or 5 or 10 on a piece of liverock or those frag plugs that everyone is using. I personally enjoy anything that's cheap, and under the right conditions coral usually grows pretty quickly.... and on top of that, it's really fun to watch a coral grow every day. Little zoas will start as bubbles below a larger polyp and soon you'll see them grow into a mini-zoa until they're big.
Some would rather just get a big colony so they don't have to wait for growth. One bad thing about this is that these are usually harvested and well.. it makes the coral reefs happier if we buy coral that someone has fragged :) but that's my own personal rant on the subject.... oh and did I mention that a coral that is tank raised may be hardier than a wild coral? Just sayin.....
Corals grow at different rates, but if they're getting good light and/or food they tend to grow quickly. I got a candy cane from swf.com two weeks ago and already one of the heads are splitting.
 
luvmyreef

luvmyreef

Active Member
Originally Posted by Handbanana
http:///forum/post/3255308
Thank you Luvmyreef!
Do I move the Zoas up after awhile or are they good with moderate light? That I def will read up on!
Do you know how close those Mh's should be from my water just out of curiosity? I have em high cuz all I have now is 2 fish and 50 + lbs of LR. any suggustions at all would be welcome!
I have read that people keep mh about 12 inches above. Some zoas you can move up. others will need the lower light at the bottom. Research the ones you like.
 
handbanana

handbanana

Member
Cool, Thanks Speg and Luvmyreef.
Im pretty excited. I agree that people shouldnt harvest coral from the ocean. It seems were smart enough to frag them and grow them that we shouldnt have to take from the ocean. But Im still learning much on the subject.
It never even occured to that they might be hardier. cool

I cant wait to get a frag on wednesday. Im going to try to get some neon type Zoanthid. The neon green ones are cool. so are the pink and dragon eye.
Is there a technique to placing them? I thought it would be cool to put one on my rock wall but I dont know if thats a good idea or not.
 
mrdc

mrdc

Active Member
IME, zoas will spread fast if they like your tank. Since your lights are so high, you may have to experiment with where to place them. Take your time looking for the color you want because there are SO many different ones on the market. I actually bought several off the big auction site. And it looks like you are going with the frags which is cool since it will save you a lot of money. I usually spend around 15 - 20 a frag locally. They are cool to look at when they start spreading also.
 
handbanana

handbanana

Member
Im looking forward to watching it grow the most. I found a cool chart in a sticky in this forum and Ive been researching a few mushrooms and Zoas that are easyer to care for. I must say Im very excited. I feel like a kid waiting on christmas eve.
Is there any special way to handel the Zoas as far as placing them in my tank? How do I move them ? Can I touch them? Ive always wondered this about coral and anemones
 
speg

speg

Active Member
I'm very hands-on when it comes to my aquarium life. Most coral will close up as a defense. This defense lets you touch them without hurting them. In most cases you can move them like this without them being damaged.
Zoas will close as soon as you attempt to move them and you can usually just grab the frag plug or rock they're on and move them around.
 
handbanana

handbanana

Member
I got them! Got a Kenya tree with a bunch of Zoas on it (free) and a small rock with a bunch of them on it. about half are open. what amazing creatures these are!

 
handbanana

handbanana

Member
Thanks Cableguy. Im glad you think they look good because truthfully I dont know. These are my first. They are awesome! I did not know they moved the way they do. With little fingers wiggleing around they kinda look like flowers from another planet.
Are they supposed to close up at night?
Thanks everyone!
 
speg

speg

Active Member
Originally Posted by Handbanana
http:///forum/post/3256306
Thanks Cableguy. Im glad you think they look good because truthfully I dont know. These are my first. They are awesome! I did not know they moved the way they do. With little fingers wiggleing around they kinda look like flowers from another planet.
Are they supposed to close up at night?
Thanks everyone!
Sometimes they close and sometimes they don't (at night). A lot of coral will close/shrivel at night. Some will extend their tentacles further at night. Some will completely open only at night.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top