Best Quality Zooplankton for feeding my Zoanthids?

[sean obergfell]

Hello all,
What is the best quality zooplankton that i can get to feed my Zoas?

What are you all using to feed your Zoas?

Thanks,
Sean

 

[rqc]

Fish poop all day, coral frenzy & Cyclop-eeze once a week.

 

[chuckawd]

I use a nasty mixture of coral frenzy, zoo plankton, and sometimes rotifers and have experienced very nice growth in all of my coral especially my zoas. With this and any spot feeding regimen, be sure not to over do it and also perform more frequent water changes to reduce the waste build up in the water.

 

[tmz]

Zoanthus don't show a feeding response, typicaly. they ae high reefanimals and use a lot of photsynthetic fixed carbon but obviusly need some more which they may absorb since no coral is 100% autotrophic teh may absorb from the water. Palythoa and protopalythoa gobble up the cyclopeeze ,mysis and brine. They all have done better since dosing vodka and vinegar. The extra carbon and acetate seems to favor them or maybe it's the extra bacteria.

 

[Water Tecn]

tmz, do you even know what you just said? they dont show a feeding response? thats bull!
I feed mine everyday! And everyday they get a nice meal of reef caviar with a mixture of marine snow, little caviar lands on polyp, polyp closes, polyp consumes, polyp opens. Unless they have been practicing magic, im pretty sure they are eating it.

 

[Water Tecn]

if you want ill post you a video of their "feeding response"

 

[Jacwil]

tmz, do you even know what you just said? they dont show a feeding response? thats bull!
I feed mine everyday! And everyday they get a nice meal of reef caviar with a mixture of marine snow, little caviar lands on polyp, polyp closes, polyp consumes, polyp opens. Unless they have been practicing magic, im pretty sure they are eating it.

Wow man....that's a "special" way to disagree.

Lighten up!

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Lighten up!

And then note that Tom is separating by genus in his statement. Most hobbyists call anything polyp-like a "zoanthid" or a "zoa" even though many of the common species this hobby label is used on come from the Palythoa or Protopalythoa genera, which do exhibit feeding responses, vs. the the Zoanthus genus, which do not exhibit feeding responses.

 

[Conesus_Kid]

I'm interested in seeing that video.

 

[Water Tecn]

nothing at all against him, just a strong disagreement. will post tonight when feeding comes along!

 

[Capt_Cully]

And then note that Tom is separating by genus in his statement. Most hobbyists call anything polyp-like a "zoanthid" or a "zoa" even though many of the common species this hobby label is used on come from the Palythoa or Protopalythoa genera, which do exhibit feeding responses, vs. the the Zoanthus genus, which do not exhibit feeding responses.

X2 who-rah!

 

[tent boy]

I'm not a betting man, but my money is on TMZ.

 

[teamdulski]

To quote E. Borneman "Aquarium Corals" pg 187 "Zoanthus Sociatus is highly autotrophic containing highly dense populations of zooxanthellae and feeding minimally"

 

[tmz]

I'm not a betting man, but my money is on TMZ.

Thanks Paul;but save your money . I don't have the time or inclination to run this race. I'm just not intereseted in engaging bullheaded uniformed folks with snarky attitudes. I gave that up and the vocabulary to deal with it is inappropriate for RC discussions. .



There are a vast number of discussions on care for Zoanthidae in this forum which turn up with a"search this forum " click for zoanthus and or zoanthidae for those who are interested in more detail.

The Borneman book noted by Adam is an excellent resource of information on natural environments for these animals and their captive care.

Anecdotally,FWIW, I keep hundreds of colonies and frags of zoanthus, protopalythoa and palythoa. I feed them via mostly via the broadcast feeding I do for the fish( a mix of brine, mysis,bloodworms and cyclopeeze). Sometimes I target feed the palys. The zoanthus close partially when sprayed directly and open a short time later but they do that when sprayed with just water too. It's likely just irritation. The palys purse up and hold the foodeven large pieces.
An overfeeding strategy for non receptive animals can lead to a dirty tank and high nutrient enviroment for animals that naturally thrive on high reefs with pristine water and high light. Not to mention tanks plagued with nuisance algae.
It can be difficult to distinguish a paly from a zoanthus. Size is probably the best first cut at identification,though some palys can be small.. Feeding response is a close second as a practical matter.
Zoanthidae( zoanthus, protopaythoa and palythoa) all have done very well with vodka and vingar dosing. Many report similar results with ascorbic acid which is also a source of dissolved organic carbon. The vitamin C has also caused troubles for other corals and is more complex than either ethanol( vodka) or acetic acid (vinegar) and involves sevaeral extra layers of bacteria to breakdown with potentially harmful side effects, ime, and that of others I trust..

 

[Gravesj1s]

tmz, do you even know what you just said? they dont show a feeding response? thats bull!

Water Tecn,
tmz is right ,imo.You might be reading into his response to much.Zoanthid refers to protopalythoa,palythoa,zoanthus,and a hand full of others I cant spell without looking it up.In short though it covers the 3 above whitch most aquarists would be talking about,I.e.-(Zoa's & paly's).

Problem is ,theres no clear cut way to Identifying them down below that.To do so would require a dna analysis,from my reading anyway.

Some folks think they can tell by certain characteristics,that maybe true,to a certain degree,but theres still many examples that dont fit.Heres some of the common ways I ve seen people use to identify.

1)" They're zoa's If they're small they need more light and dont feed.Not exactly true,Tubbs blue actually do better in less light and will gain a green to its skirt,ime.

2)"Dime to nickel in size ,they feed so they're paly's".
I dont think this fits either,Armor of Gods are the same size as nuclear greens /pink& golds and purple deaths.

Pink & golds do well in bright light showing better coloration and accept direct feeding.Armor of gods do well in bright light,but will not accept direct feedings ,ime.
The other 2 purple deaths,Nuke G's will both feed ,but do better for me in less light. Theres many other examples that make identifying a guessing game imo.
Palythoa-from my reading on identifying is suppose to lack stolons or runners and are suppose to resemble polyps that have been shoved into a 1/4-1/2 " mat lacking the "stem" part protopalys or zoas have. Ever see ARC
Tiger lily's?Sold as palythoas , they do seem to fit the general description but have the vine like runners (stolons).Doesn't quite fit either exactly,imo.

Eric Borneman & Charles Delbeek have both stated a general rule we should go by.The smaller the zoanthid "usually" the more autotrophic,light dependant.The larger ,its likely less autotrophic and "may" accept feeding.They both state repeatedly it should be used as a general guideline noting the variations and the difficulty with identities.

Fwiw-there is a study showing 1 coral meeting 1oo% of its needs through photosynthesis alone,I believe it was a sp.of zoanthus. Thats the only one Ive ever heard of though.

 

[Gravesj1s]

Sorry tom was typing at the same time,didnt mean to but in.

 

[tmz]

Sorry tom was typing at the same time,didnt mean to but in.

Nice information.
Thanks,
From what I've seen in pictures of your corals and read form your posts on these animals it's clear to me that your observations and insights are turstworthy and valuable.. I look forward to more of them. Feel free to" butt in" anytime

 

[Capt_Cully]

I kind of feel bad about the way this started to turn bad, but has become an excellent thread. I'd like to see his video. Perhaps we can glean some info from it. My response was based on what I've read. There are certainly some zoa, paly, pros on here and RC in general. I feel like I spoke a bit out of turn but graves, dulski, and Tom have chimed in appropriately.

Again, as long as we keep it friendly, perhaps a lot of us can learn a little bit here. Water, sorry for seeming brash, love to see your video.

 

[Gravesj1s]

Still learning but a nice compliment coming from you,Tom.Thank you.

I agree Mark, and seeing the video could be useful to many of us. I hate to see a potentially good thread turn off .No pressure Watertecn, but can we get you link the video ?

-Newbie forever

 

[andrew2010]

Sean, I have Plenty of rotifers live and frozen. Come get some when you want.