Help your Zoos spread?

[icepick5587]

What can I do to help my Zoos reproduce and spread to other parts of my LR? Right now I feed the tank phytoplex a few times a week and brine shrimp once daily. My Zoos aren't dying, but not really thriving either. Besides more light, what else can I do to help my zoos really thrive?

 

[greenstarman]

what's your water quality? Temp, ph, alk, SG.

 

[bpd964]

Put them closer to the light..

 

[greenstarman]

I can see in a 24gallon nano light being an issue, how deep is that tank?

 

[Shagwong Reef]

GSM, what are the optimum water conditions that you are asking about? I also have zoanthids that are not thriving at the bottom of a 26 gal that is about 20 inches deep with a 4 inch LSB (zoas are about 16 inches down from light.

 

[icepick5587]

Params

Params

Lemme see here, Temp 81-F, No nitrates, nitrites, or ammonia. Sg=1.0225 Ph= 8.2-8.3

Also, they're about 5-7 inches from the light.

 

[plancton]

Just what I thought, it is a nano cube, therefore you are using powercompacts. The problem with pc's is that they can keep many LPS corals and zoos with no problem, but since the light is not intense enough, then everything grows really slow.

I have a current orbit 384 watt lamp PC's in a 65gal and I even keep a bubble tip anemone, a galaxea, and a hammer wall. Everything healthy, but the anemone remains at the top and very open and big (meaning it spreads to get more light). And the corals in general grow really slow.

Other examples:
I kept a frag of zoos at the bottom with about 20 zoos. A year has passed and that frag is now 50 zoos.

A frag of zoos was kept in the middle, in 6 months that frag which began with 100 zoos is now about 120 zoos.

But in a metal halide or t5 aquarium that frag of 100 zoos would create another 100 zoos in about 5 months.

Thats the reason why I am selling my lamp to get a t5 lamp

So my advice is for you to get t5s under your hood. Like the ones offered in nanocustoms.com

 

[giantxtc]

I have found from past experience that I could get stubborn ones to spread by placing them next to each other.I think that it encourages them to compete for space and they begin to spread faster.Unfortunately,for me the ones that I did'nt want to grow the fastest were the ones that took off the most.But,for me it worked.

 

[REEF'N'IT]

LIGHTS

LIGHTS

What if you have 2 fixtures on one tank? I have a 100w and a 130w on my 26 gallon. Is the light intense enough?

 

[milab]

I've also noticed zoos spread faster when they are in close proximity to other corals.

 

[Shagwong Reef]

In icepick's situation, everything seems optimum in terms of water. Is your Sg a typo? Is it 1.025? So it seems like light, right? I just moved my zoas to the top of the reef, as close to the light as possible, but I think I need to upgrade light. I got a good recommendation on that from GrowYurOwn in Ohio and I think I'll try it.

 

[REEF'N'IT]

Would it be possible to have to much pc light intensity. I have about 9 watts a gallon pc lights 2 10000k and 2 actinic.

 

[newhere]

I have zoos in my 24 and 12 nano. I haven't had any trouble with them. I upgraded the pumps in both tanks and added a refugeum(sp) to the back middle chamber in both. My zoos and xenia are all doing great.

 

[zarro]

Hi nice pics

 

[greenstarman]

I have to disagree about the power compacts. I have a 4x65 watt setup and my buttons and GSP are growing like wild fire. I supplement with DT's Phytoplankton.

 

[plancton]

zoos depend on light, supplement food is not necesary.
It is possible that your buttons and GSP are growing like wild fire, sometimes there is no real explanation.

For example, in my PC lighted tank, xenias grow like crazy, xenias are supposed to be fast growers, but in many people's tanks that I know, xenias just melt.

Having 9 watts per gallon, will only give light to absolutely any spot. But watts per gallon is an old rule, basicaly it works for plants because any PC light will be enough for almost any plant.

But in reefs what matters is the intensity. I have seen many t5's and metal halide tanks, and they are all packed with coral growth, and they sell frags all the time. Basically the lights pay themselves to some degree.

 

[greenstarman]

If zoos are light dependent then why do they have mouths? Aren't they water cleaners, meaning they help filter the water? When I stop feeding the DT's Phyto why does my GSP not extend fully. I do agree there is a happy medium when light intensity comes into play

 

[Timothy01]

another question is how long has your tank been established. if it is under 6 months probably arnt going to see much growth before that. the reason i say this is your rock shows no algea and the sand looks rather new( few traces of diatom and broken of rock)

 

[Timothy01]

have to disagree with the pc light theroy too. i have the stock lights in one of my nanos and have nothing but zoos in there that split every 2 to 3 weeks

 

[maroonytunes]

I agree with Timothy,

I bought two frags of zoos, 15-20 polyps each, and within three days I had about 2 or 3 new polyps of each one. There was also a morph between the two.