I have no zoa's as of now. I've read through a few pages here and I do see some names come up often. A friend has whammin watermelon and it looks great. I know I'll have some of that one day. Could you guys and girls recommend one or two zoa's you would not be without. Your and your guests favorites. Thanks.
Must have zoa's
- Thread starter Baldguy
- Start date
MikeandNicole
New member
Buy what you like, that has never steered me wrong
Gill_bucket
New member
Keds reds look great and grow FAST, so do LA lakers.
Mr. Microscope
New member
One of my favorites that falls into the easy/classic zoa category like Whammin Watermelon is the Tub's Blues. They have a very nice blue color under just about any light. They're actually a bit better under lower light.
Here they are towards the middle.
I also like Ked's reds. They can be boring, but given enough time and light really pop! Here are some that had been under some intense LED's for a while.
Top frag:
I'm also a big fan of BamBams. These can eventually get pink centers and amazingly bright orange skirts.
Here's an old image comparing them to regular light and RB LED's.
Here they are towards the middle.
I also like Ked's reds. They can be boring, but given enough time and light really pop! Here are some that had been under some intense LED's for a while.
Top frag:
I'm also a big fan of BamBams. These can eventually get pink centers and amazingly bright orange skirts.
Here's an old image comparing them to regular light and RB LED's.
Reef Bass
colors and textures
I suggest acquiring what you find appealing, not what other people consider "must have". If you simply want to be exposed to what varieties are available, check out the zoanthids and palys album on coralpedia.com or browse the zoanthids section of any of the popular online reef stores.
Some of my favorites are common enough to have names to help you track them down, but not carry the high price some people like to charge for that name. A good LFS or local club will help out with that problem that's always debated here. Naming issues aside, I like and have the following:
Tubbs Blues
Kedds Reds
Eagle Eyes
Radioactive Dragon Eyes
Armor of Gods
People Eaters, all color morphs
Orange Bam Bams
Paly Grandis, green morph.
I used to have, and love:
Nuclear Greens
Purple Deaths
Captain Americas
I got all of these for reasonable prices. I never paid more than $15'ish for a frag that had multiple polyps. Some people will charge an arm and a leg to attach a name to the coral, but many use the name as an ID and nothing else. Buy from those people and enjoy your colorful new corals!
Tubbs Blues
Kedds Reds
Eagle Eyes
Radioactive Dragon Eyes
Armor of Gods
People Eaters, all color morphs
Orange Bam Bams
Paly Grandis, green morph.
I used to have, and love:
Nuclear Greens
Purple Deaths
Captain Americas
I got all of these for reasonable prices. I never paid more than $15'ish for a frag that had multiple polyps. Some people will charge an arm and a leg to attach a name to the coral, but many use the name as an ID and nothing else. Buy from those people and enjoy your colorful new corals!
heckeng
New member
Yes, the name game seems silly, and the names used are also silly, but if you don't use a name for a particular polyp, how the hell are we supposed to describe them to each other and understand what we are talking about? It is nice to be able to simply say, "I like Tubbs Blues" and have somebody understand what polyps we are talking about. Same with "Eagle Eyes" or any of them. If you look them up, and they are commonly enough used, it is great for the hobby for communication. Try describing any of the hornets or the Armour of Gods and the description gets pretty lengthy and you probably put the other person to sleep before you are done.
Bottom line for the OP is take a look at the various polyps on the net (like suggested above) and choose what you like, but don't be afraid to call them by name! :lmao:
That being said, I also like the Tubbs Blues, and recently picked up some Keds Reds and they look very cool in my 12k lighting.
Bottom line for the OP is take a look at the various polyps on the net (like suggested above) and choose what you like, but don't be afraid to call them by name! :lmao:
That being said, I also like the Tubbs Blues, and recently picked up some Keds Reds and they look very cool in my 12k lighting.
Thatgrimguy
New member
Zoa names are like names of good pot. People just make it up to charge more! The thing you have to remember is that the colors will shift depending on the lighting in your tank. So what looks great in one tank, may not pop or may even shift to a different color all together in your tank.
Jeremy Blaze
Former Reef Addict
Yeah, I wouldn't get too worried about the names, LEs, must haves, etc... Buy what you like.
heckeng
New member
Those are really nice, I've not seen them before. Are they available anywhere?
The reason I asked the original q is I have looked at many pics and will probably order online. I understand everyones taste is different. I'm pretty sure many of the pics were taken under the best light for that zoa and maybe photoshopped as well. That's why I wanted recommendations. I have 60 cree led's. 12 of those are RB actinics. The other 48 are 24 white and 24 RB. Not sure what color temp that comes to. This is on a 4x2 110g.
Thanks for all the help guys.
Thanks for all the help guys.
Dana42078
New member
I dunno....never got a proper ID on them...i was guessing the majority are sunflowers? but really i have no idea. Bought them from a friend of mine. If you were closer id cut ya a frag...
Mr. Microscope
New member
They look a little like 24K's. Does the yellow/orange center almost shimmer from different angles? I had some of those. They were definitely some of my favorites.
Agreed to an extent, but the names are good to know when talking about problems you're having. For example, my zoas are melting could mean very different things for say Darth Mauls or VDM's Vs. Dragon Eyes or WW's. Some just seem to melt under any condition. Others may be a symptom of a bigger problem in your tank.
@Baldguy. >>>>> You have a mission now. Go find some Tub's Blues. They're not super hard to find, look great under 10K or 20K, and you won't regret it. This journey will lead you to discover other polyps you like. The only disadvantage to these is that they don't offer much in the range of popping under actinics. Whammin Watermelons will do that for you and they're even easier to find. Heck, I saw a huge colony at a Petco not too long ago.
AOG's are awesome too. Easy to find, very nice pink, and they also pop under actinics.
