Natural Zoa photos

[r-balljunkie]

I thought I'd share some pictures of Zoanthids in their natural state.

Most zoa's I've found have been relatively deep, starting at 60' in lagoons all the way down to 130' or so of water.

Generally I have not found zoanthids on the open ocean side, which tends to be rougher with the surge. The only exception to this I've seen on the ocean side is the standard variety pinks in shallower depths of 20' or so.

With this said, asides from the fluorescent "pop" we all enjoy with zoas, they aren't really a light demanding species.

When you collect at these depths, it's a crap shoot on what you got. You cant really target what you want"¦.have to see when you get it in the tank what the color morph is, whereas reds and oranges are washed out at this depth.

The water on the lagoon side tends to have more particulates in the water, verses ocean side. Lots of planktonic, single cell type "œfloaties" in the water, minimal flow, current or surge.

Enjoy

Some photo's taken with white bulb adjusted on the underwater camera, others not.

 

[A. Grandis]

Nice pics and thanks for the info!!!
Where are you, exactly?
Could you please tell us how deep each picture was taken?
That should explain why most zoas in the market prefers spectrum between 14-20K.
More pics, please...
Do you have tank pictures of those?
:thumbsup:

Grandis.

 

[dotcommer]

Cool Pics!!!

 

[r-balljunkie]

Where are you, exactly?

im in the marshall islands

Could you please tell us how deep each picture was taken?

these sets of photos are around 60', perhaps 75' but not too deep. i dont take photo's every time i dive lagoon side because of the visibility but I know i tend to find zoas deeper. a predominate zoa out here, labelled industry wise as "eagle eye" zoas is very common out here, also lots of green variations. i dont go lagoon side too often, so i dont have an extensive collection, just a few. They're not easy to spot, have to keep a sharp eye out for them, especially when you are deeper.

Do you have tank pictures of those?

sure, here's a couple of pics from the tank. i dont have pics loaded of all the zoas in my tank....

 

[Misled]

Very nice!!!

 

[A. Grandis]

Thanks for the reply r-balljunkie!!!

im in the marshall islands

Oh, nice!!!!

these sets of photos are around 60', perhaps 75' but not too deep. i dont take photo's every time i dive lagoon side because of the visibility but I know i tend to find zoas deeper. a predominate zoa out here, labelled industry wise as "eagle eye" zoas is very common out here, also lots of green variations. i dont go lagoon side too often, so i dont have an extensive collection, just a few. They're not easy to spot, have to keep a sharp eye out for them, especially when you are deeper.

I know what you mean about finding them. We could find zoas here in Hawaii around 35'+, but most of the time they are in tide pools. It depends on the species/environment too. Yeah, they like lagoons here also. Lots of them.

How deep did you find these?

sure, here's a couple of pics from the tank. i dont have pics loaded of all the zoas in my tank....

How deep did you find these?

Could you tell us about your aquarium, please?
Lights?
Skimmer?
Alk, Ca, pH, PO4, NO3?
Water changes (how often - natural/synthetic)?
Water flow?

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r158/cchavis/marshall%20islands/PB186702.jpg[/IMG]

Do you need special permit to collect?
Can you keep hard corals there? Here in Hawaii we can't!

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r158/cchavis/marshall%20islands/PB186719.jpg[/IMG]

Thanks very much!!
Good to have you here. :thumbsup:

Grandis.

 

[r-balljunkie]

Could you tell us about your aquarium, please?
Lights?
Skimmer?
Alk, Ca, pH, PO4, NO3?
Water changes (how often - natural/synthetic)?
Water flow?

Do you need special permit to collect?
Can you keep hard corals there? Here in Hawaii we can't!


Thanks very much!!
Good to have you here. :thumbsup:

Grandis.

I don't want to spam my stuff all over RC. You can find system info here:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2016812


im not too sure on where/when on all of these. I know the orange ones were a bit deeper.
No permit needed, but nothing leaves the atoll I live on. It's like a long term "œloaner" program.

There's only a hand few of us who keep coral setups out here.

I use synthetic seawater (Tropic Marin). I found that NSW was very inconsistent and it rains a lot here, so it's easier for me to whip up 20 gallons than to wait for it to not rain for a couple of days.

how are the Hawaiian zoas?


C

 

[A. Grandis]

I don't want to spam my stuff all over RC. You can find system info here:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2016812


im not too sure on where/when on all of these. I know the orange ones were a bit deeper.
No permit needed, but nothing leaves the atoll I live on. It's like a long term "œloaner" program.

There's only a hand few of us who keep coral setups out here.

I use synthetic seawater (Tropic Marin). I found that NSW was very inconsistent and it rains a lot here, so it's easier for me to whip up 20 gallons than to wait for it to not rain for a couple of days.

how are the Hawaiian zoas?


C

Thanks very much for the link!
Here we need a special permit to collect and can't keep any invert from out of Hawaii. Can't collect hard corals at all, if for personal use (hobby/commercial).

I use Red Sea salt and it works great.

The Hawaiian zoas are mainly what people call the PEs (People Eaters). We do have some small species of Zoanthus too, but harder to find!!!
They can be red, green or purplish. Just like the ones they sell on the mainland.
Nothing very special, like yours!! Those red ones in the first picture are very nice!!! I like the corals too!!

Thanks again!

Grandis.

 

[ziyaadb]

wow awesome thanks for sharing rball

 

[650-IS350]

Nice good to see them in natural state and natural lighting. Thumbs up. something different from the all blue lighting or LEDs. Sweet and thanks for the info.

 

[gordonj1]

AWESOME!!!! Man I love how they look in the wild. I wish I could grow the, out to look like this. Has anyone set up a tank that looks similar to their natural environment? You know with macros growing on the rock and stuff? This is just awesome!

 

[A. Grandis]

AWESOME!!!! Man I love how they look in the wild. I wish I could grow the, out to look like this. Has anyone set up a tank that looks similar to their natural environment? You know with macros growing on the rock and stuff? This is just awesome!

Most macros comes and goes in the wild.
Sometimes they look ugly with algae on them and dead spots.
They don't look like that all the time.
There are cycles and predators for the macros that keep the good balance in the wild.

Grandis.

 

[gordonj1]

Most macros comes and goes in the wild.
Sometimes they look ugly with algae on them and dead spots.
They don't look like that all the time.
There are cycles and predators for the macros that keep the good balance in the wild.

Grandis.

thanks

I still like the more "natural" look

my tank is just a baby right now lol but I want it to look as natural as possible

 

[A. Grandis]

thanks

I still like the more "natural" look

my tank is just a baby right now lol but I want it to look as natural as possible

You're very welcome!

I like the natural look too!!!
:thumbsup:

Grandis.

 

[KafudaFish]

Thank you for the pictures and the information.

Please continue posting pictures when you get a chance.