New to zoas

[jdogg]

I just got my first reef tank. I bought a Zoa frag for LFS. Been in for a few days But I have 2 problems.

1) only half the polyps are open.

2) one of my hermit crabs like to sit on to of the frag. Not sure if this is a problem.

Water parameters are all okay. No nitrites or nitrates. No phos. PH 8. KH. 8. Calcium 450.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Deberber]

So am I. Just got one a few days ago. I found that after several placements, he liked a lesser amour of light (not at the top) with a moderate flow.

 

[Fishypapa]

A lot of times it takes them a while to get used to the new water, lighting, flow, etc. so they don't all open. Just give it some time and as Deberber said, changing position could also help. It's usually better to move from low to higher lighting (gives them time to adjust)

As long as the hermit is not actually eating it, it's no big deal. They clean the scraps off.

Just be patient. That's a major thing in saltwater tanks.

 

[terrypercula]

+1 on patience also Zoas are great for two reasons. 1. They can handle pretty much anything and they'll come back strong. I frag them on a regular basis and they're usually all back open before lights out that night. But adjust to a different tank is quite different and I've bought frags that took a week to fully open. 2. They're incredibly colored and just beautiful corals. And anytime I buy a frag I start it at bottom and bring it slowly up to the desires position it's a form of light acclimation and it help prevent color bleaching or fading.

 

[gvan101]

++1

 

[jdogg]

Still waiting for the zoas to open. Now the ones that opened have closed. Tried new position in the tanks etc. no go. Getting a little nervous that they may die.

 

[terrypercula]

Maybe the water is too perfect? Like LPS pieces some zoas prefer a little dirtier water so zeroes across the board isn't necessarily a good environment.

 

[terrypercula]

And bring that PH up a little. 8.2-8.3.

 

[Bkoper]

I am new to Zoa's also, got my first about a month ago and my third group yesterday. Mine are all open. I found that as most say, I put them at the bottom of my tank with about medium flow, and they are all open. I have TrueLumen 48inch LED's x2 over my tank, It looks really good with the lighting from LED's.

Best of Luck with Zoa's, I sit and look at mine daily.

:thumbsup:

 

[frostyjay1]

I am a zoa lover and have a ton of different ones in my tank. they each have their own sweet spot so +1 on work them up til they look happy. Also the water is an thing too. I was doing to frequent of water changes and started losing some. as soon as I went a little longer between wc's they started to come back. If you keep other corals too like sps, try to match up water requirements to them as well.