Puzzling New Find

[rjla67]

I have been slowly starting to add some new corals to my 110g reef tank set up. Nothing hard, so far sticking to the easy and bullet proof variety to get going.

One of the corals I added was Button Polyps, or Zoanthidaes. I picked up several small frags at a LFS, and all have been doing great and even have started to multiply. However, I noticed in an area I know for sure I didn't put any of the Zoas in since it is kinda behind the front of the live rock, I spotted several polyps pop up out of no where. I've searched around to see if these Zoas can multiply in areas where they were never there before. Is this possible? TIA for any insight anyone may have.

-robert.

 

[Reef Bass]

They don't usually just spring up out of thin air, or thin water, as it were. Sometimes a polyp or group of polyps will detach from a cluster or mat, tumble around and attach somewhere else.

Another possibility is if you recently added live rock, they could have been hitchhikers.

 

[rjla67]

That is what I thought too but wasn't 100% certain.

 

[KafudaFish]

I have a rock that now has 3 polyps that I did not put a frag on.

 

[kalgra]

They don't usually just spring up out of thin air, or thin water, as it were. Sometimes a polyp or group of polyps will detach from a cluster or mat, tumble around and attach somewhere else.

+1 I have had a few different zoas that seem to have detached and drifted to some other location, reattached an began to grow a separate colony.

 

[rjla67]

Interesting to know. I never knew they did that. Learn something new ever day!!!

 

[rjla67]

Kalgra- what is the name of the zoas you have for your profile pic? Those are really beautiful.

 

[kalgra]

They are most commonly referred to as sunny d's. I wish that ones that spread this way were the less common of the bunch but of course none of the high dollar named zoos ever seem to do this. Lol

 

[ejdustin]

I have also had a few zoos pop up at random other places in the tank. In my scenario I use a medium sized aragonite base with my zoos growing into a carpet so I think a chuck of the aragonite just gets moved but thats just my guess.

 

[rjla67]

Kalgra- Thanks for the ID. I really like those.

 

[Borchers]

A photo could help. Maybe not a Zoa or Paly at all. Could be Majano. Like I said a photo would be good.