Zoas are not as simple as many make them out to be. Sometimes I struggle with them more than my SPS. Fortunately zoas and palys are a little more forgiving when you do jack something up. Regardless, here are
"Reeferhead's 4 Keys to ZoaAwesomeness!"
#1)
Get proven fast growers. The CDP is a great place to find them. Some zoas were just "made" for our tanks, some are not. Unfortunately, a chopped up wild colony can look a lot like some of the more vested "named" zoas that have a bit of lineage in captivity. So be careful and ask lot of question before buying!
#2)
Flow is really under rated when it comes to zoas. IMO in order to maintain large healthy colonies of some of the trickier varieties you need a lot more flow than what many provide. Good flow brings nutrients in and keeps all those nooks and cranies between the polyps clean of detritus and other junk which can irritate zoas and encourage the growth of algae, which can also irritate zoas. Most of my fastest growing colonies are in the areas of greatest flow not necessarily the greatest light.
#3) Many don't realize this but
stable Alkalinity, Ca, and Mg are just as important to zoas as these parameters are to Acros. Alk drops or swings can quickly cause zoas to close up and melt if not remedied quickly. Fortunately, zoas don’t really take up these elements so if you’re just keeping softies you won’t need too much dosing to maintain things. However, there are lots of things in a typical reef tank that will take up Alk, Ca, and Mg such as: coralline, snails, urchins, and lots of microscopic life. When these things drive down Alkalinity your zoas will struggle. Alk swings can only be eliminated if all three parameters are kept in check together. Water changes will help but IMO testing and regular dosing is still essential.
#4)
Nutrients are very important to achieving fast growth with any soft coral. Some zoas and palys can take in food, so if you want to maximize growth, feed the ones that do. For the rest, I believe slightly elevated Nitrate (NO3) of around 5-10 ppm will really help support fast growth. However, I still use GFO and keep my phosphate (PO4) at undetectable or near undetectable levels. I have never seen any increase in coral growth of any kind due to elevated PO4. The only **** that stuff grows is algae.
Finally, light intensity and spectrum requirements are going to be different for every coral. Its best to find out what they we’re coming from and match it. That is of course, if the person you got the zoas from had good growth and color to begin with.
Also, never forgo dipping and quarantine procedures. You could have the sweetest $100 per polyp zoas and the most bad a$$ setup in the world… if one zoa nudi gets in there, your F’d!
Good Luck!
Those fish will sometimes take a constructed burrow but most will not, IME. The jawfish might utilize that cave depending on the size (their pretty specific) but it wouldn't be natural at all and I wouldn't count on it working. A minimum of 5" of various grade sand mixed with lots of small rubble, that's what they really want and what we should provide, IMO
