WestChesterReef
Member
Had a friend over, was checking out my tank,and told me that I shouldn't have SPS and zoas together, Feedback?/?
SPS & Zoa's
- Thread starter WestChesterReef
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WestChesterReef
Member
I have had them together for quite some time, but he was telling me the zoas release toxins that hurt the SPS, so I got concerned. I use a carbon reactor, a GFO reactor and an Octopus skimmer,
malac0da13
Member
I always thought it was leather corals that released the toxins into the water column. I know when fragging zoas you have to be careful about the toxins but dont know if they just release it into the water. I had a friend give me zoas to add to my SPS tank and they didn't do to well but my SPS doing fine.
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PR_Reefers
New member
BS... IMO... i'd say you should fear more euphyllias and other similar long tentacled lps rather than zoas....
I would just be carefull on placement, but as with any coral for that matter! Once attached to the rock they can continue to colonize & grow quickly and it's hard to remove a big colony completely, as compared to other corals! I've seen some that eventually cover the bases of some sps and might harm them but so would any other coral that touches the sps... coralwarfare is part of nature... you just have to try to avoid or minimize it however you can.
Personally I keep all my zoas in plugs or rocks which I can easily remove and control they're spread.
I would just be carefull on placement, but as with any coral for that matter! Once attached to the rock they can continue to colonize & grow quickly and it's hard to remove a big colony completely, as compared to other corals! I've seen some that eventually cover the bases of some sps and might harm them but so would any other coral that touches the sps... coralwarfare is part of nature... you just have to try to avoid or minimize it however you can.
Personally I keep all my zoas in plugs or rocks which I can easily remove and control they're spread.
Logzor
New member
The comment above is your only concern in regard to having zoas and sps together. There are a few types of palys that multiply super fast.
ati70cutlass
New member
yeah i thought it was leathers too. but as others have posted i think lps that release feeding tenticles are more to fear than chemicals released by leathers, since they can be sucked up by carbon
PR_Reefers
New member
True... but most of us don't want those... lol....cause they probably aren't that colorfull and don't strike much attention... but then again if for ex. utter chaos or bowsers multiplied like that you wouldn't mind or at least I wouldn't.
LifeAquatic
New member
Zoas are fine with SPS. Ive never had a problem keeping leather coral with SPS either. Not sure where the toxic leather coral myth originated from but I dont believe it to be true. Ive had leather coral and zoas in an SPS dominated tank for a long time.
dzhuo
Active member
That's not a myth. Leather corals are known to release alleopathic chemicals which inhibit calcification and thus stunt the growth of SPS. This is a very common strategy for soft corals to compete for space with each other. However, the effectiveness of these chemicals will depends on concentration, tank size and various other factors (for example, GAC, skimmer, regular water change, etc might actively remove these chemicals) so you might not notice any "damage".
allsps40
New member
This is the only real problem with zoas. I have a rock covered with green zoas, I was planning to put a few sps on it but now I can't.
I wouldn't be surprised if zoo's produced toxins of some kind. I scroll through various chemistry journal abstracts and it seems like every day I come across a paper dealing with either the isolation or synthesis of some marine secondary metabolite. That is just pure speculation and I have nothing to back it up but a hunch. Even if it is true it doesn't necessarily have any implications for our reef tanks.
All I know is that in the past I had tremendous problems with zoo's in my old mixed reef tank. They would crowd out the sps I had. They wouldn't necessarily harm the corals but would keep the coral growth in check whenever they touched. Not all zoo's are the same though. As with most things in this hobby, the prettier and more expensive varieties all seem to be more difficult to propagate.
All I know is that in the past I had tremendous problems with zoo's in my old mixed reef tank. They would crowd out the sps I had. They wouldn't necessarily harm the corals but would keep the coral growth in check whenever they touched. Not all zoo's are the same though. As with most things in this hobby, the prettier and more expensive varieties all seem to be more difficult to propagate.
bobkill
reefer
One thing I don't enjoy about having zoas and sps together is ! I have t5 on a 11 hr light cycle and my sps looks great but the zoas siZe isn't what it was when I had the light cylxe on 6 hrs- it's been a long time since I had cycle but the zoas has way better growth and 'inflated' size
SPSEMPIRE
New member
I've seen several wild sps pieces with zoanthids growing on them but that doesn't mean that this is ideal.
IMO, you can readily grow both in the same system. However, a system that is optimal for SPS corals is normally not optimal for soft corals and vice versa. Both can be kept alive in different nutrient levels but the growth rate will differ.
IMO, you can readily grow both in the same system. However, a system that is optimal for SPS corals is normally not optimal for soft corals and vice versa. Both can be kept alive in different nutrient levels but the growth rate will differ.
completely agree with this... i keep zoas in my ULNS system with my sps... however, my zoas dont grow at nearly the rate that they are said to by most even though they look healthy and have great color... the jus dont take off as far as growth like they should imo... but i love'm and keep them anyhow lol
