What's the best food for zoas?

[Mordoff]

Hey guys I'm trying to make my little 10 gallon a zoa/paly dominated reef and I was just wondering what you guys think is the best food/additive for zoa growth and color? Thanks for the input.

 

[scubakid3]

I use cyclop-eeze and target feed with a turkey baster. You can also melt a cube of mysis in a cup of water and take the water from that and spray the zoas with the water.

 

[andrenym00]

I use cyclop-eeze and target feed with a turkey baster. You can also melt a cube of mysis in a cup of water and take the water from that and spray the zoas with the water.

Which cyclop-eeze? Freeze dried or frozen?

 

[650-IS350]

Zoanthids feed both by photosynthesis, aided by the zooxanthellae they contain, and by capturing plankton and particulate matter. Although photosynthesis aids in their nutrition, even species that do not actively capture plankton cannot live through photosynthesis alone.[19] Zoanthids can eat meaty foods, such as lancefish, brine shrimp, krill and bloodworms[cit

 

[AkumaZeto]

I have given mine small chunks of mysis before.

 

[650-IS350]

it just depends if the Z's and P's exhibit prey catching ability and not just closing from blowing water at it.

 

[MUCHO REEF]

Hey guys I'm trying to make my little 10 gallon a zoa/paly dominated reef and I was just wondering what you guys think is the best food/additive for zoa growth and color? Thanks for the input.

Hello Mordoff, I would caution you to be very dilligent with a 10 gallon system when it comes to external/secondary feeding.

1. I would first ask how many zoas and palys are you adding?

2. How mature is the new system?

3. What else is going into this tank?

4. Any fish, if so, which ones?

5. Frozen Cyclop-eez is better than dried.

6. What type of lighting do you have? This is just, if not more important than feeding.

7. There is some debate on this, but zoas do not consume phytoplankton, they consume zooplankton.

8. As Chuck said, some exhibit a pray/capture behavior and some do not. There is absolutely no need by the way to feed everyday. If your tank is mature, good parameters, good lighting, moderate to slightly higher current and a small fish or two, you won't need to do much feeding and I would never advise doing so with a 10 gallon tank.


If you feed too much, the wrong foods and at the wrong intervals, you are going to have issues once any uneaten live/meaty foods etc began to
settle behind your reef and decay.


Good luck and I hope this helps.

Mucho Reef