Zoanthid Garden - your perfect setup

[Strider85]

I have an extra 40 breeder and 29gal sump I just set up and cycled. Wanting to do exclusively palys/zoas.

I have a 4-bulb Aquatic Life over it, that I'll be putting 3 ATI Blue +'s in, and 1 ATI Aqua Blue Special.

As of now I will not have a skimmer on the system, but purely a bag of carbon or a reactor with carbon, and extra live rock in the refugium.

What would you do for:

1) CUC
2) Inhabitants fish and otherwise
3) Dosing/feeding?

Looking for ideas, thanks in advance to all who lend a thought or two!

Chris

 

[Strider85]

Okay, if that question was too complicated:sad2:, let's try this:

What FISH would you put in a paly-only tank? Beautiful wrasses, small reef-safe angels, etc...

I've currently got 20+ colonies I'm going to move into the tank to quarantine and dose some FE, but I'm going to keep them in here and make it a cool separate zoa/paly only look.
Have thought about just a CBS, a wrasse of some sort and a TINY tang... just looking for more ideas.

Dosing I plan on using Seachem Calcium and Carbonates, as well as their pH buffer and Mg.

 

[cody6766]

CUC: Same as I use in every tank. For your 40br
---2 turbo snails
---4-5 astrea snails
---4-5 nassarius snails
---1 fighting conch

Other critters:
5 small'ish fish
A goby (I have a YWG that I'm fond of)
a yellow coris wrasse (good for flatworm control and motion)
MAYBE a flame angel, but they're pretty large
Jawfish or firefish are great if you have a top.

Dosing/feeding
Standard 2 part as needed. Feed the fish as required.

An all zoanthid tank is nothing cosmic. Just pick some fish you like and press on. I have a 40 breeder and like having 4-5 small fish. They don't take away from the coral but add a lot of movement to the tank. It keeps it more of a reef tank than a fish tank.

 

[aquaph8]

In a 40 breeder I would do the following.
CUC-same as above sounds good
Fish- a few small gobies, a pair of fire fish, couple flasher wrasses
Dosing- Just two part is fine

I would stear clear of anything like tangs cause they get way too big and make way too big of a mess. I also like to avoid angels with zoas cause there's always a chance. Go with small but very impactful fish. They make less mess and you will need that without a skimmer. Lastly I would really consider using a skimmer. I know people say that Zoa's like dirty water but I dont buy into that. I say feed a lot and skim a lot. Goodluck and be sure to share what you come up with.

 

[cody6766]

Oh, as far as feeding, I forgot to mention, my Zs and Ps like cyclopeze and coral frenzy. They grab flake food too

 

[Strider85]

I tossed some monti's in as well, in case I missed any of the monti-eaters doing ReVive dips. They should get along okay from what I've read... no chemical warfare, etc...

 

[Ethan_W]

i would prefer to stay away from angels. i had an angel who nipped at my zoas a lot and even picked a number off the rock.

as far as cuc i would say no turbos, they just bulldoze everything. i like trocus snails. they sleep all day and eat all night. they dont get any bigger than a quarter and they eat a lot. 15-20

also nassarius for scavengers.

and no tangs in 40g breeders

 

[Ethan_W]

from what i hear fighting conchs need at least 100g worth of room to supply enough food for 1

 

[Strider85]

I've had a small fighting conch in my 75 for a long time, he does really well in there. Also, I have an Atlantic Blue tang the size of a quarter reserved at my LFS... Was planning on putting him in there for awhile.

If I go an alternate route from a tang, what will keep my rocks cleaned off of any and all algae the way my yellow and my scopas do in my other tanks?

 

[aquaph8]

A small Conch Snail will be fine for a long time as long as their is enough food for it. Besides when it gets too big or needs to be moved its not that hard to catch. The blue tang in a 40 gallon is just really a bad idea. That fish grows really fast and gets way too big to even consider putting in a 40 gallon. Find a nice blenny to control algae or just use snails.

 

[Gamepro_inc]

My tailspot blenny is my fav and keeps rocks clean of algea. then a melanrus wrasse or yellow coris, no tangs, perhaps some type of cardinal, or hawk fish. I also like the red scotter dragonet.

CUC as mentioned above but no conch, or turbos.
I would do alot of nassarius with some fine grain sand. Also I like the yellow coral banded b/c they dont get as big as the reg coral banded or as mean. depending on where you are putting the zoes i might do a sand sifting star to or maybe a sea cucumber. I would do 2 part and possible vit C

 

[jeff@zina.com]

Awww... Who could resist a pair of clowns...?

Jeff

 

[cody6766]

from what i hear fighting conchs need at least 100g worth of room to supply enough food for 1

I kept one in my 33g for over a year and my 40g for several months. I feed pretty heavy, but nothing crazy.

 

[Strider85]

So, here's the tank before the light bulb change. 3 AquaticLife 420s and 1 AquaticLife 10k. Gag.

Mind you, this was with only the actinics on.

Now, this is after putting 3 ATI Blue +'s and 1 Aqua Blue Special in. This pic is full lights.


Untitled by Strider85, on Flickr

 

[Strider85]

Haven't really done much dosing-wise. Threw in a peppermint to eat aiptasia and some turbos to keep algae in check until I get some sort of blenny. I might post some colony pics over the next few days.

 

[Strider85]

And my paly-zoa only idea went to hell... threw in montis but I think they are leaving soon.

 

[bychance]

Garden looks nice Strider85

 

[I_B_Ken]

I like the pally/zoa idea, but yeah, you have to throw some montis or something else in. Looks great with the new lights, can't wait to see it.

 

[Strider85]

Might throw the leftover acans I have in there... thought I had only bland ones left but then I replaced the lights on my frag tank and there were some HOTTIES in there! Gonna try to grow them out amidst the zoas. Monties might be going back to my display, not sure yet.

 

[Ketchup]

Love the idea of a zoas garden Keep sharing with us the photos/updates.