I have a question. When I feed, I regularly squirt the frozen foods right into my Palys and Zoos. That general area of my tank, Everything, SPS/LPS/Zoos/Palys has grown much better ! To the point that it has become noticeable. The zoos never close-up, but the Palys wrap around the food and struggle to keep it from being snatched by a fish /crab/snail, etc. These Paly's are nearing 1" in dia. Do the zoos not behave like the Palys ??? The Palys are nearly 2 X in size already.
Zoos vs Palys ???
- Thread starter Curtis1
- Start date
A. Grandis
Active member
Actually most of the large zoanthids that people call "palys" are Zoanthus gigantus (PE). Some of them are really Palythoa spp. though (not PE).
Zoanthus gigantus are the PE (People Eaters), and they normally have those green lines when they close. They also normally don't have any grain of sand attached to their structure. The skirts are round, most of the time, except when they are under strong current, when they develop a longer, many times pointed, skirt where the current is touching them. Their mouths are also green, like the lines.
Palythoa spp. have a faster reaction to food particles, but that doesn't mean that Zoathus spp. aren't going to feed.
What I suggest is to feed them at night, if they are open. Not all species of Zoanthus open at nigh at all times too, so...
The reason to feed them at night is to avoid the fishes to steal the food from them.
Turn off all the pumps and let the food particle drop on them.
You don't have to squirt the food on the zoas! They will open their mouths gradually and feed on the particles, if the food is of the zoas' interest!!!
Zoanthids need to be fed food particles according to their size and type.
Best foods are dry coral foods like Reef Roids and Reef Chilli type of foods, and most species of zoas will be happy with them.
More here:
Article on zoanthids feeding behavior.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2180156
What was the best additive or food you offer to your zoa tank?
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1814212
Artificial food study for corals.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2167572
Hope that helps!
Have fun!
Grandis.
Zoanthus gigantus are the PE (People Eaters), and they normally have those green lines when they close. They also normally don't have any grain of sand attached to their structure. The skirts are round, most of the time, except when they are under strong current, when they develop a longer, many times pointed, skirt where the current is touching them. Their mouths are also green, like the lines.
Palythoa spp. have a faster reaction to food particles, but that doesn't mean that Zoathus spp. aren't going to feed.
What I suggest is to feed them at night, if they are open. Not all species of Zoanthus open at nigh at all times too, so...
The reason to feed them at night is to avoid the fishes to steal the food from them.
Turn off all the pumps and let the food particle drop on them.
You don't have to squirt the food on the zoas! They will open their mouths gradually and feed on the particles, if the food is of the zoas' interest!!!
Zoanthids need to be fed food particles according to their size and type.
Best foods are dry coral foods like Reef Roids and Reef Chilli type of foods, and most species of zoas will be happy with them.
More here:
Article on zoanthids feeding behavior.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2180156
What was the best additive or food you offer to your zoa tank?
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1814212
Artificial food study for corals.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2167572
Hope that helps!
Have fun!
Grandis.
A. Grandis
Active member
I'm not da man! :worried: We are all part of it! :beer:
We keep learning from others and own experiences every day...
Good to share... :reading:
To add a bit more...
So, PE is a large Zoanthus sp. It reacts to food particles faster than the other smaller Zoanthus spp. People think they are a Palythoa sp., but they're not.
The smaller species of Zoanthus (medium, small and "tiny" sizes) are slower to grab the food. To the naked eye they don't seem to grab anything.
Well, they won't grab a food particle much bigger than their mouth anyways!! Like a mysid, of e.g..
So if you offer those smaller dry coral foods (or better, powder) with a good taste they will probably ingest.
Try and you'll see what I'm talking about.
I don't think only smaller Hawaiian zoanthus spp. do that. They all should do... Give them some time to act with the pumps off and no fishes to get their food!
It's good to hear that people actually notice the difference after feeding the zoas. That is a fact! :thumbsup:
Hope others would keep enriching this thread...
Cheers!
Grandis.
We keep learning from others and own experiences every day...
Good to share... :reading:
To add a bit more...
So, PE is a large Zoanthus sp. It reacts to food particles faster than the other smaller Zoanthus spp. People think they are a Palythoa sp., but they're not.
The smaller species of Zoanthus (medium, small and "tiny" sizes) are slower to grab the food. To the naked eye they don't seem to grab anything.
Well, they won't grab a food particle much bigger than their mouth anyways!! Like a mysid, of e.g..
So if you offer those smaller dry coral foods (or better, powder) with a good taste they will probably ingest.
Try and you'll see what I'm talking about.
I don't think only smaller Hawaiian zoanthus spp. do that. They all should do... Give them some time to act with the pumps off and no fishes to get their food!
It's good to hear that people actually notice the difference after feeding the zoas. That is a fact! :thumbsup:
Hope others would keep enriching this thread...
Cheers!
Grandis.
A. Grandis
Active member
You won't need to feed them too much and you can offer food once a week only, please remember.
Their guts are small!! They only can fit some of the food inside to digest anyway.
Quality is better than quantity!!!!
Don't pollute your system!
They could change to more vivid colors and/or grow/reproduce more often, depending on the species.
Normally one could see results after the first feeding already.
If you want you could take pictures before/after to compare. :thumbsup:
Grandis.
Their guts are small!! They only can fit some of the food inside to digest anyway.
Quality is better than quantity!!!!
Don't pollute your system!
They could change to more vivid colors and/or grow/reproduce more often, depending on the species.
Normally one could see results after the first feeding already.
If you want you could take pictures before/after to compare. :thumbsup:
Grandis.
A. Grandis
Active member
:thumbsup:
You're very welcome!
Grandis.
You're very welcome!
Grandis.
