Acan and Zoa question

I have ordered a couple of Zoa's and an Acan. I have read that these two corals play very nicely together and can be put 'next' to each other.

The frags I ordered are going to be very tiny I'm sure - probably on the order of <1cm.

My question is, with acans and zoa's, how close (or far apart) should I place them so that once they grow into pretty colonies they'll be next to each other without crowding out each other?

Or do they not crowd each other out and can be placed right next to each other and they'll mix?

Thanks

 

Im not exactly sure as to your question, but what did you order?

 

This is the Acan I ordered (and the place) Vivid Aquariums - Buy Online - Fish Store in Los Angeles - Buy Santas Aussie Acan (Acanthastrea lordhowensis) - Two Polyps:

In the description area it says:

Acans will not sting each other and can be kept close to most types of zoanthids. Their tentacles do not extend over 1" so they are not usually a threat to other corals in the aquarium.

The Zoa's I'm placing next to this is AoG. I also ordered Eagle Eye Zoa's.

 

You picked some really nice frags, I was actually torn between the eagle eye and the armor of god, I ended up choosing the latter. Anyways, I would take into consideration that the zoas will grow much faster then the acans, so it may be hard to judge how far apart to place them, unless you want to define the border by placing them right next to each other and have them grow in opposite directions. Although if you do this, they may grow around the acan. Your best bet would be to place one of the corals and then get a small rock, about the size you want the final colony to be and attach one of the frags to that rock so you can just place the rock where you want it.

 

Zoos will try to smother other corals by overgrowth, LPS such as Acanthastrea will attack by sweeper tentacles. Granted acan. lowdhowensis, aka acan lords aren't overtly aggressive acan. echinata are a different story. I would regardless of lord or echinata put them at least a few inches away from the zoos to prevent the zoos from trying to overgrow them right off the bat. Let them get established before they start going to "war". The two corals you purchased grow fast and are easy to frag so pass it on!

Happy reefing!

 

yeah dont let anything get too close to your acan. The zoas will grow faster but you also want the acan to have room to grow.

When you get your acan start feeding it right away and it will grow a lot faster. My acan lords I give pieces of krill to a couple times a week..they gobble it up fast. If your acan will not take the krill right away (I found most of the acans are on the verge of starving when we get them) turn off pumps and target feed mysis. Once you are getting a good feeding response to that then start adding krill. You will have many new polyps in no time!

 

I just went back and read the description of the acans....they are feeding it mysis already so I bet you can go ahead and start feeding it krill. My acans are all about 2.5cm when opened.

But like it said becareful with what you have around it. I had placed my largest colony (about 60-70 polyps) on the sand because I have MH and the color was bleaching a bit. My urchin knocked my carefully placed hydnophora down on top of it Friday and now about 30 polyps are dead.

 

Thanks for the input folks. It really helps.

I plan on putting the AoG and Acan Lord about 4-6 inches apart (acan on a rock that's on top of a rock I'll put the AoG on). The Eagle Eye will go a ways off to the left by itself.

Thanks to GuitarMan for the store recommendation - I really like that website setup.

The Eagle Eye 'small' has about a dozen polyps and the small GoD comes at 2 polyps. Just FYI.

Also, if you're at all following this thread - I also ordered a bubble, torch, and long tentacle plate. I have nice (and safe) spots picked out for these before I ordered them ;D

Pics will go to my tank thread once I get them. Thanks again for the advice.

 

sweet looking acans, they look so cool when they inflate. plus you dont want to lose them cause they are pricey so give them room to open and be happy. but nice pick

 

I've always been interested by acanathastrea. they're so expensive!!