Zoas

Hey guys, just wanted to give an update on the tank. Added a zoa colony a couple of days ago and they're looking great!! They're at the top of the tank, medium flow and are open all the way. They're really looking fantastic.

They have yellow/orangish mouths, purple/cream disks and reddish "fingers" with green tips. The main bodies are purple and green. They have the frilly tentacles too, the ones that kind of curl. I'll have pictures ASAP this time, LOL.

 

Sound very nice, bring on the pics ...

 

So, basic zoa feeding question. I'm sure it's been covered a million times but I have to make this 1 million and 1. My lights aren't the best. 2x36 watt fluorescent 10,000k daylight bulbs, 1x420 actinic. I've been target feeding them periodically and just want to know if what I'm doing is ok. All the mouths are very small so I've been taking live phyto and pretty much basting the colony and trying my best to feed small brine with some forceps? Is that ok?? I know they probably won't eat much of the phyto but hey, it's good for the copepods and duster as well, lol.

 

I don't feed mine at all, well intentionally. I use Rod's Food to feed my tank. I'm sure the zoas catch some stuff but it really isn't necessary since they're primarily photosynthetic. Some zoas with longer tentacles seem to be more carnivorous than others. A simple way to tell is if it'll readily accept food, then feed it every now and then.

I've heard of people having success with cyclopleeze.

 

Same here, and my zoas look great and have multiplied quite a bit.

 

Thanks guys. I just wanted to ask because I have sub-par lighting. They're looking great, nice bright coloration, but I wanted to be sure. They are the long tentacle type.

 

where are they!!

 

You can try fine foods like chopped up mysis/cyclopeeze/reef chili as well. Although I wouldn't go too crazy on the feeding personally, that's just lots of extra nutrients going into the tank.