zoa frag and water flow?

[jesse]

i have this zoa frag (my very first coral) for about 2 months going on to 3. it only had one head and now it has a smaller one opened up and a new one coming in. so im happy about that. is it growing at a good rate or is it slow.
any way my real question is about the flow. should i point the flow directed to the frag so it can have really strong flow hoping it will make it grow in some direction or is it bad?

oh and it seems to actually be brighter than before. good or bad

 

[hoopsdaddy]

growing and more colorful is what you want. you are doing great there. If you see growth stop and color fade, your bulbs have started to fade and you need to replace them. Great job, I know you are really wanting to do well with this hobby.
Also, don't point the flow directly at them. All corals like flow, but at different intensities. Think of it this way. You want the flow in your tank to create normal ocean conditions as much as possible. That is much more of a sway than a blast. You want surface ripples, corals swaying, and food not settling on the bottom of the tank.
Keep up the good work! Oh, and that zoa is happy. If you don't want if growing on to everything then make sure it cant reach adjacent rocks.

 

[jesse]

well as of now its on a piece of tile or something.(where it was fragged on) and it right in the center. i can put it anywhere and it wont be a problem because it is barley growing. how long do you think before the new head starts budding as well?

 

[jesse]

this is what i got. i hope you can see it because its my phone camera. i started with the bigger one and under it is a smaller one. what type of zoa is it? i heard lots of names

 

[yote]

Honestly,I wouldn't change anything.Like Hoops said,your doing it right and that's a good looking Zoa.It looks like it's healthy and the fact that it's spreading supports that.
Corals will grow and spread at different rates in different tanks.And if I was a betting man,I'd bet that it wont be long until you wish those Zoanthids would STOP spreading.

 

[Bifferwine]

The prettier the zoa, the slower they tend to grow. If yours is spreading, even a new polyp or two every month, that's a decent growth rate for that color. Remember, they will grow exponentially. If you start with one, and it makes one new polyp each month, each of those polyps will make one new polyp each month, then each of those will too. You will see a huge acceleration in growth the more you get. I agree with hoopsdaddy on the flow too.

 

[jesse]

so im guessing ill leave it where its at then... i checked an old pic and it defiantly looks brighter than before. is there a name to that color morph or not because i seen these cool looking ones called eagle eyes, im sure youve heard of it. does mine have a name or is it just read orange color looking zoa.

 

[yote]

Just call em Jesse's Orange Zoanthids.:D
The name of zoas depends a lot on who you ask. At the LFS we just call em what ever color they are.

 

[jesse]

Well actually my gf named it violet because it was really dark red when we first baught it so I'm guessing its good that it turned bright Orange if that's a good thing. I thought it was loosing color.

 

[yote]

Zoa's will do that sometimes. The change from the lights at the LFS to your lights.Change in water parameters.Sometimes the colors of the zoa's will darken and sometimes they'll lighten up.

 

[jesse]

So there is no way of telling if that's good or bad?

 

[Nimboli12]

Hoopsdaddy, thanks for that explanation of waterflow comparing it to the ocean. Think I'll do that today w/my 2 powerheads. Although with my 60 gal I know I need another powerhead.

 

[hoopsdaddy]

No problem. Hope your tanks do great!