The 5 Best Secrets to Growing Zoas

I was watching the video on growing Zoas from Fragbox Corals , and I was inspired to make a directory of all the zoas I have ever grown with my understanding of care tips for them. Zoas (Zoantharia also called Zoanthidea or Zoanthiniaria) is the catchall term used for our secret hunt today!

I plan to group them all in the way this video suggests, according to their fisual features, and see what kind of results we can derive! I will also use online data if care tips for a particular strain is given.

Criteria

So! Here we go! Zoas have the following areas that they differ:

Stem length – usually connected to light intensity needed
Stem absorption of sand particles – reportedly seen only in palythoa
Mat – some zoas have a connective mat that seems like GSP but is actually something many Palythoa do.
Size of head – sometimes affected by conditions in tank
Length of skirt
Stuby or pointy ends of the skirt parts (palythoa grandis is the only one I know that has both)
Skirt grabs possible foods or not
Colors
1. Mouth
2. Disc
3. Perimeter
4. Skirt

I will tag each characteristic for each Zoa I can describe…. and I hope to use your experience to add your care technique. You can add your experience below with a link to your profile where you present your tank to the world. Opinions without a link will be considered anecdotal, and opinions with a link will be mentioned in the bibliography of each polyp.

Generar Caretips on Growing Zoas – FAQ

Do I have to feed Zoas?

No! They will survive with adequate lights. Feeding will help their coloring ang growth though.

How do I feed Zoas?

2 ways. Broadcast feeding and target feeding, they both work. Some Zoas like Palythoa are more receptive to target feeding meaty foods and some are less, like button polyps.

Do Zoas need high circulation?

Not really, if you do not have medium circulation you might need to manually blow detritus off their base before it builds up.

How much light do zoanthids need?

Not much. They can cope with anything other than shade. 50 PAR is the minimum. The maximum is really a matter of acclimating them to high PAR, but they will probably tolerate up to 150 PAR without much acclimation.