Weary of buying one polyp!!!

[TheNowMovement]

So, im totally in love with some of the high end zoas and palys ive been seeing for sale lately... but the thing is, Im not sure i wanna spend 70+ dollars for a polyp without knowing that it will continue to reproduce in the tank...

From your guys' experience, how well do these one polyp frags grow out? are there some that grow faster than others?

I really dont mind buying one and letting it grow to a colony, i just dont wanna have a lone polyp for months sitting on a frag plug on the bottom of my tank! :bigsmile:

 

[DFW]

My experience is that 2, or 3 polyp frags have a higher survival rate than 1 polyp fragments.

 

[Rob Top1]

I feel your pain!
Personally I have found a lot of those that have high end per polyp Zoas will cut a deal on two. Instead of $70 for one maybe $110 for two. Hedge my bets so to speak. Some do grow faster than others. Price is sometimes a clue. High price slow growth low price fast grower. Not always the case though. Key is to either trust your seller or their feedback. If its a seller on the boards with out a lot of feedback talk with them and get a feel. Heathy poylps tend to grow faster. If you are getting a single poylp ask about the colony, maybe get a colony shot. How long ago was it fragged make sure its well healed, week to 10 days.
There will always be losses and some just don't grow well in certain tanks. I can't keep utter chaos but rasta and sunny d grow like weeds.
Hope that helps.
What polyp are you thinking about

 

[RKLion]

They do grow quickly in the right conditions. I have grown many colonies from a single polyp. If you like a specific polyp I say go for it. Be careful with it and glue it down if it's going into a display setup and you will get a few more polyps in no time!...

 

[joshporksandwich]

My experience is 1 polyp frags will grow faster than 2-3 polyp frags. What you need to make sure is that the frag is fully healed. 1 or 50 polyps will survive the same if they're properly healed. Make sure you ask how long has the frag been healed for. Do not buy frags that have not been healed at least 2-3 weeks. Fresh cuts will have a lower survival rate once you stress it even more by shipping it.

 

[TheNowMovement]

lol... *shakes head* for some things in this hobby i wish things were more clear cut with consensus! I appreciate all your input for sure... I just wish there was advice that works for everyone! From what I gather, its a little bit of a gamble...

As for what zoas and palys ive been looking at... I cant name just one! Planet zoa and Zoanthids.com have some awesome frags! and some are really pricey... I'd like to start a colony of some really nice looking palys on a bigger rock, but yeah... I just wanted to know what your experience was!

question: Do palys grow any faster than zoas? I'd like some palys to take over a bigger chunk of rock, but I dont know... I guess im a little impatient! I wanna see results sooner than later!

 

[akitareefer]

Single polyps allow us to get more variety for cheaper. If it's going to melt, I'd rather the damage be minimized to a single polyp. I've never had problem with healed single polyps, they grow just as fast

 

[joshporksandwich]

lol... *shakes head* for some things in this hobby i wish things were more clear cut with consensus! I appreciate all your input for sure... I just wish there was advice that works for everyone! From what I gather, its a little bit of a gamble...

As for what zoas and palys ive been looking at... I cant name just one! Planet zoa and Zoanthids.com have some awesome frags! and some are really pricey... I'd like to start a colony of some really nice looking palys on a bigger rock, but yeah... I just wanted to know what your experience was!

question: Do palys grow any faster than zoas? I'd like some palys to take over a bigger chunk of rock, but I dont know... I guess im a little impatient! I wanna see results sooner than later!

Every tank is different and sometimes something grows faster than other things. They both grow the same on most people tanks but palys will cover it faster since they're bigger. Start with sunny ds and rastas you can't gowrong there

 

[Wiz]

I would say by one polyp frags but two or three of them. that way you can try different spots in your tank without damaging the one polyp. It is always a process to find the right spot for me.

 

[buddythelion]

Buy 2 polyps and make them into 2 1p pieces.

But I agree with the above, I've experienced 1p pieces taking off much sooner than larger frags. But it all comes down to the health of the coral. If you can get WYSIWYG, look for a frag where the mat is already growing out, that's a good sign of growth!

As for palys or zoas growing faster, that's a really tough call to make. It depends on a lot of factors in your tank, but it also depends on the morph oddly enough. Some morphs are much slower growing than others while others just take off to the point of being invasive (i.e. my favorite zoa, pink and golds).

 

[joshporksandwich]

Buy 2 polyps and make them into 2 1p pieces.

But I agree with the above, I've experienced 1p pieces taking off much sooner than larger frags. But it all comes down to the health of the coral. If you can get WYSIWYG, look for a frag where the mat is already growing out, that's a good sign of growth!

As for palys or zoas growing faster, that's a really tough call to make. It depends on a lot of factors in your tank, but it also depends on the morph oddly enough. Some morphs are much slower growing than others while others just take off to the point of being invasive (i.e. my favorite zoa, pink and golds).

Thanks for blessing us with your presence pink and gold master!!!!!

 

[Big Larr]

I have one polyp of zoa hasn't grown a bit in six months when everything else showing good growth

 

[phillrodrigo]

They are all a a huge difference in growth rate. I grew one purple hornet into a few hundred in a year. But my rastas are pretty slow. Things like fang bangers and rainbow infusion grow pretty quick also. Rock starts were slow to start but are starting to take off.