Ok, got my first zoos... now what do I do? :)

[NeveSSL]

Hi all!

I just got my first frags of zoos at my local reef club's last meeting. They did a zoo frag demonstration and all paid members got to go home with a frag or two for free.

What do you guys do you with your frags?

Personally, I'm not sure if i want to take some of the loose ones and put them on a rock to propogate or leave them on the little frag pieces they're already on.

What do you guys do? I would like to give them somewhere to grow, but how would I do that? I've got three pieces. Two of them are smaller rocks cut off of the "mother rock", if you will, and the other is a piece of rock glued to a frag disk. Right now I just have them sitting on some of my LR. How can I get them somewhere they can grow? Should I glue the rocks they're already on to my LR in my tank where I want them? Or maybe should I wait until I get some more corals before deciding a more permanent place?

Thanks for the tips!

Brandon

 

[gflat65]

Hey Brandon. Welcome to Club Zoa.

First, always inspect and/or dip. I use a fairly strong Lugol's dip. The Critter or EBay should have some Lugol's. In RO water that has been floated in the tank that the zoas are going into (to get temp stability), drop the Lugo's in (recommended on Mucho's original thread was something like 3-5 drops per gallon, but I find myself going much higher). I typically run about 5 drops per half gallon. Let sit for 15 minutes. Swish and swirl the frag to knock loose any potential critters (spiders, nudi's). Inspect along the stalks of the polyps for egg strings and critters. I use a toothpick to remove eggs. It's a PITA, but worth it to avoid nudi's in the display.

As for attaching, get some of the dried reef rock that the Critter has (Sean might have some too) and hammer it into 'the right sized pieces' for what you have (varies based on tank size and intentions, but I usually go with about 1" chunks). Put a liberal amount of super glue gel where you want the zoas, pull the zoas and blot them on a paper towel and dip in the glue. It certainly doesn;t hurt to return to the water immediately after gluing, but you have a little time before they have to be back in the water (obviously, the sooner, the better). Water will help skin over the glue. Glue heats up as it cures, so the water also helps cool to some degree. I usually let the zoas get used to the tank and recover from the dip at the bottom of the tank. Once they are open and seem happy, I'll move them around, giving them time to settle in. A small dab of glue on the bottom of the spacer rock usually gives enough bit to temporarily hold it in a given location. Once you know they like the spot, make it permanent with a little more super glue gel (done out of tank-the tip dries up on the tube just about every time if you glue in the water). HTH.

 

[IBMGeek]

When you dip them does that remove the algae as well or just nudies and spiders etc..?

 

[sr71]

Hey IBM i dipped them and the only thing I found was some nasty worms.

Yes dipping will kill nudies and spider but won't get rid of algae, your clean up crew will do it for you.

 

[143gadgets]

Take pics of them, post the pics, if they are super nice, send them to me.

 

[IBMGeek]

Good, ill dip the one i have later.

 

[reefermadness]

Start them at the bottom with no lights. Every week or so raise them closer to the light. Usually works for me. Good Luck, don't get addicted to all the colors available, especially on this site. I think between everyone here, we have them all.:marv