Zoa mixing- Bloodsuckers and Vulcans? Also, candy apples.

[Tired]

I got a nice mixed frag with a couple of Bloodsucker polyps and about 10 Vulcans on it. Could these get along as a mixed colony, or is one going to overrun the other? I know you can sometimes check growth rate by looking at per-polyp price, but I can't find either of these for sale right now.

Also, will candy apple greens and candy apple pinks work mixed? Do they get to the same polyp size and grow at the same rate, or do they have differences other than just color?

Will probably keep this open to ask about some others once they come in.

 

[RedFrog211]

Unfortunately I don’t have any candy apples or Vulcans- IME, bloodsuckers have pretty average growth rate, and I haven’t heard of anyone’s tank being overtaken by any of these, so I’d say it’s a safe bet!

 

[Reefing_addiction]

@footgal cuz idk

 

[Stuartmercer]

@footgal cuz idk

When in doubt, @ the footgal

 

[Reefing_addiction]

When in doubt, @ the footgal

I truly feel like I tag her SOO often it’s crazy

 

[Tired]

While we're at it, I'd also like to know about the full polyp size and growth rates of Solar Flares, Frozen Apple zoas, and Lemon Twist palys. The first is one I have in, the second two haven't been shipped yet. And I'm told Nirvanas grow fast, is this right?

 

[footgal]

Hey! Okay lots of questions here. I’ll try to answer them as best I can.

I always recommend you keep zoas separate. One can over grow the other, if one gets ticked off (which may happen for no reason) then the other can overgrow it even though normally they grow at the same rate. If you have the means, keep a pure frag of each zoa then you can make a mixed zoa rock without risking any of your zoas to the warfare that comes with doing that. You can do this easily by making a 1-3 polyp frag and sticking it on a frag rack, this way you also have a culture that you can periodically cut and sell/trade for some extra cash since the zoas you mentioned are relatively expensive.

Solar Flares (these are pretty uncommon, do you mean Sonic Flares?) are normal zoa sized (about 6p fits on a frag plug) grow at a normal rate- about 2 babies per adult polyp per month at least for me.

Frozen apples are slightly larger than normal but nowhere near grandis size, more like a grande about 4-5 per frag plug. I can’t speak for the growth rate since I don’t have them but I’ve heard it’s pretty good, much like an utter chaos.

Lemon Twist are a specialty zoa from TSA and I haven’t seen them for sale for a while. They are similar to Beauty and the Beast zoas except they’re orange and green. Did you actually get your hands on these or are you talking about Citrus Twist?

You’re correct, nirvanas grow incredibly fast. Similar to pandoras in size and growth rate

 

[Tired]

The Bloodsuckers and Vulcans look really nice next to each other, is the thing. I might risk it, with these two- the price I got them for would have been a decent price for either zoa, so if one winds up overwhelming the other, it's not too big of a loss. Maybe I can use strategic putty barriers (and removal of encrusted putty) to steer one of them into growing to one side, and the other to the other side, so they spread away from each other instead of staying entangled.
I'll keep my others largely separate.

Apparently I do mean Sonic Flares, my bad. These are really pretty, I hope they do well for me. I'm trying to find a good spot for them right up near the front of the tank for best viewing.

I did get the TSA Lemon Twists! Grabbed some during their live sale. They (and the Beauty and the Beasts) look like a different species than a lot of others, so that's cool. I'm trying to figure out what they'll look good next to. I'll have to see the color in person. TSA seems better than some about enhancing the color in their pics, but I'm curious what that orange will turn out to be under my lights.

Maybe I'll put the Nirvanas on a plug on the sand. Pretty much all the pictures of them online look pretty heavily photoshopped, so I don't know what they look like, but they were a $5 deal and I figured it was worth a shot.

Thanks for the answers! I'm sure you get about a million questions, since people seem to tag you in every zoa thread ever, and I really appreciate the time to answer them.

 

[Daniel92481]

Nirvanas here. No photoshop. HTH!

 

[Tired]

Interesting photograph, almost looks watercolored. That does help some, thanks.

 

[footgal]

The Bloodsuckers and Vulcans look really nice next to each other, is the thing. I might risk it, with these two- the price I got them for would have been a decent price for either zoa, so if one winds up overwhelming the other, it's not too big of a loss. Maybe I can use strategic putty barriers (and removal of encrusted putty) to steer one of them into growing to one side, and the other to the other side, so they spread away from each other instead of staying entangled.
I'll keep my others largely separate.

Apparently I do mean Sonic Flares, my bad. These are really pretty, I hope they do well for me. I'm trying to find a good spot for them right up near the front of the tank for best viewing.

I did get the TSA Lemon Twists! Grabbed some during their live sale. They (and the Beauty and the Beasts) look like a different species than a lot of others, so that's cool. I'm trying to figure out what they'll look good next to. I'll have to see the color in person. TSA seems better than some about enhancing the color in their pics, but I'm curious what that orange will turn out to be under my lights.

Maybe I'll put the Nirvanas on a plug on the sand. Pretty much all the pictures of them online look pretty heavily photoshopped, so I don't know what they look like, but they were a $5 deal and I figured it was worth a shot.

Thanks for the answers! I'm sure you get about a million questions, since people seem to tag you in every zoa thread ever, and I really appreciate the time to answer them.

No problem! Happy to help hook me up with a Lemon Twist frag in a couple months! I love my beauty and the beast and I’d be happy to trade you. The Nirvana colony is purple with green skirts and that is a single polyp on a plug

 

[Tired]

Oh, those are pretty. Invasive or not, I'm definitely keeping mine. They can go in Naughty Coral Jail on the sandbed.

The Lemon Twist is only a couple of polyps, but I'll gladly trade you a frag when I have some spare. Does this type of zoa like to be fed? I could always take the LPS approach and cram it with food a couple times a week to get some nice growth, if it'll take mysis or reef roids. I always have a few bits of mysis left over after feeding my inverts.

 

[ReeferBean]

While we're at it, I'd also like to know about the full polyp size and growth rates of Solar Flares, Frozen Apple zoas, and Lemon Twist palys. The first is one I have in, the second two haven't been shipped yet. And I'm told Nirvanas grow fast, is this right?

I'm not familiar with Lemon Twist, but Frozen Apples grow much faster than Solar Flares for me.

 

[Chem1586]

I have found my nirvanas color up much better in high light.

 

[ReeferBean]

Nirvanas aren't bad looking, but they grow so fast I would not add them to my tank. They will grow much faster than others.

 

[Tired]

Yeah, I'm gonna stick 'em on their own little island in the sand. They can't overgrow anything that way. Then I can let them cover the plug and decide whether I want to keep them.

 

[footgal]

Oh, those are pretty. Invasive or not, I'm definitely keeping mine. They can go in Naughty Coral Jail on the sandbed.

The Lemon Twist is only a couple of polyps, but I'll gladly trade you a frag when I have some spare. Does this type of zoa like to be fed? I could always take the LPS approach and cram it with food a couple times a week to get some nice growth, if it'll take mysis or reef roids. I always have a few bits of mysis left over after feeding my inverts.

Mine seem to enjoy reefroids, it took about a month for them to settle in but after the first baby popped out, many more followed quickly

 

[Tired]

Excellent. I'll be sure to put these somewhere I can easily frag them, and will let you know when I have spares.

 

[blasterman]

Nirvanas got so out of hand at a local reef shop they literally gave them away for free. Reef manager was so sick of them she kalk pasted the rest.

They can be a bit picky with light. They need some stronger light to bring out their colors or they can look rather brown. Problem is they dont always acclimate to this and will stay pressed down on their rock if its too bright and stay small. If you can get them happy under brighter light where they can extend a bit they are stunning when they grow into a ball. Just....keep them on that rock.

 

[Tired]

The Bloodsuckers got crowded out. Oh well- I'm not sure I could have gotten them separated out anyway.

The Lemon Twists took forever to start growing, and are a bit slow about it for now. I think I need to tinker with their lighting, maybe. You're definitely still in for a frag once I have spare! Assuming it's not 95F any more.