Zoa Size Difference

[ilikefish69]

1) My mandarin orange zoa frag that had 17 polyps on it SPROUTED it's 18th polyp yesterday. I am a coral farmer, officially. I will take all the positive reinforcement you want to give me. I mean come on, I deserve it. I FARMED a zoa polyp.

2) I have a frag with 13 Utter Chaos zoa polyps. The polyps are about 3x the diameter of the mandarin orange, with less polyps so it can't be an age thing.

Can I expect different colonies of zoas to produce different sized polyps? I think it might look neat to have big zoas next to other big zoas and then a little baby zoa colony?

 

[SchrutesReefs]

Yes. Each morph will do it’s own thing, I believe based off lighting, water quality, etc. I have 2 plugs of fruit loop zoas and they are diff sized polyps, bought from 2 diff sellers though.

 

[ilikefish69]

Love the profile pic. Aren't zoa names fun! lol.

LFS sold me the mandarins (so small)

Local reefer sold me the utter chaos (huge)

So my assumption is that with better water quality and lighting, the polyps would be larger? The local reefer had a pretty serious set up, made the LFS look pretty bad.

 

[SchrutesReefs]

Possibly. I have a frag plug with some utter chaos on it, the single polyp that was on it is a much diff size than the 4 additional ones that grew after being added.

 

[Gatorpa]

The prices for zoas are just stupid.
Funny how the hobby cycles through things.
Years ago they were a beginner corals many didn’t give a crap for.
Perhaps that’s why they don’t do anything for me.

 

[ninjamyst]

Mandarins are fast growers and medium polyps. Utter chaos are big polyps. Show us some pics so we can tell if your mandarins are normal size. But they will never get as big as utter chaos

 

[ilikefish69]

Mandarins have sprouted probably 10 new polyps while the utter chaos just open fully every day and are HUGE.

I haven't yet spent more than $20 on a frag, and I doubt I will... kind of excited to have a full mixed reef tank full of cheap corals that still looks pretty. Would be kind of it's own sort of 'brag' lol

Is there a chart that highlights size/color/growth rate for zoas? I'd like to purchase a couple fast growing polyps and put them all on a rock and have them fight for real estate. Would be awesome!

 

[ninjamyst]

Mandarins have sprouted probably 10 new polyps while the utter chaos just open fully every day and are HUGE.

I haven't yet spent more than $20 on a frag, and I doubt I will... kind of excited to have a full mixed reef tank full of cheap corals that still looks pretty. Would be kind of it's own sort of 'brag' lol

Is there a chart that highlights size/color/growth rate for zoas? I'd like to purchase a couple fast growing polyps and put them all on a rock and have them fight for real estate. Would be awesome!

not a chart but in my experience, the cheaper they are they faster they grow.

Some notable colorful fast growers:
King Midas, Scramble Egg, Rasta, Rainbow Hornet, Bam Bam, Watermelon, Eagle Eyes

Some notable fast growers to AVOID (because they are ugly and will take over everything):
Nirvana, purple death, gold and pink...pretty much any palys

 

[ilikefish69]

I plan on avoiding palys as they seem to excrete a higher dose of toxin. Last thing I need is a hospital trip to solidify wife’s despise of my hobby lol.

seems kind of backwards (from consumer perspective) the faster growing ones would be more expensive but I guess they’re easier to drag and replicate.
I really do appreciate the time spent on the fast growing list, I have something to occupy my time this afternoon at work! Lol