Interesting Rasta Experiment

[MyOwnGrowOp]

I thought i would share this with all of you zoanthid lovers. A few months back i took a couple of frags off of my rasta colony and kept one of the frags of 3 polyps under very high light and flow. (about 3.5" from the surface of the water) Then, the other frag of 1 polyp we put right near the bottom about 10" from the surface of the water and in much lower flow. Over the last 3 months we have noticed a few things. The ones in higher light grew exponentially faster than the ones on the bottom (for obvious reasons). The other thing we noticed was the drastic colour differences between the two. The ones in higher light seemed to have lost almost all of their orange, only keeping a small ring of it, where as the ones in lower light gained more orange. Here is a picture of the 2 frags placed closer together. The frag on the top was the one kept in high light and high flow, and the bottom one was lower light lower flow. I thought this was interesting and figured i would share it with all of you! Thoughts?
http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/z399/SPRKSHO/A9E12B00-4CD8-451C-9ED5-1332CD4B09E0-269-0000001B5B738B8C_zps5f58c89b.jpg?t=1385001892

[Boston21]

Thanks for sharing this, might have to get a magnetic frag rack for my Zoa's now :) Iv always thought they wouldn't accept that intense of light (400+ par maybe?)

[aandfsoccr04]

That's really interesting. Often times zoas and palys are found in very shallow light and can handle intense lighting. I have a magnetic frag rack about 4 inches under the surface that is full of zoas and palys all doing great!

[JustClownin]

I'm going to have to try this with my Rastas and see if I get the same results. I like growth, but I like the coloration from the one you left in lower light.

[Bigcefa]

Perfect example of what different light and flow conditions can do to corals , very cool thanks for sharing

[zoafarm]

This is very interesting with Rastas. I've noticed the opposite with Purple and Blue Hornets in my tank. Under intense light they tend to close up, but under less intense light (particular Blue light) they full open and have started putting out babies.

This might turn into a great thread if others started sharing their experiences. Thank you for sharing your observation.

[Boston21]

I put a red Zoa frag about 4-5 inches higher in my tank today, seemed to like the light fine. I hope it grows a little faster.

[RastaFan]

Nice experiment, i put mine sandbed on a 24" height tank, med flow, i noticed that the growth is very gradual but the colors are awesome, I also noticed that the size is not as big as the ordinary rastas

i might frag a 2 or 3 and put in a higher spot and see what happens

thanks for sharing this :)

[chill86]

It depends on the k rating too. If you have 20k you will see more color and less growth. If you have 10k you get more growth and less color. I run a 20k 400w mh and my rastas are about 6" deep.
http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y538/montiman1/CAM00534_zpsdd833830.jpg

[SantaMonica]

Nice.

Similar to what I've done whenever I got something new; I'd get several small pieces of the same thing and place them at different places, and whichever one did better, I'd move the others to that spot.

[MyOwnGrowOp]

Thanks for sharing this, might have to get a magnetic frag rack for my Zoa's now :) Iv always thought they wouldn't accept that intense of light (400+ par maybe?)
You know, i have never actually tested the PAR ratings, but it is a Radion Pro with a TIR lens kit on it

I'm going to have to try this with my Rastas and see if I get the same results. I like growth, but I like the coloration from the one you left in lower light.
If you do this, keep me posted on if you have similar results

Perfect example of what different light and flow conditions can do to corals , very cool thanks for sharing
I thought so too! Perfectly shows how some corals will adapt to survive

This is very interesting with Rastas. I've noticed the opposite with Purple and Blue Hornets in my tank. Under intense light they tend to close up, but under less intense light (particular Blue light) they full open and have started putting out babies.

This might turn into a great thread if others started sharing their experiences. Thank you for sharing your observation.
I agree with you and i actually had a similar observation with my purple hornets... The deeper i keep them, the more they colour up and grow, and if i try to put them higher, they slam shut! I also have noticed with my hornets, that the more blue the light is that they are getting, the more the alternating skirt jumps out at you. If i keep them under a more white light for a while, almost all the tentacles will go one colour

[Boston21]

You know, i have never actually tested the PAR ratings, but it is a Radion Pro with a TIR lens kit on it


If you do this, keep me posted on if you have similar results


I thought so too! Perfectly shows how some corals will adapt to survive


I agree with you and i actually had a similar observation with my purple hornets... The deeper i keep them, the more they colour up and grow, and if i try to put them higher, they slam shut! I also have noticed with my hornets, that the more blue the light is that they are getting, the more the alternating skirt jumps out at you. If i keep them under a more white light for a while, almost all the tentacles will go one colour

Yeah, most people dont have access to a par meter and just gauge it by what the manual says as a estimation, I'v also seen diagram's for par ratings of LED's on this forum before I think. I think the max par rating my TaoTronic's outputs was at like the immediate surface of the water (light distance of 6 inches from water) and that was near 400 if I remember correctly. Not quite sure though as this is all from memory and I havent been able to find the manual anywhere when I last looked for it.

[imsalty]

Thanks for sharing.

[rizon25]

I keep mine on the bottom under LEDs.

[Boston21]

Someone wanna frag me off a chunk :) haha but no really, pm me if someone is trying to get rid of a head.