Zoa vs Acan?

dwalampa · 02/27/2013, 09:44 PM

Hi all,

I picked up two polyps of pink zoas 2 months ago. Didn't take me long to notice there was another coral on the frag. Think the hitchhiker is an acan. The zoa grew, to 7 polyps, and the acan grew/recover as well. The acan is now out-competing the zoa. Already loss one polyp. Is there anything I can do to save the zoa? I'm new, never fragged anything before. Here are some pics. Many thanks in advance.

LadyQuorra · 02/27/2013, 10:29 PM

If your not down for fragging, you could maybe ask a local reef store to do you favor, maybe throw in like $5-$10 bucks, just a thought. or look up zoa and arcan fragging on YouTube and get a razor blade, gloves, some gel super glue and follow along.

Good luck

ChrisKey · 02/27/2013, 11:21 PM

Get some bone cutters or wire cutters and cut the frag plug in half. Don't be scared.

Michigan Mike · 02/27/2013, 11:55 PM

Zoas are tough and can usually take a knife easy enough. Chisel the rock between them, whatever.
The acans would eat small children if they could, they are always hungry, watch out & keep other corals away from them.

OregonReefer2 · 02/28/2013, 01:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michigan Mike

Zoas are tough and can usually take a knife easy enough. Chisel the rock between them, whatever.
The acans would eat small children if they could, they are always hungry, watch out & keep other corals away from them.

So true... I

Those zoas are a snack unless you separate them

coralsnaked · 02/28/2013, 10:16 AM

Acans don't really sting alot as other LPS corals but they will litterly consume the pink zoa polyps as food. I would frag them my self utilizing a zip rotory (Dremel) tool.

1. Remove frag from water and set on paper towl and cover will a non clear plastic bowl to subject it to total darkness for about 10 - 15 minutes. The polyps and acans will recede.

2. Using the riotory tool, score a line between the two about a 1/4 inch deep.

3. Place the sharp edge of chef's knife in the scored line and gently tap w/ a hammer until it fractures.

4. Whola two frags

I usually use a pair of channel locks to hold the coral while zip cutting as one little slip will cut the heck out of a finger. And be sure to hold w/ channel lock pliers on a hard surface when fracturing. Or as mentioned before I would let a local LFS do the cut. Personally I'd offer them a couple of bucks for the cut or the Acan and save those pink Zoas. Pink Zoas are a pretty hot color right now.

Merry Skerry

dwalampa · 02/28/2013, 10:32 AM

Yall r awesome! Thanks for all the responses. Will be separating the two. Fingers crossed!

dwalampa · 03/18/2013, 02:12 PM

Hey guys, just wanted to do an update to this thread. So I went ahead and fragged the pink zoa off of the rock. Didn't do anything fancy. Just a razor blade, gloves, and goggles. Didn't have any iodine to dip em with either. And the result.... "drum rolls".... Both corals survived! Thanks again for all the help! Hope this will help others one day.

Scraped off with a thin layer of rock, glued it to a rubble. Lost 2 heads, but 4 survived.

I missed a piece of the acan, it broke in half when I took the frag off of the main rock. Its coming back. Not next to any zoa this time though. Will decide what to do with it at a later time.

The acans.

ryeguyy84 · 03/18/2013, 02:38 PM

nice job. . . and kudos for using the proper safety gear.

ReyR · 10/28/2015, 01:00 PM

And definitely got a good deal..two coral for the price of one. Got a rock of eagle eye zoas once..within a month noticed something growing. Posted pictures. Everyone said it's aiptasia or majano. It didn't look like it or anything else I found online. So I waited and was patient. Low and behold...almost a year later it's grown into an awesome plate coral.

ReyR · 10/28/2015, 01:00 PM

And yes I know..this thread is old.

02/27/2013, 09:44 PM	#1
dwalampa Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Southern California Posts: 40	Zoa vs Acan? Hi all, I picked up two polyps of pink zoas 2 months ago. Didn't take me long to notice there was another coral on the frag. Think the hitchhiker is an acan. The zoa grew, to 7 polyps, and the acan grew/recover as well. The acan is now out-competing the zoa. Already loss one polyp. Is there anything I can do to save the zoa? I'm new, never fragged anything before. Here are some pics. Many thanks in advance.

02/27/2013, 10:29 PM	#2
LadyQuorra Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Orlando, FL (OIA) Posts: 91	If your not down for fragging, you could maybe ask a local reef store to do you favor, maybe throw in like $5-$10 bucks, just a thought. or look up zoa and arcan fragging on YouTube and get a razor blade, gloves, some gel super glue and follow along. Good luck

02/27/2013, 11:21 PM	#3
ChrisKey Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Posts: 103	Get some bone cutters or wire cutters and cut the frag plug in half. Don't be scared.

02/27/2013, 11:55 PM	#4
Michigan Mike Freedom costs a buckofive Join Date: May 2012 Location: Michigan Posts: 3,002	Zoas are tough and can usually take a knife easy enough. Chisel the rock between them, whatever. The acans would eat small children if they could, they are always hungry, watch out & keep other corals away from them.

02/28/2013, 10:16 AM	#6
coralsnaked Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Austin / Port Aransas, TX Posts: 1,479	Acans don't really sting alot as other LPS corals but they will litterly consume the pink zoa polyps as food. I would frag them my self utilizing a zip rotory (Dremel) tool. 1. Remove frag from water and set on paper towl and cover will a non clear plastic bowl to subject it to total darkness for about 10 - 15 minutes. The polyps and acans will recede. 2. Using the riotory tool, score a line between the two about a 1/4 inch deep. 3. Place the sharp edge of chef's knife in the scored line and gently tap w/ a hammer until it fractures. 4. Whola two frags I usually use a pair of channel locks to hold the coral while zip cutting as one little slip will cut the heck out of a finger. And be sure to hold w/ channel lock pliers on a hard surface when fracturing. Or as mentioned before I would let a local LFS do the cut. Personally I'd offer them a couple of bucks for the cut or the Acan and save those pink Zoas. Pink Zoas are a pretty hot color right now. Merry Skerry

02/28/2013, 10:32 AM	#7
dwalampa Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Southern California Posts: 40	Yall r awesome! Thanks for all the responses. Will be separating the two. Fingers crossed!

03/18/2013, 02:12 PM	#8
dwalampa Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Southern California Posts: 40	Hey guys, just wanted to do an update to this thread. So I went ahead and fragged the pink zoa off of the rock. Didn't do anything fancy. Just a razor blade, gloves, and goggles. Didn't have any iodine to dip em with either. And the result.... "drum rolls".... Both corals survived! Thanks again for all the help! Hope this will help others one day. Scraped off with a thin layer of rock, glued it to a rubble. Lost 2 heads, but 4 survived. I missed a piece of the acan, it broke in half when I took the frag off of the main rock. Its coming back. Not next to any zoa this time though. Will decide what to do with it at a later time. The acans.

03/18/2013, 02:38 PM	#9
ryeguyy84 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: New Jersey Posts: 2,753	nice job. . . and kudos for using the proper safety gear.

10/28/2015, 01:00 PM	#10
ReyR Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Wilmington, DE Posts: 124	And definitely got a good deal..two coral for the price of one. Got a rock of eagle eye zoas once..within a month noticed something growing. Posted pictures. Everyone said it's aiptasia or majano. It didn't look like it or anything else I found online. So I waited and was patient. Low and behold...almost a year later it's grown into an awesome plate coral.