Utter chaos care and old utter chaos lost it's speccles/stars?

[NewbReef]

Hi guys!

I got an utter chaos frag as my first ever coral a year ago, and it's safe to say it's been through some turbulent times with my learning curve with parameter and condition changes.

The single polyp has grew into about 7 polyps over time and quite quickly, but then completely stopped growing new heads and seems to have changed in appearance, the speccles/stars in the polyp are pretty much gone and the skirt isn't as vibrant orange as when I first got it.

A year later and my tank has all the equipment now to be stable. I just got a great deal on a new utter chaos colony and want to make sure they remain nicely puffy, large polyps and vibrant coloured as they currently are!

How do you keep them?

 

[LeftyReefer]

Utter Chaos are the only zoa/paly in my tank. i bought one polyp and now 18 months later have about 75.
Very fast grower. Wish I knew how to frag them.

 

[EricBB]

They affect everyone differently , wear gloves and glasses in case they shoot water out. I cut between the polyps with utility knife and scrape the rock hard to get a thin sliver or rock with them and super glue them to a frag plug. With the thin layer of rock under them they shouldn’t come off the plug ever. If you don’t get any rock under them sometimes they can come off. It’s really that easy.
Have fun

 

[littlebigreef]

Hi guys!

I got an utter chaos frag as my first ever coral a year ago, and it's safe to say it's been through some turbulent times with my learning curve with parameter and condition changes.

The single polyp has grew into about 7 polyps over time and quite quickly, but then completely stopped growing new heads and seems to have changed in appearance, the speccles/stars in the polyp are pretty much gone and the skirt isn't as vibrant orange as when I first got it.

A year later and my tank has all the equipment now to be stable. I just got a great deal on a new utter chaos colony and want to make sure they remain nicely puffy, large polyps and vibrant coloured as they currently are!

How do you keep them?

Utter chaos are first and foremost among the most popular zoas that readily morph. Nutrients, lighting (par + wavelength), targeted feeding, and flow cause the same strain to vary differently in even closely associated tanks (ie...local reefing buddies). That your tank has gone through some ups and downs during maturation and that the colony stalled isn't surprising. That you've kept them going a year during that process is good work. It would be nice to have a pic to see the condition they're currently in.

In short, it's not as simple as putting the new ones 'in higher light', they might do fine with the same placement as your existing ones. Could well be the existing frag just needs time in stable parameters, and some tlc, for it to resemble your new frag.

Final thought, utter chaos are one in particular that thrive with targeted feeding.

 

[Reefer Matt]

Mine grow like weeds and with color. They are in 30 nitrate, and 50 par.