What is this little patch next to these zoa I just bought?

[loneboat]

I bought this bundle of zoa (I think? I'm very new), and after I got it home, I noticed that--in addition to the "main" polyps--there is a tiny patch of tiny TINY corals. (See the arrow/circle in the pic.) The main polyps in the pic are maybe half a centimeter tall (looks bigger in the pic for some reason), so the ones outlined are ITSY-BITSY.

Are these just baby versions of the bigger ones on the same frag?

Also, anyone know the ID on these guys? LFS didn't have them labeled, I just got them so I'd have something other than fish in my tank.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Yes, those are zoanthids. Can you get a closer pic of the mystery patch so we can get a positive ID? It’s hard to tell from your picture. Maybe someone from [USERGROUP=61]@ReefSquad[/USERGROUP] will know

 

[loneboat]

Yes, those are zoanthids. Can you get a closer pic of the mystery patch so we can get a positive ID? It’s hard to tell from your picture. Maybe someone from [USERGROUP=61]@ReefSquad[/USERGROUP] will know

I'll try - it gets blurry any time I try to come at an angle, so the shot I posted was from perpendicular to the glass.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Can you shut off the pumps and take one from above?

 

[loneboat]

Can you shut off the pumps and take one from above?

Doh. You're smarter than me. haha

Yeah, lemme try that. In the mean time, here's some I just took - only marginally better.

 

[El_Guapo13]

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Not gonna lie, it kinda looks like a gonipora or an avelepora...

 

[WV Reefer]

^agree

 

[loneboat]

Here, taking from above is MUCH better.

 

[loneboat]

Not gonna lie, it kinda looks like a gonipora or an avelepora...

"Not gonna lie" makes it sound like that's something bad?

 

[Waynerock]

Looks like a alveopora! Awesome score if it is. Look for extension from a hard skeleton. Alve have 12 little fingers off the main polyp.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

"Not gonna lie" makes it sound like that's something bad?

Hahaha, no. That’s not bad lol. That is a piece of coral. People spend good money for gonipora. They do require a bit of care though.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Yeah it looks like there’s a skeleton.

 

[BornHandy]

Looks like a huge win!

 

[Waynerock]

I would try and get it out And separate it but on the other hand it might look cool growing out of the Zoa

 

[45ZoaGarden]

I would try and get it out And separate it but on the other hand it might look cool growing out of the Zoa

+1 I would also move it. That will bother the zoas

 

[loneboat]

I would try and get it out And separate it but on the other hand it might look cool growing out of the Zoa

+1 I would also move it. That will bother the zoas

As a complete noob, that sounds like something I could easily screw up. Maybe something like this video would help? https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-frag-zoas-video.269070/

Any pointers on how to separate it out?

 

[45ZoaGarden]

You should be able to grab the base of the avelepora’s skeleton with plairs and snap it on. Can you tell how it’s attached? Is it glued on?

 

[loneboat]

You should be able to grab the base of the avelepora’s skeleton with plairs and snap it on. Can you tell how it’s attached? Is it glued on?

I'll give it a shot later tonight - gotta have a closer look at it to see how it's situated. I didn't even notice it until I had put it in there.

 

[loneboat]

It worked! I glued his base to a tiny piece of PVC, since I didn't have anything better. Thanks for the advice everyone!