Zoanthids are one of the most commonly kept types of coral in the world and they keep on going from strength to strength due to how easy they are to keep, their low prices, and the wide range of different morphs that are available.
Many people even keep zoa only tanks due to it being a great way to build up your initial skillset for coral keeping but most people do tend to just add their zoanthids to their primary aquarium be it a marine tank or reef tank.
Because of this, people often reach out to ask various questions about how they can grow their zoanthids fast but as we covered in our zoanthids growth rate post, zoanthids can be slow but thankfully, there are a few things that you are able to do to help you grow zoanthids fast.
How To Grow Zoanthids Fast!
We have our list of the best things that you are able to do to help your zoanthid growth rate improve and thankfully, the majority of them are very easy to implement to your coral keeping strategy:-
- Avoid Common Mistakes!
- Maintain Steady Water Parameters!
- Avoid Zoa Pox!
- Provide All The Nutrients They Require!
- Offer Optimal Lighting!
- Provide Decent Water Flow!
- Try Not To Go Full Water Changes!
- Only Add Reef Safe Tank Mates!
- Maintain A Steady Water Temperature!
If you are new to coral keeping, there is a high chance that you may have multiple problems with your tank all at the same time so try to keep this in mind.
Avoid Common Mistakes!
There are some very common mistakes that people new to keeping zoanthids make time and time again that are usually very easy to avoid.
Thankfully, we already have dedicated articles going over why your zoanthids are melting, why your zoanthids are not opening, and why your zoanthids are dying.
They are very common problems amongst the zoanthid keeping community but they are usually easy to avoid so if you do have issues with melting, refusal to open or your zoanthid dying then check those articles out.
A quick and easy fix may be all it needs to save your zoanthid and help get it back on the right track to start growing again.
Avoid Zoa Pox!
Zoanthid pox is a very contagious disease that can spread like wildfire throughout your aquarium if you are not careful.
The good news is that it is usually very easy to treat and you can find out everything you need to know about zoanthid pox.
If you catch zoa pox early enough, you should be able to prevent it from spreading to other zoanthids in your aquarium but it can be challenging to actually save a zoanthid that already has the issue.
Due to zoanthid pox being more common with beginners, they tend not to have access to quarantine tanks to try and save the zoanthid with the problem too so sometimes the coral just has to be removed.
Maintain Steady Water Parameters!
Maintaining consistent, suitable water parameters in your tanks is one of the best ways to increase the growth rate of your zoanthid corals.
This is usually very easy to do, even if you are new to keeping corals but the number one mistake that we see people making time and time again is their choice of a water test kit.
The cheap, no brand $1 water test strip kits are very inaccurate and often give readings that are not even close to being correct when testing your tanks water parameters.
We would highly recommend that you spend a minimum of $5 on your water test and consider going for a $20 master kit if possible.
They offer much better readings that are accurate while also testing for a wider range of potential problems in your aquarium to help you keep your zoanthid water parameters in line to promote rapid, healthy growth of the coral.
Provide All The Nutrients They Require!
Zoanthids are very demanding when it comes to the nutrients that they need to survive and thrive in our aquariums.
So many people overlook the fact that in most aquarium setups, you will actually have to take steps to provide nutrients for your coral.
We know that more advanced coral keepers can set up tanks that will naturally provide a large number of nutrients that their zoanthids require but this is not the norm, especially for beginners.
Just like humans, zoanthids need food to grow quickly so using something like reef roids or another suitable coral food source can be enough to speed up your zoanthid’s growth rate.
Offer Optimal Lighting!
Lighting is something that a lot of people new to keeping zoanthids often overlook or do not understand the importance of.
Zoanthids, in general, do not require a ton of light but they do need light that is within the correct PAR range for them to prosper.
You are also able to manipulate the PAR range to help increase the growth of your zoanthids but we would usually not recommend this approach.
Most people should just stick to a moderate intensity lighting for their zoanthid tank and let it grow.
If you do have some prior experience with keeping coral then setting a 50 PAR lighting setup may be able to encourage your zoanthids to grow towards the light but this can be hit and miss and we don’t recommend this strategy.
Try Not To Go Full Water Changes!
A full water change changes the water parameters of most tanks too much to allow your corals to grow at a consistent pace. Even a 50% or greater water change can easily cause issues with the water parameters in your tank.
Ideally, you will be changing a maximum of 25% of your aquarium’s water at any given time but the majority of people should just be sticking to the 10-20% weekly water change at a maximum.
Only Add Reef Safe Tank Mates!
So many people add unsuitable tank mates to their tank that will nip or even eat their zoanthids and as you can probably expect, this will slow the growth rate of your zoanthids right down.
If you are planning to add fish, shrimp or snails to your aquarium then you really do have to make sure that they are reef safe but even then, there will often be exceptions that will eat their tank mates.
Maintain A Steady Water Temperature!
Most zoanthid tank setups should be aiming for a 78F/25.5C water temperature for optimal growth but this is commonly overlooked.
Just because zoanthids can live within a temperature range of their optimal temperature, going too high or too low will have a direct effect on the zoanthids ability to grow quickly.
This may just be a slight change in the growth rate of your zoanthids but it all adds up, especially if there are other issues with the tank setup.
Provide Decent Water Flow!
Most zoanthids will do well in a moderate water flow tank and they should be able to easily reach their maximum growth potential providing that all of their other requirements are met.
In some very specific tank setups with very specific placements of their zoanthids, you may have to increase your water flow to a high rating but it is very unlikely that this is why your zoanthid is not growing fast and it only needs to be done in a small number of cases.
