If you want to arrange the space in your aquarium in an interesting and visually consistent way – the so-called zoa garden will be a great idea for you. Corals belonging to the zoanthid family (known more widely in our hobby as zoas) are relatively easy to maintain, and can grow beautifully even under the watchful eye of a beginner aquarist. They reproduce quickly, growing beautifully over flat surfaces and rocks in the tank. 

Arrangement

Zoa garden is an area in the aquarium where zoanthus colonies of different colors and shape of polyps are raised. A wide range of colors allows you to create an attractive arrangement. You can let your creativity run wild and select more corals as the ones already present in the tank grow, or you can immediately choose a whole set of corals that will be most satisfying to you.

To ensure that each variety is properly highlighted, make sure that the colors you pair in close proximity to each other contrast clearly. For example, you can pair reds with shades of blue, and greens with yellows. 

Remember that zoas belong to a rather expansive variety of corals and individual colonies are capable of taking over an area populated by neighboring corals. A good way to avoid such a situation will be to use separate, small pieces of rock for each separate species. With this practice, we can easily arrange the rocks in such a way that they create an effect similar to flower beds. Separate pieces of rock will also allow you to separate zoas as needed, if, for example, you notice that a particular colony is starting to become too expansive.

If, on the other hand, you decide to grow different types of zoa on one piece of rock, it will be worthwhile to get a decent pair of tweezers, which you will use to pluck the regrowth. The different species, despite being in the same conditions, will grow at different rates. To keep a visible separation between the different zoas, make sure you don’t allow too much uncontrolled growth. 

In addition to color, another issue that is good to pay attention to when placing corals in the tank should be the shape of the polyps. In order to make each individual variety stand out clearly, try to juxtapose corals with high detail in close company with those with less detail. This procedure will give you a variety in which each coral will stand out.

Tank conditions

Zoa, especially those with small polyps, are best found in flat spaces, directly on the bottom of the tank or growing on highly porous, flat rocks. It is important to provide them with the right conditions to spread freely. When planning a zoa garden, it’s a good idea to set aside an area in the aquarium where you don’t plan to grow corals other than zoanthus, as euphyllias and most SPS-type corals will try to fight the zoas. So for the safe growth of your ‘flower bed’, make sure zoas will not be attacked by neighbouring corals in the tank. 

 Zoas can be confidently placed in deeper parts of the aquarium, due to the fact that they do not need very much light for proper growth. 

Another consideration is water flow. Zoas that have larger polyps will cope in areas with little current, but those with smaller polyps will need a slightly stronger flow. This is because the small polyps prevent the corals from cleaning themselves from fragments of rock or sand, and they are unable to capture enough food and nutrients without the help of water flow. 

Summary

Thanks to the high tolerance that zoas have to their location, we can interestingly arrange empty spaces to which corals of other species would not necessarily be able to adapt. 

If you are a novice marine aquarist and do not yet have a great deal of knowledge about keeping more advanced animals – zoas will be a great choice for you. They will allow you not only to quickly arrange your space in an impressive way, but also, thanks to the fact that they are quite resistant to small mishaps – which often happen at the beginning of the adventure with saltwater tanks – they will be a good material for the beginning.