Experiment: Creating a new Zoanthid morph

[DontXtripNfall]

I've seen a couple threads on Reef Central about how people have placed 2 different frags of Zoas on a rock and once they've spread and met eachother if their mats combine you get a whole new Zoa morph. So I'm going to try it out!


I'm going to take a single polyp off of my Radioactive Green and the same with my Fire and Ice with a razor so that the mat is cut and glue the polyps side by side (not using glue on the side they will heal on of course) so hopefully the mats will combine when they start start to heal and produce a new morph. Any helpful suggestions are welcome!

 

[sweetsop]

awesome, good luck!

 

[Pareef]

you should be using the ones you like so much from my tank

 

[crox99]

:splitspin

 

[reefnewbe]

:teeth:

 

[ming]

I have a bunch of zoo's that grown together.. never a new morph
Sounds more like a myth to me

 

[nanoreefer22]

I have a bunch of zoo's that grown together.. never a new morph
Sounds more like a myth to me

Ditto GL though

 

[mray]

I agree, I don't think it would work. We wouldn't have zoas worth $10-20 a polyp if everyone could create their own.

 

[noodleman]

I have a bunch of zoo's that grown together.. never a new morph
Sounds more like a myth to me

:iamwithst

 

[fritz]

no new color morphs here
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-08/totm/index.php

FWIW there used to be a prevalent myth on RC that you can make hybrid zoanthids using a syringe.

 

[DontXtripNfall]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1430808

Everyone is so pessimistic these days... There are pics are proof... Maybe those people just got lucky that the mats merged..i have to say its incredibly hard wen ur dealing with tiny wet polyps... next i'll try palys

 

[D1J8Z]

I have a bunch of zoo's that grown together.. never a new morph
Sounds more like a myth to me

there has to be a way to morph new kinds just maybe only certain ones can "mate"

 

[kigs]

Not really a myth... it does happen every once in awhile, though nobody seems to know what triggers the hybridization. One of my theory is that it occurs when they are in heavy distress (bad water parameteres or w/e) in order to pull through as a single morph than two seperate. Gluck with the experiment DXTNF...I'd love to see the results.

 

[DontXtripNfall]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1359203&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

Page 2 gives me hope. I think the problem that happened here was that the frags were not flat because of glue or just the shape of the pieces and that is causing some to grow unevenly, but there are pieces that have been even and seem to have done good. I wouldn't mind expirimenting with these either but I don't have monti caps in my tank, so if you have different colored pieces you'd like to donate feel free!

 

[littlebuck70]

I am trying to do the same thing.

Superman/sunset monti

 

[ellebelle]

I think some of this is born out of a fundamental misunderstanding of the difference between coral GROWTH and coral REPRODUCTION. In order to get a "hybrid" (though technically, as all zoanthids are the same species, it isn't a hybrid), there would have to be some kind of reproduction between the two morphs. Most coral species reproduce sexually by either releasing sperm and egg into the water or hermaphroditically through self fertilization and release. It's true that corals can propogate themselves asexually through a colony splitting, or a new bud forming near the base of the colony, but that form of reproduction is more limiting and doesn't allow for a new combination of genetic material.

Personally, I am extremely skeptical of that RC thread but good luck in your endeavor.

 

[DontXtripNfall]

I'd like to bump this up since my experiment melted away about a week after the experiment. It was extremely hard because they were so small but recently Daceman announced that he did the same experiment and it has worked for him. Congratulations, and thank you for proving everyone that doubted me it can be possible. I believe my downfall was that I should have used paly's since their size wouldn't have been a problem as much.

Daceman's Expirment:
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/coral-farming/52077-purple-death-nuclear-green.html