Pink Hallucination Zoas straddle the line between Zoanathids and Palythoas, having the large heads of palys but growing directly against the rock like zoas. Regardless of how they are classified, they make a beautiful addition to any reef tank. These zoas have a bright blue centre with a purple and blue face surrounded by a green and yellow skirt. Like all zoas, they are a colonial coral and reproduce by budding. All the polyps in a colony are connected by a network of grayish fleshy tubes that allow the polyps to share nutrients. Pink Hallucination Zoas have polyps that are on the larger side, but they tend to sit flat to the rockwork.
Zoas are found in a wide variety of tropical and subtropical ocean environments, but the vast majority of what is available for sale in the saltwater hobby is aquacultured. This is especially true for readily identifiable morphs such as Pink Hallucination. In addition to reducing stress on natural environments, aquacultured zoas have a number of other advantages such as relative colour uniformity, suitability to tank life and they are less likely to come with unwanted pests. In a home aquarium, they can be placed either on the main rockwork or on rock islands on the substrate. Because corals do not have an “off switch”, many hobbyists choose to isolate zoas on rock islands to prevent them from overgrowing the main rockwork, as they can be tricky to remove.
Pink Hallucination Zoas are fairly tolerant of a wide variety of lighting conditions, although they should not be kept in total shade or under extremely intense lighting. Lighting that is too intense may cause the polyps to fail to open, or even for the colony to “melt”. It is important to remember that some zoas have different lighting tolerances than others so a little bit of trial and error is sometimes required. Flow should be sufficient to prevent the buildup of detritus but not so intense that the polyps are blown around aggressively.
All zoas are photosynthetic and are able to use aquarium lighting to meet their energy needs. However, they can be spot fed and this will improve their growth rate and may lead to better colouration. Reef Roids is a popular option for spot feeding, as is Vitalis Soft Coral Food.
Due to the fact that they do not have a calcified structure that can be cut, fragging zoas is a bit of an art form. A sharp blade can be used to carefully remove a polyp, which can then be attached to a frag plug. Due to the possibility of the zoas secreting toxins when handled, it is recommended that hobbyists wear gloves and eye protection when fragging zoas.
