Any hope bringing Zoa's back from the brink

[Mglass]

So I ordered a couple frags of some Zoas, AOI & Bam Bam's. Got some Pink Zoas thrown in for free, which is cool. I wanted a Sat delivery so I could be home to mess with them and not my wife. Well, weather screwed that up, ups had them till Monday. Shipped Fri.

Water temp was 60.4. I had my wife float them for a few minutes & got them to about 77 and put them in the tank. I turned the lights off. When I got home I put them down on the sandbed and turned the lights up just a hair hoping it would help a little.

They're not looking great. This is the first corals I've got. I think the Bam Bams and the Pinks I can see a very faint hint of color in the middle of the polyp. What I'm assuming is the AOI is completely closed up.

Is there anything I can try, or is this pretty much ride it out next few days and see what happens?

Thanks for any help!

 

[AtlantiCat]

Riding it out is best. My first corals were also Zoas and I had just about the same experience as you had. The AOI was one of my first as well (and Safecracker), but the freebie was Gatorade. They took several days to open.

I have had Zoas take up to 2 weeks to open fully after being shipped, but unless your parameters are WAY off, you should be fine. If you're not testing them, do so. In spite of the fact Zoas don't use Calcium, Magnesium, or Alkalinity to build skeletons, I find that if one or more nutrients is lacking, they sometimes respond to the lack by staying closed. Magnesium was my biggest issue as Instant Ocean Reef Crystals salt does not supply enough and I had to supplement.

Also turn up your lights a bit more--Zoas usually close at night and if it's too dark they may think it's still night

Welcome to the insanity and enjoy your Zoas.

 

[AtlantiCat]

Also, they're not on the brink, they're just suffering from shipping stress. It's pretty normal.

 

[Mglass]

Thanks for the replies. I knew they wouldn't show up bright and open, it just freaked me out that they were held a couple extra days and they were that cold.

The place I got them from have been on top of it since day 1, so I'll give them that. They kinda prepped me for them not making it and them trying to work with me for making it right. Im pretty impressed with their service so far.

I'm just wanting to give them the best shot of making it. Now I just need to make a cage to keep the hermits and snails off of them. Oh and the damsel that rams them to knock them over, thats another topic

 

[AtlantiCat]

Thanks for the replies. I knew they wouldn't show up bright and open, it just freaked me out that they were held a couple extra days and they were that cold.

The place I got them from have been on top of it since day 1, so I'll give them that. They kinda prepped me for them not making it and them trying to work with me for making it right. Im pretty impressed with their service so far.

I'm just wanting to give them the best shot of making it. Now I just need to make a cage to keep the hermits and snails off of them. Oh and the damsel that rams them to knock them over, thats another topic

I've gotten them even colder, in Chicago in January. Trust me when I say they weren't that cold.

Unless they're starving, the hermits and snails are just cleaning the dead bits and algae from the frag plugs, the Zoas won't mind them all that much. The damsel, on the other fin....

 

[littlebigreef]

If the tissue has gone translucent then they're in trouble. Otherwise, no harm in riding it out and seeing where it goes. Zoas are surprisingly tough.

 

[JoJosReef]

Zoas are tough when the conditions in your tank are OK. If your tank is severely nutrient depleted, then they will shrink up and sometimes color down a bit.

Do you have pictures? Have you tested your Nitrates/Phosphates/Alkalinity? What lights are they under? What are you feeding in your tank, e.g., do you have any fish yet that you're feeding?

Let us know and we can advise. Sometimes it's as easy as moving them to where they have more or less light to make them happy.

 

[Mglass]

If the tissue has gone translucent then they're in trouble. Otherwise, no harm in riding it out and seeing where it goes. Zoas are surprisingly tough.

Is this what you mean by translucent? I tried getting the best pics I could.

 

[littlebigreef]

Is this what you mean by translucent? I tried getting the best pics I could.

Yeah, unfortunately that’s exactly what I meant. First and third are likely toast. If you see tissue peeling off I’d probably pull them. If they’re the only ones in there no harm in leaving them but it is what it is.

Fwiw Saturday delivery is a bad idea. It sucks but finding a way to receive Wednesday or Thursday is generally your best bet.

 

[Mglass]

Zoas are tough when the conditions in your tank are OK. If your tank is severely nutrient depleted, then they will shrink up and sometimes color down a bit.

Do you have pictures? Have you tested your Nitrates/Phosphates/Alkalinity? What lights are they under? What are you feeding in your tank, e.g., do you have any fish yet that you're feeding?

Let us know and we can advise. Sometimes it's as easy as moving them to where they have more or less light to make them happy.

They were added to the tank yesterday, after a weather delay.

I hate to be that new guy that says I'm not sure, but I tested a little over a week ago. My nitrates were 4, phos around .18-.20 I think, just off the redsea scale. I was going to take a sample in a have my local store check it.

I just checked Nitrates with a new API kit, I know I shouldn't use it, but I'm cycling a new tank using it(different tank). It showed 0 nitrates. Im waiting on the redsea phosphate to finish to recheck nitrates.

Lights are Chinese black box, Popbloom. Blues running around 35% up to 45%, whites around 15% just to take the edge off.

Feeding frozen brine shrimp/cubed food alternating days with pellet Marine S.

Other fish 2 clowns, 3 pajamas, 2 damsels, handful of snails, hermits, 1 conch, brittle star(hitchhiker), 2 cleaner shrimp.

Sorry for the long post

 

[JoJosReef]

They were added to the tank yesterday, after a weather delay.

I hate to be that new guy that says I'm not sure, but I tested a little over a week ago. My nitrates were 4, phos around .18-.20 I think, just off the redsea scale. I was going to take a sample in a have my local store check it.

I just checked Nitrates with a new API kit, I know I shouldn't use it, but I'm cycling a new tank using it(different tank). It showed 0 nitrates. Im waiting on the redsea phosphate to finish to recheck nitrates.

Lights are Chinese black box, Popbloom. Blues running around 35% up to 45%, whites around 15% just to take the edge off.

Feeding frozen brine shrimp/cubed food alternating days with pellet Marine S.

Other fish 2 clowns, 3 pajamas, 2 damsels, handful of snails, hermits, 1 conch, brittle star(hitchhiker), 2 cleaner shrimp.

Sorry for the long post

Nitrates low, which can tick off zoas, and phosphates quite high. How is your algae situation? Are you running any media to lower phosphates already? GFO, PhosGuard?

Any pics of the tank?

The zoas will probably be fine, just a bit fussy in a new tank.

 

[Mglass]

Nitrates low, which can tick off zoas, and phosphates quite high. How is your algae situation? Are you running any media to lower phosphates already? GFO, PhosGuard?

Any pics of the tank?

The zoas will probably be fine, just a bit fussy in a new tank.

Just checked with RedSea again. Its barely off the chart, I'd say 5-6 nitrates & .18 Phos.

The only algae I found is a couple thick patches on the back of 1 rock. I meant to take it out this last weekend and scrub it off, if I could.

Only running a protein skimmer and a small, probably baseball size or less loosely packed chaeto. Light running off hours, 10 hours or so. The pics make the rocks look green for reason, 2nd pic you can see the rug patches in the back.

 

[Roatan Reef]

Nitrates low, which can tick off zoas, and phosphates quite high. How is your algae situation? Are you running any media to lower phosphates already? GFO, PhosGuard?

Any pics of the tank?

The zoas will probably be fine, just a bit fussy in a new tank.

Correct, Zoas like high nitrates, and can be finicky, but give them time...they are pretty tough SOBs! ...and can handle a lot.

Let them be, don't touch, don't move etc, and keep us posted. Bam Bams especially can withstand a lot of bad things and will eventually get right.

 

[Tub Life]

Yah those look rough but if there is still tissue there, don't count them out!

I recently found a few zoa frags that got buried under rock for months. They literally looked like pimples. I just put them under low-med light and low-med flow and 2 of them have fully recovered (nice ones), 1 is opened up and is starting to have color (brown paly) and 1 continued to melt away (I will never know what it was). This is over about a month or 2.

 

[Yagerboy]

Iodine

 

[420reefer365]

Just checked with RedSea again. Its barely off the chart, I'd say 5-6 nitrates & .18 Phos.

The only algae I found is a couple thick patches on the back of 1 rock. I meant to take it out this last weekend and scrub it off, if I could.

Only running a protein skimmer and a small, probably baseball size or less loosely packed chaeto. Light running off hours, 10 hours or so. The pics make the rocks look green for reason, 2nd pic you can see the rug patches in the back.

I wouldn’t run a skimmer right now. Honestly, I’d bring the phosphates down too .1 optimally just through water changes and use NeoNitro to dose nitrates to 15ppm. Those Zoas are all gonna be fine. You don’t have anything in the tank other than them so just ride it out. Keep water temp around 77-80 and they will recover in a week. That Chaeto you have in there will strip away at nitrates and phosphates too so I’d be careful of that…. But it isn’t as big of a deal as that skimmer.