Citrus zoas only closed a lot

[AFHokie]

Title says it. I have several frags of zoas and they are always open, except my citrus. They will sometimes be open earlier in the day but often close later. Occasionally I will see a snail crawl over them or a fish swim too close but then they rarely reopen. All my others will reopen after a bit.

Alk:9
Ca:415
Mg:1320
SG: 1.026
Temp:78
NO3: ~10
PO4: .01
Radion XR15s 8” above water, no PAR readings yet. Frag is about 10” from surface of water, couple inches higher than the bam bam and dragon eyes. Running Radions LPS schedule at 45%.

Pics are taken at the same time. You can’t see but the citrus also has 6-10 tiny polyps growing along the back edge. Have searched after lights out for pests and haven’t seen anything, plus nothing is dying back or being eaten.

Everything else in the tank is fine. Frag of leptoseris and psammacora that are both growing fast.

Ideas? Only thing that makes sense is that’s it’s picky on lights or the flow. Growth of other corals leads me to believe it’s not the water.

 

[blaxsun]

It could be they're just not a fan of the light at that height. Or they're simply getting harassed by the creepy crawlies constantly disturbing them.

 

[AFHokie]

It could be they're just not a fan of the light at that height. Or they're simply getting harassed by the creepy crawlies constantly disturbing them.

Would they close up for too much light? Can’t imagine they’d close for too little unless it’s nighttime dark. I’d expect stretching if too low.

 

[blaxsun]

Would they close up for too much light? Can’t imagine they’d close for too little unless it’s nighttime dark. I’d expect stretching if too low.

Could be a combination of things.

 

[billyocean]

Judging by your rock your tank is still rather new. See your parameters but how stable are they? Any additives like ab+, amino, reef roids, acropower..etc? Could be as simple as too much light or flow..could just be that particular frag doesn't like your tank..it happens. Sometimes they just stay closed for a while because they're producing babies.

 

[AFHokie]

Judging by your rock your tank is still rather new. See your parameters but how stable are they? Any additives like ab+, amino, reef roids, acropower..etc? Could be as simple as too much light or flow..could just be that particular frag doesn't like your tank..it happens. Sometimes they just stay closed for a while because they're producing babies.

Thanks for the ideas.
Yes, tank is about 6 weeks old but I test very often to monitor stability. I dose all-for-reef as that is more stable than water changes at this point (have had some frustrating levels with fresh mixed salt). Still doing 10% wc every other week.
Just started dosing ab+ yesterday but as I don’t have a lot of coral I won’t do it everyday.
Also picked up a Hanna checker and PO4 was actually at 0.1…Salifert is so hard to read the blue.
I’ve never heard of the baby theory but I wouldn’t rule it out. There seems to be a lot more tiny polyps all around the base that I didn’t notice when I got it. Doesn’t mean they weren’t there but there are a lot of them.
Although this tank is new it’s not my first reef. I kept a 2.5 gallon pico and then a 29 gallon back around 2005-2009 timeframe. Getting back in now and man how things have changed.

 

[billyocean]

Nice...yeah..the main polyps will close and look swollen when they are kicking out babies. I have some tazers that have been closed for about 3 weeks that are starting to open back up with 4 or 5 new baby polyps. That could be it. It's usually what it is when mine do it.

 

[AFHokie]

Nice...yeah..the main polyps will close and look swollen when they are kicking out babies. I have some tazers that have been closed for about 3 weeks that are starting to open back up with 4 or 5 new baby polyps. That could be it. It's usually what it is when mine do it.

That would be great if that’s all it is. Awesome tank! What did you use to take that pic?

 

[billyocean]

Galaxy s20..orange lens

 

[damsels are not mean]

Sometimes they just do that, honestly. Unless they are staying 100% closed always or there are obvious signs of predation I would let them be and adapt. They do adapt. How long have you had them? They might just need to settle in. Some of my colonies are never 100% open but they grow just as fast as the ones that never seem to close!

 

[AFHokie]

Sometimes they just do that, honestly. Unless they are staying 100% closed always or there are obvious signs of predation I would let them be and adapt. They do adapt. How long have you had them? They might just need to settle in. Some of my colonies are never 100% open but they grow just as fast as the ones that never seem to close!

I’ve had them just over two weeks, no signs of predation and no pests sighted when checking after dark many times. Also no visible algae on the mat or plug.