Hard dark spot growing on zoas?

[ethnchrstnsn]

How’s it going professionals! Been a while! That’s the good news, right?
I just got these really beautiful Smurf blood zoanthid and hallucination zoas. Quarantined, acclimated, let sit in a little floater quarantine tank. About 1-5” from surface. They were fine for about a month. Keep in mind my levels have remained the same. Most importantly my parameters don’t swing much and remain ideal for lps.
Didn’t have much success with smaller colony zoanthids in the past so resorted to other hardier coral. I don’t dip coral and mostly welcome the majority of “pests”. The only thing that’s new is the floating quarantine because I don’t want my pistol shrimp to use my mushroom as shelter in his cave. I can’t tell if it’s part of the skeleton of the zoa or if it’s a pest that’s eating it? The floater tank didn’t have much flow ironically enough. Could have been shifts from too high of light and being blasted or too low of light from being too far away.
Size is 13.5 Fluval, light is 24” coralife, the tank has been running and only nuked one time in 3 or 4 years now. Any answer or guesstimate is more than welcome. And as always appreciated. Thank you!
Side note; just moved from the top floater tank to very bottom

 

[bluemon]

1. Not sure what it is you are referring to as a hitchhiker.

2. You should ABSOLUTELY dip your corals, ESPECIALLY zoas. They are one of the corals with the most pests.

3. Quarantine has no purpose if it is in an isolation tank within the display tank. That defeats all purposes of QT.

4. Zoas do not have skeletons

 

[ethnchrstnsn]

1. Not sure what it is you are referring to as a hitchhiker.

2. You should ABSOLUTELY dip your corals, ESPECIALLY zoas. They are one of the corals with the most pests.

3. Quarantine has no purpose if it is in an isolation tank within the display tank. That defeats all purposes of QT.

4. Zoas do not have skeletons

What hitchhiker would be hard? Irritating the outer polyp and mouth?
I quarantined in separate tank for about a month before adding to in tank quarantine refuge.

 

[bluemon]

1. Not sure what it is you are referring to as a hitchhiker.

2. You should ABSOLUTELY dip your corals, ESPECIALLY zoas. They are one of the corals with the most pests.

3. Quarantine has no purpose if it is in an isolation tank within the display tank. That defeats all purposes of QT.

4. Zoas do not have skeletons

What hitchhiker would be hard? Irritating the outer polyp and mouth?
I quarantined in separate tank for about a month before adding to in tank quarantine refuge.

Would need a photo of it to ID.

Got you on the QT.

But you should really dip Zoas

 

[ethnchrstnsn]

How’s it going professionals! Been a while! That’s the good news, right?
I just got these really beautiful Smurf blood zoanthid and hallucination zoas. Quarantined, acclimated, let sit in a little floater quarantine tank. About 1-5” from surface. They were fine for about a month. Keep in mind my levels have remained the same. Most importantly my parameters don’t swing much and remain ideal for lps.
Didn’t have much success with smaller colony zoanthids in the past so resorted to other hardier coral. I don’t dip coral and mostly welcome the majority of “pests”. The only thing that’s new is the floating quarantine because I don’t want my pistol shrimp to use my mushroom as shelter in his cave. I can’t tell if it’s part of the skeleton of the zoa or if it’s a pest that’s eating it? The floater tank didn’t have much flow ironically enough. Could have been shifts from too high of light and being blasted or too low of light from being too far away.
Size is 13.5 Fluval, light is 24” coralife, the tank has been running and only nuked one time in 3 or 4 years now. Any answer or guesstimate is more than welcome. And as always appreciated. Thank you!
Side note; just moved from the top floater tank to very bottom

Almost looks like a little white dot

 

[ethnchrstnsn]

Would need a photo of it to ID.

Got you on the QT.

But you should really dip Zoas

I get all my coral and got all my live rock/water from one local fs. Hence why I don’t typically dip.

 

[bluemon]

I get all my coral and got all my live rock/water from one local fs. Hence why I don’t typically dip.

I would still dip.

It’s just so easy and doesn’t really harm the coral.

Unless you absolutely trust the LFS’s own QT protocols, as they get their corals from elsewhere too.

Almost looks like a little white dot

Can you circle what you are talking about? And maybe a better zoomed in picture?

But from what you are describing it as, could it just be dried up glue from how the Zoa was glue to the rock?

 

[littlebigreef]

First pic is hard to say but second is an active bacterial/protozan infection. 2 of those polyps look like toast, I might triage and remove those.

Beyond that, a week’s worth of daily 8-10 minute lugols/chemiclean/metroplex dips is your best treatment plan.

Also - dip new zoas.

 

[ethnchrstnsn]

I know I should dip lol. I’m sorry to tick off some here. the amount of trial and error in 3 years is absurd and to watch is close to every step of the way. Wow. I just started adding new corals as you can see that’s why I’m back. Phone is broken I’m trying to find a zoom lens. Did however take 20 pics. Will share the best.

 

[ethnchrstnsn]

could very well be glue with the Smurf blood. I took a blade gently to get detritus and feel for it. Worried about zoa pox not having flow in floater. Could hallucination potentially be from too high of light or fluctuation being at the top considering taking the lid on and off? Just moved these two at the bottom of the tank from the smaller quarantine floater hours ago.
If there is infection, will it affect other softies in the tank?
Thanks for replies.

 

[bluemon]

could very well be glue with the Smurf blood. I took a blade gently to get detritus and feel for it. Worried about zoa pox not having flow in floater. Could hallucination potentially be from too high of light or fluctuation being at the top considering taking the lid on and off? Just moved these two at the bottom of the tank from the smaller quarantine floater hours ago.
If there is infection, will it affect other softies in the tank?
Thanks for replies.

No these kinds of zoa infections are local and will just kill those polyps, although it can spread to other polyps within the zoa.

With those pictures, I’m pretty sure it’s super glue, but you should touch it and see if it is. Surely you can tell whether it’s a living thing if you get your hand on it

And light fluctuation from the lid coming on and off is trivial.

How else would these corals in the wild deal with fish swimming above them

 

[bluemon]

could very well be glue with the Smurf blood. I took a blade gently to get detritus and feel for it. Worried about zoa pox not having flow in floater. Could hallucination potentially be from too high of light or fluctuation being at the top considering taking the lid on and off? Just moved these two at the bottom of the tank from the smaller quarantine floater hours ago.
If there is infection, will it affect other softies in the tank?
Thanks for replies.

What’s the point of the floater quarantine??

It’s not quarantining anything, and it’s not even a good light acclimation tool since it’s high up on the tank.

 

[ethnchrstnsn]

What’s the point of the floater quarantine??

It’s not quarantining anything, and it’s not even a good light acclimation tool since it’s high up on the tank.

I know he’s small but he’s mighty. $40 jawbreaker which is bigger than the one I had last year for $75. WHICH MY PISTOL TOOK AND I NEVER SAW AGAIN. I also like dropping copeopods on the cheato or whatever the red one is called. Fish like picking at it.
This whole in tank refuge is new to me. Figured it’d be ok to use for light acclimation because the light is somewhat in the same spot. No clue how much par it’s getting so close to the light though

 

[bluemon]

I know he’s small but he’s mighty. $40 jawbreaker which is bigger than the one I had last year for $75. WHICH MY PISTOL TOOK AND I NEVER SAW AGAIN. I also like dropping copeopods on the cheato or whatever the red one is called. Fish like picking at it.
This whole in tank refuge is new to me. Figured it’d be ok to use for light acclimation because the light is somewhat in the same spot. No clue how much par it’s getting so close to the light though

Light acclimation is going from dim to bright; you are doing the opposite

 

[ethnchrstnsn]

What’s the point of the floater quarantine??

It’s not quarantining anything, and it’s not even a good light acclimation tool since it’s high up on the tank.

Was using it until today for mushrooms that I was selling.

 

[ethnchrstnsn]

How’s it going professionals! Been a while! That’s the good news, right?
I just got these really beautiful Smurf blood zoanthid and hallucination zoas. Quarantined, acclimated, let sit in a little floater quarantine tank. About 1-5” from surface. They were fine for about a month. Keep in mind my levels have remained the same. Most importantly my parameters don’t swing much and remain ideal for lps.
Didn’t have much success with smaller colony zoanthids in the past so resorted to other hardier coral. I don’t dip coral and mostly welcome the majority of “pests”. The only thing that’s new is the floating quarantine because I don’t want my pistol shrimp to use my mushroom as shelter in his cave. I can’t tell if it’s part of the skeleton of the zoa or if it’s a pest that’s eating it? The floater tank didn’t have much flow ironically enough. Could have been shifts from too high of light and being blasted or too low of light from being too far away.
Size is 13.5 Fluval, light is 24” coralife, the tank has been running and only nuked one time in 3 or 4 years now. Any answer or guesstimate is more than welcome. And as always appreciated. Thank you!
Side note; just moved from the top floater tank to very bottom

Update; bought some dip.
Smurf blood looks great other than main head that was squished by turbo snail.
Hallucination can we confirm this is bacterial infection? (Right zoa)
Thanks!

 

[littlebigreef]

Update; bought some dip.
Smurf blood looks great other than main head that was squished by turbo snail.
Hallucination can we confirm this is bacterial infection? (Right zoa)
Thanks!

Most likely bacterial over protozan.

Heat damage could be a contributing factor given it was at the top of the aquarium near the light.