Is my zoa dying? can still be saved?

[reeferdugong]

Hi guys,

i think have no luck with my zoa. It doesnt thrive in my tank and lately there’s hair algae all over it and i pulled the algae almost every week. can i still save it?


My nitrate is always high (20-25ppm) but my other corals (duncan, acan, micromussa) are all doing well. Phosphate fluctuates between 0.07-0.13 but since i have hair algae, not sure how accurate it is. i’m running Gfo.

Anyone has any tips what can i do to save it?

 

[James_O]

Will you please try to get some more pictures? Is it in direct flow? How extreme is the flow around it?

Zoas will occasionally close up if they are irritated (may it be flow, lighting, or algae).

I would check the flow around it first. Most corals will close up if they are in direct flow that they don’t like. Next I would check the lighting. What’s your schedule?

After that, I would remove as much algae as possible that is on and around the frag.

 

[Uncle99]

Since others are not affected, I’d just pull him, brush him, dip him, and move him to a quiet area with low (50-75) par.
I’d let him sit there for two weeks before any other considerations.

 

[reeferdugong]

there’s no direct flow at all. The wavemakers are circles in the picture. I first placed in the lower section (x) and it didnt like it, so i placed it higher (the other x) and no changes. It is now where the arrow is.

 

[James_O]

That’s good it’s not in direct flow. How are the other corals looking? Is it just this one that appears to not be fairing well?

 

[LeftyReefer]

I had good luck removing GHA from a zoa covered rock by dosing H202 to the tank. The zoa's would close up whenever I dosed it, along with other softies like leathers, but within a couple days, the GHA turned gray/white and went away. Zoas never missed a beat. They react quickly to H202, closing each time, but it doesn't seem to hurt them at all while it really seems to attack any small GHA breakouts in the tank.

 

[reeferdugong]

That’s good it’s not in direct flow. How are the other corals looking? Is it just this one that appears to not be fairing well?

the others are looking good, sadly only the zoa

 

[reeferdugong]

I had good luck removing GHA from a zoa covered rock by dosing H202 to the tank. The zoa's would close up whenever I dosed it, along with other softies like leathers, but within a couple days, the GHA turned gray/white and went away. Zoas never missed a beat. They react quickly to H202, closing each time, but it doesn't seem to hurt them at all while it really seems to attack any small GHA breakouts in the tank.

is there anything that i should watch out for when dosing H2O2? I'm not that informed about it

 

[James_O]

the others are looking good, sadly only the zoa

Hmm, interesting. Where did you get it, and how long has it been in the tank?