Melting Rainbow Incinerators

[Taxman20]

As it states, My rainbows have gotten smaller and also I have lost 2 polyps. I had gotten a 2 polyp frag, it quickly grew to 7 polyps and then started shrinking and lost 2 of them. The other 5 have been doing ok but are staying really small. Im worried I might lose them too. Ive checked the PAR after getting a new meter, they were in about 80, then I moved them to a 140 spot. Ive moved them to several locations before getting the PAR meter trying to find a spot they like and no luck.

ALL other Zoas are doing great and some look like they want more light because they are extending. Light is a Reefbreeders Photon V2 LED.

Ill post parameters later today or in the morning.

Pictures will show the size difference for reference. Sorry in advance, used my phone. The small frag is the RI. Also all colonies were bought at the same time and they were all about 5 polyps each. So the others have been doing pretty good. And all were bought last December, so 10 months ago. The final picture is the RI when I first got it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ndrwater]

Have you checked for any pests? Zia spiders are not uncommon. A fresh water dip might help

 

[Taxman20]

I havent seen anything but will take a much closer look. I have well water so no chems in it. Im guessing I would use RO water but how long do you dip for? Ive actually never dipped any corals. Never needed to, I dont think so anyway.

 

[ndrwater]

5 mins should do the trick.
For less stress on the coral, see if you can match the temp and pH of the dipping water to that of the tank

 

[danschoenherr]

I have a bunch of Rainbow Incinerators and they grow well for me. I also have a Photon V2 and they seem to grow equally well in 80 par or 150.....they just need to acclimate. I've never seen these reach for light. One interesting thing that I have noticed with these, is that when I broadcast feed the corals, these are the only zoas of many varieties I have that will "eat" and close up like true paly do.
Anyways, I have found that zoas do not like to be moved around a lot, so if you are going to, give them some time to adjust. At least 2 weeks.
Any changes in nutrient levels? Salinity? Flow?

 

[Katrina71]

Is that some cyano on your sandbed? I'd try raising them off the sand.

 

[Taxman20]

Yea, the sand bed dirties up pretty quick and I do a 10g water change every weekend. I am attaching a picture of my parameters as of this last weekend. A couple items out of line but am correcting them. Hope you can read my writing. lol. If not just ask and I will reply with an answer. You will see a swing my my Alk which isnt normal. Normally it steady at about 8.5 or so, but it dropped and Ive been messing with the dosing amounts trying to stabilize it again. Iron was 0 so I dose it.

They have been in the same spot for quite a while. I normally let them sit for a month before moving them if I dont see any improvement.

I did a 10 minute fresh water dip as well and nothing came off them. So they should be parasite free.

They seem to be holding steady, just not getting bigger like they used to be. Also color is off on them, which has been the normal since having them shrink down.

 

[danschoenherr]

My 50g Lowboy frag tank has been setup for about 4 months now, (stock transferred from previous tank and is full of zoas), and I have a Radion XR15Pro on one side and a Photon V2+ on the other. PARs range from 50 -180 and I have multiple frags of Rainbow Incinerators scattered throughout the tank and were very consistant. I have noticed that they have slowed in growth AND are much paler in color than they used to be, just as your pics show. The only thing I changed, was that I started using Seachem Fuel over the last 2 months.
I am leaning towards a water chemistry issue, as in some elements are being depleted faster than dosing or water changes are replenishing them. I may get an ICP test done for a more accurate result.
Are you using fairly accurate test kits? Is your Mag really 1600?

 

[Taxman20]

I use all Red Sea kits except for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate which is with Salifert. Ive asked about the Mag test being high, and yes, its high every time I test and some say it might be normal due to using IO salt and the tank just isnt using it. Ive thought about getting a different test kit just to check it.

Im just at a loss because all other zoas and corals do great. Funny though, I have a very easy to keep orange digi tat has bleached out flesh and nice orange polyp extension. Slow growth but it is growing and has green tips on the new growth. My Monti caps, birdsnests etc have been doing awesome. Even have a couple Acros that 1 is doing well, the other had to be moved when it started losing flesh and seems to be doing better now. I dont get good polyp extension on the Acros for some reason.

 

[Taxman20]

Also here is a picture of my PAR readings before I turned the blues up 5% So it will be slightly higher but shouldnt be a lot.

 

[littlebigreef]

Rainbow Incinerators can be a little touchy at times despite the fact they grow fairly quickly. I'd caution you against monkeying with them too much. If they're still open, albeit discolored and slightly smaller I'd be inclined to just let them ride for a bit.

I have them in a few different places in my tank and dealt with a similar issue after I fragged some.

 

[Desmond]

i have had the same issue they melted then grew back got smaller then bigger. It seems to me they did best lower down in the tank. But as with all zoa you never know lol i would for sure check for pest. My 6 line and leopard are awesome for keeping my colonies clean.

 

[EMeyer]

My experience has been zoas don't like abnormally high Mg. Might try lowering to NSW levels of about 1300

 

[Desmond]

My experience has been zoas don't like abnormally high Mg. Might try lowering to NSW levels of about 1300

thats interesting so it is mine is around 1450 some of my zoa are growing like mad others are struggling

 

[Taxman20]

They havent been moved in a while but I am going to attach them to a rock and get them off the sand bed soon. Im waiting for my new RBTA to find its best spot and stay there first.

As for the MAg levels, I wouldnt know how to lower it. It seems that its not being depleted at all for some reason. Id love to lower it. Im going to buy a Salifert kit and cross test it to be safe that my Red Sea kit is reading correctly.

I did a fresh water dip for 10 minutes and nothing came off them so i think they are ok, All other zoas seem to be fine. A couple have smaller heads and others are better. I think they all could be bigger and fatter though. When looking at others tanks, these are far from perfect.