Micro zoas no longer opening

[Fishy Guy]

I’ve got a small colony of micro zoas that I’ve had for about a month and a half. Tank is 2 months old, they were my first coral.

They were open and seemed to be having no issues up until about a week ago. Now they are closed and several of the polyps are “reaching “. I’ve moved them slightly a few times to rearrange things but never more than a few inches. If anything they’re getting more light than they were before.

Water parameters have been stable and no other corals have shown any signs of issue. Other zoas are still opening.

Only potential issue is I’ve found two nudibranchs in the last couple of weeks. Both were on the glass away from the zoas. I’ve inspected all of my frags and can’t find any evidence of others.

Just sort of at a loss on what the issue is and what steps I should take, if any.

Previously open

Current state

 

[EricR]

First, don't listen to me since all of my zoas that were doing great and spreading for 1+ year have been looking sad now over the last year. *other threads with people having similar issues on here with no clear resolution

My first observation is that, based on pictures, it looks like the stalks are stretching upward which could indicate not getting enough light. You might try moving them up off the sand. (Just one thought)

 

[Patx]

Im no expert neither but...
Things that caught my eyes.

Did you change the flow patern ?

For me,
First step, shake the rock upside down... hard !
Clean zoa with a smooth brush under water.
Let it rest one day.

If no change, dip rock in peroxyde/ water tank mix...

 

[RockBox13]

Im no expert neither but...
Things that caught my eyes.

Did you change the flow patern ?

For me,
First step, shake the rock upside down... hard !
Clean zoa with a smooth brush under water.
Let it rest one day.

If no change, dip rock in peroxyde/ water tank mix...

Good call. They have that random pattern of closed or partially closed because of a pest. Seems like at least a couple very likely Zoa Nudi egg sites there. Gotta dip and treat all of them in there. After they are out, look around closely for any and use a Turkey baster pull them out and to see if you can knock any off the rocks that might be hidden. You could gravel vac around where they sat too. Lots of dips out there, I like Melafix, it’s stronger than Revive, antibacterial, it’s also a useful dip for fish, and good all around dip for all new corals before you put them in your tank to see if there’s anything that shakes out. It should start to kill the nudis and amphipods quickly. It’s pretty effective for dipping Montipora Nudis and AEFW too. Get a magnifying glass or zoom in closely to make it a bit easier to look for the eggs.

 

[welshd24]

I’ve got a small colony of micro zoas that I’ve had for about a month and a half. Tank is 2 months old, they were my first coral.

They were open and seemed to be having no issues up until about a week ago. Now they are closed and several of the polyps are “reaching “. I’ve moved them slightly a few times to rearrange things but never more than a few inches. If anything they’re getting more light than they were before.

Water parameters have been stable and no other corals have shown any signs of issue. Other zoas are still opening.

Only potential issue is I’ve found two nudibranchs in the last couple of weeks. Both were on the glass away from the zoas. I’ve inspected all of my frags and can’t find any evidence of others.

Just sort of at a loss on what the issue is and what steps I should take, if any.

Previously open

Current state

Are you able to send a picture of the nudis you found and what are your water parameters.

 

[BOYERZ]

Your light spectrum looks different, did you change it?

 

[Fishy Guy]

Thanks all!

Did you change the flow patern ?

For me,
First step, shake the rock upside down... hard !
Clean zoa with a smooth brush under water.
Let it rest one day.

If no change, dip rock in peroxyde/ water tank mix...

No, I have not changed the flow pattern since starting up the tank.

Good call. They have that random pattern of closed or partially closed because of a pest. Seems like at least a couple very likely Zoa Nudi egg sites there. Gotta dip and treat all of them in there. After they are out, look around closely for any and use a Turkey baster pull them out and to see if you can knock any off the rocks that might be hidden. You could gravel vac around where they sat too. Lots of dips out there, I like Melafix, it’s stronger than Revive, antibacterial, it’s also a useful dip for fish, and good all around dip for all new corals before you put them in your tank to see if there’s anything that shakes out. It should start to kill the nudis and amphipods quickly. It’s pretty effective for dipping Montipora Nudis and AEFW too. Get a magnifying glass or zoom in closely to make it a bit easier to look for the eggs.

I didn't know you could use Melafix as a coral dip, I can definitely give that a try. I've dipped all of my corals in Red Sea DipX (it's what my LFS carries) before adding to the tank.

Are you able to send a picture of the nudis you found and what are your water parameters.

Here's the nudi; I've only found two so far a couple of weeks apart, both were on the front glass. I've inspected all of my zoas and didn't notice any others on them or circular egg patterns.

Parameters:
SG - 1.026
Alk - 8.5
Ca - 420
PO4 - 0.08
NO3 - 15.7

Your light spectrum looks different, did you change it?

No, spectrum is the same; the second picture was taken with a different filter.

I increased light intensity a small bit recently but that was after the zoas had closed up.

 

[EricR]

Here's the nudi; I've only found two so far a couple of weeks apart, both were on the front glass. I've inspected all of my zoas and didn't notice any others on them or circular egg patterns.

I don't know enough to say but the back of these looks sorta similar to what would nicely camouflage them in a patch of zoas of similar color -- that would concern me.
*they're on the glass though so that's positive (maybe)

 

[Fishy Guy]

I don't know enough to say but the back of these looks sorta similar to what would nicely camouflage them in a patch of zoas of similar color -- that would concern me.
*they're on the glass though so that's positive (maybe)

I found two more on one of my zoas so there goes that hope ha.

 

[Fishy Guy]

Good call. They have that random pattern of closed or partially closed because of a pest. Seems like at least a couple very likely Zoa Nudi egg sites there. Gotta dip and treat all of them in there. After they are out, look around closely for any and use a Turkey baster pull them out and to see if you can knock any off the rocks that might be hidden. You could gravel vac around where they sat too. Lots of dips out there, I like Melafix, it’s stronger than Revive, antibacterial, it’s also a useful dip for fish, and good all around dip for all new corals before you put them in your tank to see if there’s anything that shakes out. It should start to kill the nudis and amphipods quickly. It’s pretty effective for dipping Montipora Nudis and AEFW too. Get a magnifying glass or zoom in closely to make it a bit easier to look for the eggs.

What's the ratio for doing Melafix as a dip? Will 15-20 minutes be long enough?

 

[Patx]

there are 3 different concentrations of the product.

Regular melafix @1%, Marine @1.25%, Pond @5%

This is the note i have:

- Marine (1.25%) 50mL/Gallon
- Regular (1%) 62.5mL/Gallon
- Pond (5%) 12.5mL/Gallon
3-5 min.

 

[Patx]

Thanks all!


No, I have not changed the flow pattern since starting up the tank.


I didn't know you could use Melafix as a coral dip, I can definitely give that a try. I've dipped all of my corals in Red Sea DipX (it's what my LFS carries) before adding to the tank.


Here's the nudi; I've only found two so far a couple of weeks apart, both were on the front glass. I've inspected all of my zoas and didn't notice any others on them or circular egg patterns.

Parameters:
SG - 1.026
Alk - 8.5
Ca - 420
PO4 - 0.08
NO3 - 15.7


No, spectrum is the same; the second picture was taken with a different filter.

I increased light intensity a small bit recently but that was after the zoas had closed up.

Personally, every time I saw a nudibranch in my tank, it was not good news. but I've never seen one on the glass fooling around.
I hope he's a good guy.

Who's the nudi specialist here ?

 

[Patx]

@Fishy Guy do you have a Pink Streaked Wrasse in there ?

 

[Fishy Guy]

Personally, every time I saw a nudibranch in my tank, it was not good news. but I've never seen one on the glass fooling around.
I hope he's a good guy.

Who's the nudi specialist here ?

I’m removing them as soon as I see them.

@Fishy Guy do you have a Pink Streaked Wrasse in there ?

I don’t. I’ve been trying to get one but none of my LFSs can source one right now.

 

[Patx]

I don’t. I’ve been trying to get one but none of my LFSs can source one right now.

ah ok, I saw it in your list in your tank thread.
I found it surprising to see a free nudi with a wrasse.

 

[Fishy Guy]

So did all of my zoas in a Melafix dip and had a few hitchhikers come off; any thoughts?

 

[RockBox13]

So did all of my zoas in a Melafix dip and had a few hitchhikers come off; any thoughts?

That’s a good amount of nudis. With a soft toothbrush, try to get any egg sacs you can see off them. You don’t need to have them in a dip, just brush and shake them out in a container. Then rinse off for a second with tank water. Remember you have to dip all of your Zoas and Palys and keep looking for loose ones.

 

[Fishy Guy]

That’s a good amount of nudis. With a soft toothbrush, try to get any egg sacs you can see off them. You don’t need to have them in a dip, just brush and shake them out in a container. Then rinse off for a second with tank water. Remember you have to dip all of your Zoas and Palys and keep looking for loose ones.

That was from dipping all of my zoas. I still didn’t see any obvious eggs but assume they are there somewhere so did scrub them all gently.

I also got them all up off the sand when I placed them back.

They have started to reopen too. Still looking rough but this is the best I’ve seen them in almost two weeks.

 

[Patx]

@Fishy Guy how it goes ?

 

[Fishy Guy]

@Fishy Guy how it goes ?

Things seem to be good knock on wood. Been keeping a close eye on things and haven’t seen any more nudis. Zoas are all consistently open.