what could be wrong with my zoas?

[smitten with ocean life]

ok getting ready for the plunge. i think ill break off the torches before i dip the rock though. oh boy. never tried something like this before!

 

[smitten with ocean life]

wow. what an experience. broke my one rock . but my 3 girls were fascinated. they helped me rescue all the micro brittle stars that came floating out, snap off vermited snails, and rip off those stupid green palys. i was kinda worried about that part so we did it outside. only partway done. will see how it goes i guess

 

[smitten with ocean life]

@VintageReefer im trying to figure out how to dip this rock. this anemone wont be happy getting dipped, right?
part of the rock that i dipped yesterday has this florescent orange stuff on it now dont know what thats all about

 

[VintageReefer]

@VintageReefer im trying to figure out how to dip this rock. this anemone wont be happy getting dipped, right?
part of the rock that i dipped yesterday has this florescent orange stuff on it now dont know what thats all about

You can’t dip the rfa.

place rock in a bucket of sw and baste real good as a rinse. Blast off any film and detritus you can

Then place rock on a table. On newspaper or paper towels. You can take pure hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle, place a small cup over The rfa, and mist hydrogen peroxide all over the zoas and rock surfaces real good. Let sit for 5 min. Areas but the rfa - be cautious. Maybe don’t mist a 1” perimeter around the cup

Then place back in the tank. You’ll have the majority of the rock cleaned and purified in 24 hours. Exception being the small area by the rfa

 

[smitten with ocean life]

will do!

 

[smitten with ocean life]

i guess it doesnt kill aiptasia though lol. the bugger was still on the rock i did do

 

[smitten with ocean life]

so if this not pests, (which i always dip everything but i guess something couldve slipped by) any clues what happened? im just puzzled because i havent changed anything. not even salt. lol

 

[fishnchips17]

so if this not pests, (which i always dip everything but i guess something couldve slipped by) any clues what happened? im just puzzled because i havent changed anything. not even salt. lol

Like I said before it could be bacterial. Lookup reefbuilder article on how a build up of DOC can cause bacterial issues in corals.

 

[Coral Memere]

ok. thanks guys! i guess it just looks big to me because these are fair sized rocks with torches and other corals growing on them. but maybe i better just try to break it up so i can get to them

I would start with blowing them off and gently scrubbing with a toothbrush first. If that doesn’t help then maybe time to start dipping things.

Brandon at zoanthiss.com would tell you to blow them off for many days with a turkey baster.

I also agree with Vintage reefer... Except h2o2 and zoanthid tissue do not mix well. I have lost more zoas trying to dip in peroxide to get rid of algae. It's a fine line between just enough time to dip therapeutically and too much time, causing tissue damage.

Start simple. Turkey baster. If you have pests, you'll see them move separately from the zoa, at some point. Brandon will help you, directly, if you text him at 919-buy-zoas... Or whatever it is on their site. I've been texting them for years!

 

[Coral Memere]

so if this not pests, (which i always dip everything but i guess something couldve slipped by) any clues what happened? im just puzzled because i havent changed anything. not even salt. lol

Having said all that... I have over 200 varieties of zoas... I'm nowhere near an expert, buuuuuuut
Sometimes,
Zoas
Just
Melt.
And it sucks.

Keep us posted?

 

[Coral Memere]

i guess it doesnt kill aiptasia though lol. the bugger was still on the rock i did do

A knife takes care of that if the rock is out of the water. Plus, it's quite satisfying.

 

[VintageReefer]

My methods are zoa safe :)
If using undiluted h2o2 and spraying zoa colony, light mist is all that’s needed for algae and films.

This won’t affect aiptasia unfortunately, but the perfect time to hit them with aiptasia-x, lemon juice, or…

 

[scowall]

im needing the zoas pros to help me out here please. these are my oldest zoa colonies. several years old. nothing has been changed. no new additions. my parameter numbers run pretty stable at sal. 1.026, phos. .31, nitrate 35.4, mag 1350, cal. 350, alk. 9. ive done a water change and have carbon in. but these zoas have been closed for a couple of weeks now and seem to be disappearing. it does look like there are little specs on them so im wondering about a pest maybe? would be very thankful for any insight on what could be going on. esp before it moves to my other zoas! sorry about the crummy pics. im not good at taking them

Have you done an icp test?

 

[smitten with ocean life]

i havent. never done one of those. i quit doing peroxide because it didnt save the zoas that were on the rocks i dipped.

 

[bubbgee]

i havent. never done one of those. i quit doing peroxide because it didnt save the zoas that were on the rocks i dipped.

The peroxide dip didn't work? Have you tried iodine dip?

There's more dips strategies here. I am dealing with the same issue you have. I lost some but was able to save most of my zoas so far. I still need to do another.

https://reefstable.com/blog/how-to-dip-coral

 

[smitten with ocean life]

well the peroxide dip didnt save the zoas anyway. im sure it probably killed bad stuff on the rocks. but the zoa colonies have just melted away. i just am really hoping i dont loose what i have left!

 

[GSPClown94]

That’s unfortunate you zoas perished. It sounds like maybe the hydrogen peroxide dip may have been too much for them to handle. Did you dilute the hydrogen peroxide with saltwater before dipping the colony?

 

[smitten with ocean life]

i did yes. but im wondering now- could it be my aiptasia eating filefish? hes always picking at the zoas and i guess i hoped he was eating pests. maybe he is. but if the colony is being picked at, does that cause the rest of the colony to close up and eventually disappear?

 

[VintageReefer]

i did yes. but im wondering now- could it be my aiptasia eating filefish? hes always picking at the zoas and i guess i hoped he was eating pests. maybe he is. but if the colony is being picked at, does that cause the rest of the colony to close up and eventually disappear?

Yes it could be him. I had one and he ate acans and zoas. If some in the colony get picked at others will close also

He doesn’t eat pests. Eats aiptasia, some soft corals and some lps

My unofficial belief is they eat corals that resemble aiptasia. Like zoa - has a skirt with lashes. It is like a colorful aiptasia. I wondered if to a filefish’s vision - it resembles an aiptasia.

 

[smitten with ocean life]

oh boy. ok then out he goes i guess. thanks vintage!