Why do my zoas look burnt?

[fishnoob~noclue]

Hey Guys,

Ive noticed a trend recently with Zoas in my 120 litre reef tank.

Zoa colonies have sort of been dying off one by one. Next up is these scrambled eggs but this time they've started to look almost burnt. I've had this frag for 3 months they've have the other head the entire time.

Ive looked for pests, but can't spot anything.

Ive Iodine dipped with reef dip, but seems yo be unsuccessful.

7.7 alk
1260 mag
0.12264 Phosphorus
40 po4
30 Nit
1.0255

Just hoping someone can see something or has had similar issue in the past.

Thanks

 

[Tahoe61]

You have ruled out all the usual suspects?
Nudibranch
Sundial
Sea Spiders (very hard to see)
Asterina Stars

The surrounding Zoanthids look great. Unfortunately sometimes we never figure it out.

 

[fishnoob~noclue]

Ive tried to rule them out but I can never be sure! Im going to try and detach the coral from the rack and dip in Iodine to inspect for pests.

Thanks for your help

 

[RedFrog211]

Hope you can figure it out- following for update

 

[Tahoe61]

Ive tried to rule them out but I can never be sure! Im going to try and detach the coral from the rack and dip in Iodine to inspect for pests.

Thanks for your help

I like the hydrogen peroxide dilution dip better. It's worked really well for me in the past.

Good Luck.

 

[Reef magic 1]

Hey Guys,

Ive noticed a trend recently with Zoas in my 120 litre reef tank.

Zoa colonies have sort of been dying off one by one. Next up is these scrambled eggs but this time they've started to look almost burnt. I've had this frag for 3 months they've have the other head the entire time.

Ive looked for pests, but can't spot anything.

Ive Iodine dipped with reef dip, but seems yo be unsuccessful.

7.7 alk
1260 mag
0.12264 Phosphorus
40 po4
30 Nit
1.0255

Just hoping someone can see something or has had similar issue in the past.

Thanks

Check for star fish...they are mainly the big culprits...also give them iodine dip and more to a different spot.

 

[fishnoob~noclue]

Hello Everyone,

To update you, I've chickened out of dipping them for now, instead a couple days ago placed a wave maker near the scrambled eggs.

I think they look better, but unsure if I'm telling myself that.

Should I still dip them?

 

[Tahoe61]

They look fine, short skirts though. Just keep checking at night periodically for the usual suspects.
It's my experience that flow place an important part in how long the tentacles are.
Glad they are looking better. Thanks for the follow-up.
BTW Zoanthids tolerate baths/dip in a hydrogen peroxid dilution well. I have never seen any adverse reactions.

 

[Privateye]

I've also had no bad reactions since I started dipping my zoanthids in peroxide almost a decade ago. I have seen it take care of nudibranchs (iodine took care of sea spiders IME) and their eggs. I sometimes collect wild zoanthids and every single time I give them both dips.

I started doing 50/50 peroxide (the regular 3% stuff) and tank water as a shot in the dark once I found nudibranchs on a colony I had already dipped and put in my tank for a couple of weeks. Peroxide was just what I had on hand that evening. I've seen others here report good results with the same mix over time though.

I leave them in the peroxide mix for 4 minutes. They will fizz and they may not open until the next day, but they will reopen. I recommend it for any new zoanthids just to be safe.

Note: you can't just add peroxide to your iodine dip, or vice versa. I tried adding iodine to a peroxide dip before (just being lazy) and when I turned back around the water had gone from brown to clear.