New 93 gallon cube - 8 weeks. First purchase after initial cycle was the CUC. All LFS owners, with all readings coming in well, said we could get some coral frags. Got some zoas and mushrooms on-line from Aquarium Depot that were billed as good beginner corals. Went to a LFS and the owner helped choose 2 more zoas, an acan, a Duncan, and a Galaxea. From what I'd read, the non-zoas are supposed to be a bit more difficult, yet there is only 1 zoa that seems to be doing well. The others appear to be dead, with only seeing 1 polyp on one. Everything that is more 'difficult' seems to be thriving - fish are doing great, all readings are where they should be. I'd sure like some help to understand why just the zoas are struggling in the tank. Thanks!
Zoa Info please
- Thread starter Lofr
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nautical_nathaniel
Indecision may or may not be my problem.
Can you post a picture of the zoas that look dead? Also it's not uncommon for them to look like they are struggling a bit, especially after being shipped, moved around, and placed in a new aquarium.
Bradw18
Active Member
We can't tell you anything with out some prams of your tank. And equipment list
BigJohnny
2500 Club Member
None of the corals you got are any more difficult than the others in my opinion. In fact i have lost zoas before but never a duncan or acan. How long have you had the frags? My guess is they are still acclimating to your system/recovering from stress, but you could have zoa spiders or zoa nudis, or a fish/shrimp is irritating them. It's possible they are in a bad spot but not too likely as placement is pretty forgiving.
When you say all readings are where they should be, what do you mean? What do you test for and what are the results?
What fish do you have in your tank?
Pics of the zoas would help.
Good to know that maybe I misunderstood the difficulty of zoas vs. duncan and acan.
Ammonia 0 ppm Nitrites 0 ppm Nitrates 0 ppm PH 9.0 KH 10.0 Calcium 420-440 Salinity 1.026
fish - 4-line wrasse, midnight clown, one-spot foxface, and a pajama cardinalfish
Ammonia 0 ppm Nitrites 0 ppm Nitrates 0 ppm PH 9.0 KH 10.0 Calcium 420-440 Salinity 1.026
fish - 4-line wrasse, midnight clown, one-spot foxface, and a pajama cardinalfish
nautical_nathaniel
Indecision may or may not be my problem.
The first set looks a little rough but the others look like they are still adjusting.
Your pH and Alkalinity are a little on the high side compared to most LFS water I have tested, that might be why they are taking a while to adjust. Nitrates could probably stand to come up a little bit too, somewhere around 2-5 would be nice. Let your tank dirty up a bit by turning the skimmer off for a few hours daily, take a little longer in between water changes and filter media cleaning, and test daily to see how things are going. Your rocks still look awfully new so it may just be a tank maturity issue.
Your pH and Alkalinity are a little on the high side compared to most LFS water I have tested, that might be why they are taking a while to adjust. Nitrates could probably stand to come up a little bit too, somewhere around 2-5 would be nice. Let your tank dirty up a bit by turning the skimmer off for a few hours daily, take a little longer in between water changes and filter media cleaning, and test daily to see how things are going. Your rocks still look awfully new so it may just be a tank maturity issue.
nautical_nathaniel
Indecision may or may not be my problem.
No problem
I'm sure someone else will come around with some other options for you so keep a lookout for that!
AshwinRavi
Active Member
what lights are you using and are the frags high up in the tank?
Ocean revive t247. Tried the frag that looked the best up high and it was not looking happy so moved it to medium-high. This is the same height now as the sorriest looking one. One that is more medium-low has 1 polyp left open on it. Any input on where the t247 should be set would be helpful. Keeping it on at 25 for about 10 hrs/day.
AshwinRavi
Active Member
I would say move the frags to the bed and work your way up, has always worked best for me. I dont have any knowledge about ocean revive, will see what others think.
Ok thx. Twice now I've seen the suggestion of dirty water. Guess what I need to understand is how is that not going to add to higher levels of undesired test results? I thought that's what overfeeding does.
littlebigreef
Valuable Member
I'd also look into doing a Lugol's dip with the zoas, it's pretty useful for bringing struggling zoas back around.
So, not to sound thick here, but is this solution an OTC something I find at a pharmacy? I looked it up and saw some information on alternative healing, which by itself sounds a bit interesting. Do I need to order it because that takes time while the zoas are already looking very poor. Where do I find said solution? Thx Lorri
littlebigreef
Valuable Member
It's a good question! I've never used the OTC solution but you can get the Kent Marine brand via Amazon delivered in a day or two. I swear by the stuff for any stressed or struggling coral.
Your tank is immature. Whenever I put zoas in a tank that is not "ready" they behave that way, with most of them staying closed up for weeks or months.
Zoas are a good "beginner coral" because they do not need pristine water parameters and are tolerant of dirty water, and this often leads to them being some of the first corals added when a cycle completes, and they cannot thrive in an immature system.
Keep nutrients up a little (nitrate and phosphate) and give it time - those colonies look like they should pull through as long as they have the food they need while things settle in.
Zoas are a good "beginner coral" because they do not need pristine water parameters and are tolerant of dirty water, and this often leads to them being some of the first corals added when a cycle completes, and they cannot thrive in an immature system.
Keep nutrients up a little (nitrate and phosphate) and give it time - those colonies look like they should pull through as long as they have the food they need while things settle in.
Good information Joe! Thanks, I realize the tank is immature. Realize the LFS wants to sell their products - wish they'd be a bit more helpful if the tank isn't ready for the zoas yet. One local reef store owner told me that if fish aren't having issues, corals should be fine since they are easier than fish. That was what I was going on. Nitrate test yesterday showed between 5-10 ppm; PH at 8.4 with API.
Lorri
I think there is a general thought that "Cycle complete" equals "ready for anything" which just isn't true. this is why we recommend against things like anemones or clams in a "new" system.
A question, if you didn't already mention it - What kind of rock/sand do you have, and how much? Do you have any additional biological filtration (marinepure blocks, etc?) I suspect the move towards dead rock and minimalist aquascaping is also making these sort of problems come up more than they used to (my first tank, 8 years ago, it was recommended to have 2lb/gal of rock, my current system runs more like .75lb/gal)
This is all purely conjecture, and I am not recommending any changes other than patience at this time, sinc eyour other livestock is doing well.
Regarding LFS recommending zoas for your system... By all intents, zoas are a good beginner coral, as they are generally pretty hardy. It is generally considered fine to add them early in a system's life, but I have observed very similar results to yours in three systems now, and struggled to figure out what was going on at the time.
A question, if you didn't already mention it - What kind of rock/sand do you have, and how much? Do you have any additional biological filtration (marinepure blocks, etc?) I suspect the move towards dead rock and minimalist aquascaping is also making these sort of problems come up more than they used to (my first tank, 8 years ago, it was recommended to have 2lb/gal of rock, my current system runs more like .75lb/gal)
This is all purely conjecture, and I am not recommending any changes other than patience at this time, sinc eyour other livestock is doing well.
Regarding LFS recommending zoas for your system... By all intents, zoas are a good beginner coral, as they are generally pretty hardy. It is generally considered fine to add them early in a system's life, but I have observed very similar results to yours in three systems now, and struggled to figure out what was going on at the time.
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