Zoanthid colony getting worse

Arsenix2001 · Nov 30, 2019

Introduced this colony a week ago and there was one trouble spot. Now it appears to be spreading and other polyps have closed. All my other frags are happy and the other colony is doing well. I dipped them in coral rx before placing.

Should I try moving them to a higher light/flow area? Re dip?

Salinity 1.024
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5ppm or less
Alk 9.3
Calcium 440
Magnesium 1290
Ph 8.4
Temp 76.5

Before

Now

Now

Zos4me · Nov 30, 2019

i would try moving them to a diffrent spot . The flow might be too direct on that one spot.

Arsenix2001 · Nov 30, 2019

Its a pretty low flow area, anywhere else I move them will probably be worse.

Zos4me · Nov 30, 2019

the only other suggestion i can offer is inspect it for pests and maybe give it another dip. might be something upsetting them. or leave them be and see what happens. my colonies sometimes have a section that wont open from time to time. i keep an eye on them. if it persists i take a closer look. most of the time they open back up and are fine

MixedFruitBasket · Nov 30, 2019

The pattern of loss and damage resembles what I've seen with nudibranch.

Arsenix2001 · Nov 30, 2019

I dont visually see anything upon inspection. Would a dip cause more stress? New at this, so alittle unsure.

MixedFruitBasket · Nov 30, 2019

Arsenix2001 said:
I dont visually see anything upon inspection. Would a dip cause more stress? New at this, so alittle unsure.

Unlikley to do more harm. And nudibranch will take on the color of the zoa they are eating and even fluoresce so they can be very difficult to spot.

Arsenix2001 · Nov 30, 2019

MixedFruitBasket said:
Unlikley to do more harm. And nudibranch will take on the color of the zoa they are eating and even fluoresce so they can be very difficult to spot.

Took your advice and re dipped with a seachem reef dip/ coral rx mix and this little bugger came out after about 10 minutes. Think he could have been the culprit? Either way glad its out of tank. I placed them back in the same area for now but slightly adjusted out of the sand and rotated to recieve better lighting. See what happens over time now and will move if they dont respond.