Zoas dying?

[KingJuleigh]

Ok so my zoas were covered with hair algae so I took the advice from a few people on here and I did a 3:1 peroxide dip, I did this yesterday and the algae is pretty much gone but the zoas aren’t opening, they haven’t opened much since they were attacked by algae, are they going to die?
The one zoa I didn’t dip keeps opening his mouth really wide on one head, I haven’t seen him do this before

Parameters on the test strip came out good a few days ago but I will be testing again with a liquid test kit

Salinity is about 1.021-1.023 slowing bringing it up to 1.025 temp is steady at 77

It is a 20 gallon tank that has been set up with fish and coral about 2 months, I am battling hair algae and now my corals are acting weird and this is my first salt water tank so I’m just at a loss

Occupants:
Firefish
Scooter blenny
Lawnmower blenny
2 turbo snails
7ish baby hermit crabs
Coral banded shrimp
Pin cushion urchin

4 types of zoas
1 toad stool (which is acting weird bent over light colored base)
1 Kenya tree
1 hammer (not opening as much as normal)
1 Duncan heads (not opening as much as normal)
GSP
Feather duster (just shed its crown)

 

[Tyler Bullock]

I have had a few that have done this as well. Some would open up a few minutes after my peroxide dip. Others took a few days to open. I wouldn't worry. Now if they haven't opened up in a month and start to get smaller..........then you should worry.

 

[Rlreefing]

If you have an issue with hair algae than you most likely have parameters that are not the most conducive for coral health. This can be compounded by the fact that you system is 20 gal. two months in my experiences is not enough time for a tank to cycle out for more mature growth for corals. Zoa may stay closed for a few days, as you have stressed them with a movement and the peroxide dip and movement again. with any coral they need stability and that also means from changing place in the tank and keeping our hands out of the tank. You should work on stabilizing the tanks nutrients to help with the outbreaks of hair algae and the coral health will improve. At this point you should also do a manual removal of hair algae from you rock.

 

[tankstudy]

Is your tank actually cloudy like your pictures??

 

[KingJuleigh]

Is your tank actually cloudy like your pictures??

It is a little cloudy, my LFS told me to buy a UV sterilization pod thingy and I’m waiting for it to come in the mail.

 

[KingJuleigh]

If you have an issue with hair algae than you most likely have parameters that are not the most conducive for coral health. This can be compounded by the fact that you system is 20 gal. two months in my experiences is not enough time for a tank to cycle out for more mature growth for corals. Zoa may stay closed for a few days, as you have stressed them with a movement and the peroxide dip and movement again. with any coral they need stability and that also means from changing place in the tank and keeping our hands out of the tank. You should work on stabilizing the tanks nutrients to help with the outbreaks of hair algae and the coral health will improve. At this point you should also do a manual removal of hair algae from you rock.

The tank has been cycled but only had fish in it for 2 months, any advice on how to stabilize the nutrients? Also I do hand remove the algae but I try not to disturb the rocks with the corals too much.

 

[tankstudy]

It is a little cloudy, my LFS told me to buy a UV sterilization pod thingy and I’m waiting for it to come in the mail.

You'll want to run that first before trying anything else in your tank. Sometimes, these blooms agitate coral quite a bit.

 

[Rlreefing]

The tank has been cycled but only had fish in it for 2 months, any advice on how to stabilize the nutrients? Also I do hand remove the algae but I try not to disturb the rocks with the corals too much.

The tank may have been cycled before fish, but when you introduce fish the nutrient levels change. There will be an increase of nutrients from the food and the fish expelling ammonia and other proteins that break down and form nitrate(s). Anaerobic bacteria feeds on the nitrates, but it is a slow progression for natural increases. You can supplement the bacteria through products, but this may not promote healthy establishments as there will be dieoff and level swings respectively, or wait and allow them to build naturally. Water changes are another option for nutrient export. Again a 20 gallon, while it is more cost effective to fun has many challenges in that it is not forgiving in that any change is a major change compared to say a 100 gal system. As each system is different it is important to understand the system you run and this requires that you have to try many approaches to figure out which is the best for your specific system.

do you run carbon? protein skimmer?

 

[KingJuleigh]

The tank may have been cycled before fish, but when you introduce fish the nutrient levels change. There will be an increase of nutrients from the food and the fish expelling ammonia and other proteins that break down and form nitrate(s). Anaerobic bacteria feeds on the nitrates, but it is a slow progression for natural increases. You can supplement the bacteria through products, but this may not promote healthy establishments as there will be dieoff and level swings respectively, or wait and allow them to build naturally. Water changes are another option for nutrient export. Again a 20 gallon, while it is more cost effective to fun has many challenges in that it is not forgiving in that any change is a major change compared to say a 100 gal system. As each system is different it is important to understand the system you run and this requires that you have to try many approaches to figure out which is the best for your specific system.

do you run carbon? protein skimmer?

I agree the larger tanks are better, this 20 gallon is somewhat of a grow tank, we are moving soon and I will be getting a 125-220 gallon tank so since we have a little while before we move I had the idea to get practice with a tank and get a few different coral to grow to a decent size so I have good pieces to put in the large tank