25 Reasons why your polyps won't expand.

[MUCHO REEF]

1. You have a zoanthid eating worm.

2. Sundial snails. ( I've experienced this )

3. A fish that is nipping at them, there are several well documented cases of this. ( I've experienced this )

4. An invert doing the same. ( I've experienced this )

5. Unstable or fluctuating parameters.

6. Large Emerald Crabs or a Sally Lightfoot. Both can and will
consume, kill and cause polyp retraction. ( I've experienced this )

7. Sea Spiders. ( I've experienced this )

8. If shipped, the water was much too cold and you placed it directly into your tank without slowly drip acclimating them. Or, the inverse, the water was too warm.

9. Nudibranchs ( I've experienced this )

10. Stray Voltage. ( I've experienced this )

11. Excessively high Iodine which would prove fatal.

12. Light shock

13. Polyps that were kept in PC or VHOs and then placed mid to high level under MH's without light acclimating them. Possible burning could also occur.

or

Polyps that were in maybe dual 175 SE Mh and then placed mid to high under 400 watt DE MH, will cause possible burning or a delayed expansion.

14. Other stinging corals.

15. Chemical warfare.

16. Overpowering current. ( I've experienced this )

17. Excessive collection of sediment. See post 1, 6 and 7 in the link below.

http://www.michiganreefers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18546&highlight=Mucho

18. Nuisance algae around the polyps which will irritate them and prevent them from expanding. ( I've experienced this )

19. Temperamental, yes, they are, there may be nothing at all wrong, that simply don’t want to expand for that day.

20. Fungus

21. Bacterial infection. ( I've experienced this )

22. White lesions also referred to as Zoa Pox. ( I've experienced this )

23. Amphipods, which I have only witnessed eating sick, dead, dying, decaying polyps. Doesn’t mean they won’t eat perfectly healthy ones, I just haven’t witnessed it, some have.

24. Extreme hypo or hyper salinity


25. And the final reason may not be any of the reasons above. Why? Periodically, polyps will retract from days to 10 to 14 days, during which they will clean themselves externally. Then without any advanced notice, they will unfold like a flower or a summer’s morning.


I'm sure there are many more. If you have witnessed anything that you know for sure is a contributor to this list, please add it. Hopefully this thread can become a springboard for some discussion on this topic.

Mucho Reef

PS. There are proactive measures that one can take to prevent or greatly reduce your chances of experiencing the above. Most notably...

1. Dipping
2. Close inspection
3. Quarantine your new purchases
4. Educating yourself on what to look for and recognize. I think a lack of knowledge is the one major contributors to most unfortunate experiences in reefing.

 

[killingseed]

zoanthid eating worm or worms?

 

[MTB]

I have experienced 2,4,7, and apparently 25. Well done on the list mucho!

 

[J. Montgomery]

26. Polyps don't expand b/c they're dead

 

[TropTrea]

The listing is helpful. however it would nice to have some sub lists like for number 3 which fish have people seen nipping on there zoos?

Dennis

 

[MUCHO REEF]

I was going to list several things for each one including remedies and a list of the fish and inverts. I chose not to because I didn't want this thread to turn into a possible heated debate. Everyone should please feel free to add anything to this thread. The more info the better.


Mucho

PS, see the link below for some great additional info. It's a very good link to save for future reference from top to bottom.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/sp/feature/index.php

 

[Peter Eichler]

Mucho, I'd like to hear about yours and others experience regarding stray voltage stressing out zoanthids and other corals.

 

[TONY DELBRIDGE]

zoanthid eating worm? I just recently lost nearly my entire tank of zoos (zoo Island lost thread). I suspect now it was either due to low PH due to not buffering my top off RO freshwater (7.8) or excessive heat due to my new light overheating the tank in the summer months.

While I was removing some of the dead zoo rocks and rearranging my tank, I did spot a couple of large worms which looked as large as caterpillars. They were fuzzy on the exterior. I have never seen them out in the open, only under rocks. I saw another one last night. I don't suspect this is due to my loss because I had as many as 15-20 colonies which turned brown and were gone in a matter of days.

I now have only a few colonies which survied and now multiplying again. I am curious at what these worms you are referring to look like. I am familiar with spaghetti worms which I believe are harmless..

 

[TONY DELBRIDGE]

hey Mucho, just looked up bristleworms....yep that's what I've got @$#$&%$%&. Pulled out 2-3 and saw one more last night. Do these eat zoos or just a nuisance? After 3 years of maintaining a saltwater tank, I am still learning. I have had a freshwater tanks for 25 years and have learned from mistakes made in the past...

 

[MUCHO REEF]

Please read the entire thread with pics of both. They love soft coral. I will ask the mod to attach the links to the actual number above.


http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=887746&highlight=worm+zoanthid


http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=858111&highlight=worm+zoanthid


Bristle worms on the other hand are actually beneficial as scavengers that will most often scurry out at night but may very well be seen traveling throughout the reef during the day. I wouldn't consider them harmful at all when they are small. As a rule of thumb, I will remove any bristle worm I see longer than 7 or 8 inches. That's just me, I'm not saying anyone should do that, they do indeed add to the biodiversity of any reef tank large or small. However for me, I have several thousand dollars worth of zoanthids, palythoas, and blastos that I'm not willing to take a chance on with something that big. Therefore after 7 inches, I started hunting.

Mucho Reef

 

[MTB]

That quarantine link is a great reference. Many people underestimate the power of QT. I learned my lesson when I first started. A clown had ich and I just threw him in with the assumption it would pass. I lost my first four fish to that incident.

Sorry Peter I have not experienced stray voltage. I used a grounding probe and GFCIs since day one.

I have seen what i believe to be a peanut worm near some zoos of mine. The colony was dissipating since day one. So I looked with a red lens one night and saw a worm about 7" long mowing them down. I dipped the colony in freshwater with lugols and let it dry on the counter for 4 hours. They are slowly making a come back. They weren't spectacular zoos by any means. I just can't stand to see my pride and joy wiped out by something so small and ugly.

 

[Slakker]

Don't forget that being too shaded can keep them closed for a while, too. Mine didn't open up till I moved them out into the shade

 

[melev]

#26 - hermit crabs seem to like to rip them off the rockwork because the glue beneath taste better. (This has happened to me)

 

[UntamedBreez]

great list...

have not had any of that yet...may i never

I did have a rock of zoos fall over, upside down.....and they didnt open for a few days

 

[Bloke]

Overpowering current?

How can this be? They are from the ocean and while a ph blowing directly on them might be the case, I seriously doubt that current will prevent them from opening assuming the current is random.

Wouldn't you think?

 

[geoxman]

a sharp blast from a PH is quite different from a very broad, wide surge of water and it will keep the polyps from opening.

I think #5 is very key!

 

[MUCHO REEF]

Peter Eichler, I will post a pic later today regarding the stray voltage I found about a year ago and what caused it.

"Don't forget that being too shaded can keep them closed for a while,"

Zoanthids and Palythoas will open even in pure darkest. I have flicked my lights on in the middle of a dark period to see a few that are still open.


# 26 would be inclusive of # 4.


Overpowering current will indeed cause polyps to retract. I agree with Geoxman, the two types of current are not the same. If you take a power head and place it too close with a direct sharp flow and not a broad spray, it will cause zoanthids and Palythoas to retract and stay that way. I have seen it many many times. Once a month, I will take a Maxi Jet 1200 a spray off my entire reef at close range. The sole purpose is to remove/blow off and sediment, detritus or deposits on all of the colonies which might accumulate over time. I have done this for years and most all of them retract as a result of this blast.

Geoxman, regarding # 5, I try very hard to allow for little or no flucuation at all.

Mucho Reef

 

[melev]

How about this? #26 - accidentally nuking them with kalkpaste while trying to eradicate aiptasia.

 

[MUCHO REEF]

LOL, sounds like a winner, LOL

 

[anomie]

#20 and #21...

Is there a way to tell if it is a bacterial infection as opposed to a fungal one?