A sundial snail and a sea spider on one colony

[The Escaped Ape]

And it was the only colony looking in bad shape. Do I worry about the rest of my zoas or can I just manage with keeping an eye open to look for warning signs.

I had one colony dissolve recently thanks to a fungus (not the same as the zoa pox in the US - not the same white blotches and it seems the symptoms were different, but fast working and nasty). So initially I wondered if it was the same problem with another colony. I dipped in Coral Pro X and at the same time decided to remove a network of tube worms that had interweaved themselves with the polyps and I worried were irritating them.

Well, in the process of removing the tubes/worms, I found one sea spider and one sundial snail, both small. I searched thoroughly and found no others on the same colony.

What is the likelihood that there are others in the tank? This was the only only colony (aside the one that's already succumbed to the fungus) that's been showing signs of receding flesh/ significantly closed polyps. I dipped two others at the same time: one frag of the colony that dissolved, fragged before it started looking dodgy (the frag hadn't been showing signs of the fungus but I wanted to be sure) and one colony of pinks that always had a few polyps shut, but mostly open otherwise. All my other zoas are looking fine and I've not dipped them at this stage.

Does it help that the affected colonies were kept separate from the others on the sand bed? Or does that make not much difference?

 

[MikeandNicole]

What do you think they came in on? Did you add anything recently?

 

[The Escaped Ape]

To be honest, I'm not sure. It's been a little while since I've added any zoas. The only recent addition is an Acan echinata and I'd be surprised if it came in with those.

My best bet is that they came in with this colony originally and have only just recently got big enough/had been grazing for long enough that the colony started to deteriorate obviously. It's pretty much the only colony I have with really tightly packed polyps that don't reveal much between them unless you take them out to inspect them.

I might just have a go at a preventative dip/inspection for the other colonies soon.

 

[kichimark]

Oh man I hate those things. I had one spider on a frag and I caught it in the bag when temp acclimation. IMO if it has been a while since last coral introduction and you see them, most likely there are more and treat accordingly.

 

[The Escaped Ape]

Thanks Kichimark. Do you know if a treatment like Coral Pro X will kill them, or was I just lucky to have found it because I inspected the colony closely? I'm hoping that if I dip them and inspect them, even if I miss something, it will have been killed by the dip.

 

[MikeandNicole]

I agree with treating, I would give Revive a shot, should knock them out.

 

[The Escaped Ape]

Thanks M&N. I can't get hold of Revive very easily (based in Japan), but will try the Coral Pro X again. Failing that, I've got some Lugols coming in a shipment from the States at the moment.

 

[kichimark]

Thanks Kichimark. Do you know if a treatment like Coral Pro X will kill them, or was I just lucky to have found it because I inspected the colony closely? I'm hoping that if I dip them and inspect them, even if I miss something, it will have been killed by the dip.

Never used coral pro x so I do not know. Regarding the spiders you should remove the colony to a QT tank and watch it closely. From what I know dips will take care of the adults but the eggs will be unharmed and may take weeks to hatch.

Here is a little read for you:
http://melevsreef.com/id/pycnogonid.html

I never had sundial snails but from the people that do manual removal seems to be a good option.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=122

 

[The Escaped Ape]

Thanks Kichimark. Will do some careful inspecting and separate the colony in question.

 

[The Escaped Ape]

Well, I just dipped all my zoas during a water change and found another sea spider during the following inspection, on the same colony. I don't have a quarantine tank at the moment (I know, it's unforgivable), but will keep it at the front of the tank to keep an eye on it.

In the process of inspecting my RPEs, I found a strange growth (which almost looked like a sea spider buried inside, as the half that was visible was almost like spiky legs pointing out). But when I went to remove it, it expelled some bright red liquid and I started to think it was a sponge, so I persisted in yanking on it with my tweezers. To my horror, as I removed whatever it was, it took the insides of one of my RPE polyps with it. I hope the colony will recover (it'd just started growing lots of new heads and has gone from about 12 to 20 polyps).

 

[kichimark]

did it look like this Tom?
http://www.zoaid.com/index.php?module=Gallery2&g2_itemId=469.

I read they do lay their eggs inside the polyp.

 

[The Escaped Ape]

Thanks kichimark. No, actually, it looked very different. Very hard to see, but more like a sponge (maybe some sort of boring sponge?). The frag had originally come with some sort of red growth attached (definitely not the palys themselves) which I'd removed and this looked similar. I thought better to remove in case it was destructive, but in doing so I ripped out the heart of one of my larger polyps and half its side. It was traumatic, I tell you (seriously).

The good news is that they're looking fine now, with all the other polyps fully open. The other colonies are also looking fine. The problem colony is the only exception, but I've removed the dead/rotting tissue and gone over it so thoroughly I hope I've got rid of anything that will cause any serious problems (but will still keep an eye on it).

I really need a quarantine tank, but my wife is resisting any new tank, however small...

 

[livingcorals]

Zoa does very well with an iodine dip and the sea spiders die very fast. With in 2 mins. It just takes 1 egg sack before more come out to play. I would dip again in 3-4 days just to make sure.

Hey when you notice that fungus did the colony have any sponge on it?

 

[The Escaped Ape]

Thanks livingcorals. I'll do that when I get back on the 2nd (heading to my in-laws for New Year).

The colony that got the fungus didn't even come attached to a rock when I first got it, believe it or not. I might even have complained, but sometimes trying to do so in Japanese is just too much hassle. When it first arrived, some of the polyps were brown, soft and smelly and I assumed it'd been burned by the heat pack. I cut off the affected tissue and polyps and attached the loose colony to a rock. Well, it looked alright for a few weeks, but obviously it had been a fungus, not a heat issue, as it came right back after a while and the colony deteriorated really quickly at that stage. This was before I had any dips at home.

This is why I wondered if this colony had had a fungus issue. But I'm not so sure now. Having eventually found 2 sea spiders and one sundial snail on it, I'm thinking (hoping) that that was actually the issue. Plus I never had the same smell or brown polyps with this colony. The other colonies look fine (and are more open looking - this one has really tightly packed polyps, making it easier for the nasties to hide away).

Thanks again for your advice.