Maybe losing my Fire N Ice ZOAs

[madkat]

I have been gone for 2 weeks and when I get home I find all my fire & Ice Zoas to be completely retracted and almost gone, they look like the heads are all swollen and separating from the shafts....

I will try to get a pic and post it tonight.

Parameters are great according to the tests, my alk was a little low and my calc was at 460 ( low for me). I will try to post a pic of the before and after shots... These are the only zoas affected in my tank, and they are isolated from anything.


Any shots in the dark?

 

[Lytehouse]

The fact they are the only thing showing signs of difficulty is odd.

Are they on rocks or sandbed? I would look for something causing them to close, like pods or bristle worms irritating them when they come out to scavenge for food. The other obvious question is, have you added anything to the tank in the last few weeks or changed anything--- pumps, lighting, salt.....

 

[madkat]

I Have been gone to arkansas for the last 16 days, no change, they were fine when I left....not so much now.

They are on a rock all by themselves, here is a pic of them the month before I left.

That deep water walindi is no longer around it, moved it to a lower light(3 weeks before i left).

 

[madkat]

Here is a pic of what they look like tonight, sorry phone pic.
After I took this photo, I reached in to move them to quarantine and the all separated and floated around the tank.

 

[Lytehouse]

Any polyps left on the frag?

Did you see anything on the polyps that may have looked like brown fuzz?

Any info would be helpful....

 

[chaderic26]

The good news is you have crazy good coraline growth.

 

[madkat]

Any polyps left on the frag?

Did you see anything on the polyps that may have looked like brown fuzz?

Any info would be helpful....

Yes Lynn, there was some brown fuzzy stuff, thought it was a little slime algae. No polyps left, completely deteriorated and all the heads went separate ways in the current.

 

[madkat]

The good news is you have crazy good coraline growth.

No kidding, my coraline is plating.....

 

[Lytehouse]

If it is a fuzzy brown algae around the base of the polyps, that was your problem. I can't tell you what caused it, but from what you described, by the time you saw it they were gonners. Once you see the polyps closing and the algae your only chance is to dip the colony.

Speculations: something stressed the colony-- temp change, irritant like we discussed before, etc.... They are really hard to save once they start downhill. It's a difficult balance between dipping them and not overdipping them and overstressing them.

Watch the next closest colony.........Lynn

Yes Lynn, there was some brown fuzzy stuff, thought it was a little slime algae. No polyps left, completely deteriorated and all the heads went separate ways in the current.