My Zoanthids are not doing too good right now.

[Webmanny]

Hey guys,

For some reason, my Zoas are not doing too hot for the past few days. The palys on the same rock are fine, all the LPS and SPS corals are doing great, but the Zoas for some reason are not opening up. Parameters are below. I think it may have something to do with running biopellets. Could the pellets be cleaning the water to much?

These are my parameters right now.

These are a few pictures I just took. The rock is on the bottom of the tank. Just FYI.

 

[Snookster]

I killed off a few when I removed too much nutrients from the water too fast. They shrank to nothing. My people-eaters were among the first to go.

 

[Specfishin]

I know a lot of mine aren't caring for the extra two t5s above them now. they're looking like yours , at least some of them.

 

[bigzman]

Astria?

 

[CuzzA]

Mixed reefs brother... If one thing is happy another ain't and vice versa. It's actually amazing we're able to keep so many diverse species happy as much as we do considering we have corals from all over the world from different environments and different depths, etc.

I've got no answers for you other than it's been my experience that zoas grow, recede and grow again. For that reason I won't buy frags with less than 5 polyps.

 

[paradox_of_reef]

Yeah the tank might be too clean for Zoas' taste.

 

[ReefWhatYouSow]

Mixed reefs brother... If one thing is happy another ain't and vice versa. It's actually amazing we're able to keep so many diverse species happy as much as we do considering we have corals from all over the world from different environments and different depths, etc.

I've got no answers for you other than it's been my experience that zoas grow, recede and grow again. For that reason I won't buy frags with less than 5 polyps.

+1
Great advice!

 

[Webmanny]

Right after I posted this, I took out the rock and did a dip and inspected all the Zoas carefully. I found two of these little guys. According to the coralpedia, they are Zoa reading nudibranch.

I removed everything I could and hopefully, things will get better.

Thank you ask for your responses.

 

[CuzzA]

Keep a close eye out for more. You're likely going to find more. They are masters at disguise. You'll often know they're munching when the zoas are closed up. Try to remove any eggs you see. Freshwater dips are effective (I always do this on new zoanthids purchases) Be sure to match the ph with baking soda.

 

[Webmanny]

Will do. I appreciate it.

 

[laserjim]

My Zoanthids get cranky when the nitrates and phosphates both zero out. Damn balancing act.

 

[TampaSnooker]

All zoas shut down when a predator is in town. Good news is they are species specific within zoantharia. Look at night with a blue light or flip on actinics in the middle of the night. They will glow the same color as the morph they are feeding on. Eggs are string like and ALWAYS laid in an arc or spiral, depending on mama's size. You can break the cycle with a few weeks of searching. Remove adults with a turkey baster. Babies will look like a fluorescent spec under blues. You can give affected colonies a quick tapwater rinse. Yes, tap water if quick. Or fill a dish with FW and give the frags a quick swish. Nudis will fall off quickly and you can scrape off any eggs that are found. Wear glasses when working outside the tank or out of water. pH doesn't matter as long as the polyps are closed - salinity shock is a bigger issue if tentacles are exposed. One of my importers has left an entire shipment in RO water overnight without loss - more than once. Only $250 polyps will croak... The polyps just have to be puckered up.

If that doesn't work, flat worm exit can work in tank or I can direct you to find the active ingredient, Levimisole/Levasol. It will kill most worms, all nudis (except monti nudis...), flatworms and knock your snails sideways but is otherwise relatively harmless in the tank. I found out that I had a foot long Bobbit worm that way...

 

[TampaSnooker]

*don't rinse affected colonies in a cichlid tank that happens to be next to your display tank. It's highly effective against the nudis but Synodontis cats will eat them and break your heart in the morning. True story.

 

[rogergolf66]

I didn't know levasol worked on Zoa pests too. Good info thx.

 

[Webmanny]

Awesome info snooker. Thank you. I'm happy to report that most polyps are out and open today. I will keep doing a daily check until I get rid of all these things.

Thank you all for your help.

 

[TampaSnooker]

It's possible you just got one adult on a new piece. They are hermaphrodites though, so very possible it was already inseminated. Look for eggs specifically around the colony you found it on and neighbors. Good luck.

Melanurus and 6 line wrasses are pretty good predators on the nudis, if your tank is appropriate.