need zoe advice/info

[Gamepro_inc]

OK starting with some backround I have a 34g solana its 20''x20''x20'' it has 150mh with a 15K XM bulb that runs from 10:30am-8pm but its off from 1pm-3pm for cooling purposes I suplement actinics with a coralife powerbrite on at 8am-10pm. Flow is strong all over except maybe back corners which I flush out when I do water changes, plus I have a koralia 1 that add extra intermitten flow. stock skimmer. Then I have a 10g fuge/frag tank plummed in via gravity with a maxijet 1200 flowing in from main tank plus a aquaclear 10 for added flow. This tank has a 36w 2 bulb T5 with 2 12K bulbs and I have a actinic stunner strip for supplement. Light on this tank is 9am-9pm and actinic 8am-10pm. Both tanks have moonlights. Main tank has a true perc, melanarus wrasse, tailspot blenny, and a red scooter mandarin 1 peppermint shrimp and tons of snails no crabs. Fuge/frag has one sixline wrasse and 3 hermits. levels are within range will post them up when I get home and look at my log I have. Hope thats enough backround info. If not just ask.

Now on to my problem I have tons of different zoes in both tanks all are doing well except one. I bought a 2 polpy frag or red magicians if you like to know the name if not they are a small polyped red zoe frag with a sparkeled center. I bought this frag 8-12 months ago they were fine for about 1-2 months then started shrinking and never fully opening. The guy I got them from had a 75g tank with a 6 bulb T5 and his main colony of these are on the sand in medium flow. I have tried this frag in the main tank on the sand at first and left them there for 3 months till they started doing as described above then I moved them up half to 1/3 way in slightly stronger flow waited 3 more months (thats how long I leave a frag before moving) then tried moving even higher to no avail. So I moved them to the frag tank under lower lighting and nothing again after 2 months and in the last 2 months I have increased their flow but not moved them. They are now still 2 polps. I dont care if they dont grow but my concern is if they dont open and eventually die. Oh I also have been running carbon the last 3-4 months for fear of some kind of contaminent that I may not have tested for. pics below. Any advice would be appreciated. Oh and I have observed day and night and do not ever notice anything bothering them, occasionally a hermit might crawl over them but thats it.

This is the best they have looked in months which is why I havent moved them however they are still small compared to what they were and how they looked in the beginning

FTS old photo lots more coral now but you get the idea.

 

[Gamepro_inc]

Here is a whole FTS for some reason photobucket posted another file

 

[DEEC77]

Leave them be in the frag tank. Once they start to show some signs of growth and improvement move them to a shade area in th DT and continue with your 3 month cycle. I would suggest you don't move them from the sandbed Seems perhaps they were under too much light. Not sure how deep your buddy's tank is but I can tell you I have 150's on my tank and all my polyps are on the sand with the distance from light of about 30 inches. Yours looks to be about 25 inches.

Good luck
~Dee~

 

[MikeandNicole]

My magicians were much happier down on the sandbed and in some shade.

 

[mallorieGgator]

1.Did you transport them in a non-sterile peepee cup?
2.Did you frag it with a hammer?
All jokes aside, some zoas do better in certain systems then in others. I have a frag taht grows well for most and I just can't get it to grow in my tank. It looks fine but doesn't grow too well. You can try putting it in better flow and a little higher light. I have some of my zoas in SPS type flow and pretty high light and they are growing like mad (like 3 polyps a week).

 

[Gamepro_inc]

Thanks everyone for the input

Mallorie
1) No
2) and no :lol:
3) Yes I know I have some bright green zoes that are like 4" under my 150w MH and they do great in fact they almost glow and yet I have some blue zoes that like it on the sand and in a shaded area. Zoes are so wierd. I am convinced they are like women never happy.

 

[organism]

Wow, even with the break your halide is on for a pretty long time, that and the fact that it's a yellower 15k xm bulb probably has a lot to do with it... That 2 hour break might also be kind of stressful for the corals.

I'd recommend doing actinics from 10am to 10pm, and your halide from 12pm to 6pm, not specifically those hours but definitely those amounts of time. Chances are the whole tank will look better

Either way do not put the magicians in higher light, too much light is in all likelihood the issue. See what happens when you move them into some shade at the bottom.

 

[mallorieGgator]

Thanks everyone for the input

Mallorie
1) No
2) and no :lol:
3) Yes I know I have some bright green zoes that are like 4" under my 150w MH and they do great in fact they almost glow and yet I have some blue zoes that like it on the sand and in a shaded area. Zoes are so wierd. I am convinced they are like women never happy.

hey now with the woman comment! Did I seem unhappy at the meeting? No! So Blah! I will give you a frag with nudis on it if you don't take that comment back. :spin3:

 

[mallorieGgator]

Oh and about the magicians, a fish store in Orlando had a small colony of them and in the 3 months I went there (about 1 time a month), I only saw that it had grown by 2 polyps. They run MHs and blue LEDs.

 

[Gamepro_inc]

Thanks everyone for the help.

Organism I hadnt thought about the lighting schedule however they are in the frag/fuge tank so maybe it is that its just too long I will do some adjusting and see how things go.