Did anything in the link ring a bell?
None of my zoas stay open
- Thread starter Anthony.Luciano
- Start date
Anthony.Luciano
New member
well not anything that was noticeable at first. I will add the GAC over the weekend to rule out chemical warfare or any other chemical that may be in the water and I'm going to leave only the blue lights on tomorrow also to see if they open even more.
Anthony.Luciano
New member
Well I just went down to check and they were all closed again...
Are you willing to do a well aerated 20 % water change and set your PH and Calcium?
Anthony.Luciano
New member
can I just wait until sunday when I normally do water changes? also I went downstairs with the red light and didn't see anything crawling on the zoas.
Sure, I wasn't mandating it, just kinda asking would you be willing. Sunday would be great. I think we are closing in on the answer.
BTW, are your polyps all grouped together in one area of your tank, or are they spread throughout?
Have you checked for stray voltage with your lights on and off?
BTW, are your polyps all grouped together in one area of your tank, or are they spread throughout?
Have you checked for stray voltage with your lights on and off?
Anthony.Luciano
New member
They are all over the tank, some on the left side I put under the overflow box n the sandbed so it's low lighting some right in the middle of the tank on the sandbed and some on the right a little elevated on my zoa rock. I checked for stay voyage when the lights were on.
You never listed your PH?
Are you running a refugium, if so, is it on a reverse photoperiod?
Are the polyps in question receiving adequate current?
Check tonight for nudi eggs sacks with your actinics only.
Also, are you willing to dip them as a last resort?
I'm just not keen on always running first to dip zoas and palys just because they aren't expanding. Each case is different and should be treated as such I think. Just my 2 cents.
Mucho
Are you running a refugium, if so, is it on a reverse photoperiod?
Are the polyps in question receiving adequate current?
Check tonight for nudi eggs sacks with your actinics only.
Also, are you willing to dip them as a last resort?
I'm just not keen on always running first to dip zoas and palys just because they aren't expanding. Each case is different and should be treated as such I think. Just my 2 cents.
Mucho
Anthony.Luciano
New member
My ph probe broke so I am upgrading my tank to 510 gallon DT in a few months so I don't want to buy any more equipment until then but the pH probe broke a few days ago and the ph on the graph was always around 7.9-8.1 and never really a big jump. I don't have a fuge but I am going to put one on the new tank and the polyps are positioned in different spots so 1 colony get's medium flow and the rest get low flow. I checked for nudi egged yesterday too and didn't see any at all with the actinics only on and I am ready to dip whenever I have a gallon of iodine dip already made I just have to match the temp on it and then dip them if it comes down to doing so.
ReeferBill
New member
Sleepinp Zoas ?
Sleepinp Zoas ?
+1 on the Ph can cause problems with some softies not opening.....::hmm2::worried2:
Sleepinp Zoas ?
+1 on the Ph can cause problems with some softies not opening.....::hmm2::worried2:
Anthony.Luciano
New member
ahh ok so it could be something with my ph, hopefully a water change will help but otherwise i will just wait a few more weeks until I order the new equipment for my new tank.
DING DING DING DING DING......PH is vital my friend. With a DKH of 10, I doubt that it is really off a lot, but it is very important to know especially if you're also keeping sps. I wouldn't wait weeks my friend, I'd find a really good test kit, or take in a sample to your LFS or find a local reefer who will test it for you. PH drops overnight when your tank is dark, a fug helps to stablize PH swing which is why I like having them and running it on a reverse photoperiod which acyaul helps to minimize PH swing.
If you had a single colony with retraction, that would be one thing, but all of them, well, something environmental is causing all of your polyps to retract. If you don't have any polyp degredation at all, no pest including sundials, nudis, worms, spiders etc, that really narrows it down.
Do you have any inverts?
I doubt it's a rouge fish, but what fish do you have?
I say shoot for the major water change of 20 to 25 %, check forNudi eggs tonight, then after you do the water change and all your parameters are in check, including testing your PH with more than one source, I want you to leave your tank completely dark for 48 hours if you can. I mean dark, close the curtains and get all Rambo with it. Then on the third day, slowly introduce light actinics, about half of normal, half way through your normal photoperiod, run all of your actinics but no daylights at all till the following day. I have shared this with many many local reefers for many years now and it always seems to work or make a dramatic difference.
Fingers Crossed.
Mooch
PS and your sps are perfectly fine correct?
If you had a single colony with retraction, that would be one thing, but all of them, well, something environmental is causing all of your polyps to retract. If you don't have any polyp degredation at all, no pest including sundials, nudis, worms, spiders etc, that really narrows it down.
Do you have any inverts?
I doubt it's a rouge fish, but what fish do you have?
I say shoot for the major water change of 20 to 25 %, check forNudi eggs tonight, then after you do the water change and all your parameters are in check, including testing your PH with more than one source, I want you to leave your tank completely dark for 48 hours if you can. I mean dark, close the curtains and get all Rambo with it. Then on the third day, slowly introduce light actinics, about half of normal, half way through your normal photoperiod, run all of your actinics but no daylights at all till the following day. I have shared this with many many local reefers for many years now and it always seems to work or make a dramatic difference.
Fingers Crossed.
Mooch
PS and your sps are perfectly fine correct?
Anthony.Luciano
New member
ok that's a lot of steps but I will get my water sample saturday from my LFS and then do the big water change sunday. I will also see about blocking the window next to the tank and try to keep the lights off throughout the day.
and yes both my sps and lps are fine. it's only the zoas that weren't opening.
inverts I have hermits,snails,and shrimp but I don't see them picking at anything or crawling over the zoas.
fish i have some chromis, a powder brown tang, a hippo tang, a clownfish, a blonde naso tang, a royal gramma, a yellow watchman goby, a fox face, and a pipefish. they are all well behaved never caught them picking at any corals before.
and yes both my sps and lps are fine. it's only the zoas that weren't opening.
inverts I have hermits,snails,and shrimp but I don't see them picking at anything or crawling over the zoas.
fish i have some chromis, a powder brown tang, a hippo tang, a clownfish, a blonde naso tang, a royal gramma, a yellow watchman goby, a fox face, and a pipefish. they are all well behaved never caught them picking at any corals before.
Trust me, in spite of all that we're looking at, there still could very well be absolutely nothing wrong with your polyps. See #25 in the link below.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1154238&highlight=mucho+retract
Zoas and palys are like naive teenagers. They act funny and finiky at times and just refuse to open up. Then all of a sudden, they spring open and they are perfectly fine. Not speaking of you, but I have spoken with newbies who aren't aware or use to this and sometimes overeact and rightfully so, to one days retraction, but often it is nothing at all.
If everything in the link below looks good, then I will just wait it out as long as they are not degradign in any way at all. After a week, I will often just do a water change and black out the tank for a day or two and they spring right open.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2064276
Reefing, why do we do it? Cause we treasure the joy and the pain.
Mooch
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1154238&highlight=mucho+retract
Zoas and palys are like naive teenagers. They act funny and finiky at times and just refuse to open up. Then all of a sudden, they spring open and they are perfectly fine. Not speaking of you, but I have spoken with newbies who aren't aware or use to this and sometimes overeact and rightfully so, to one days retraction, but often it is nothing at all.
If everything in the link below looks good, then I will just wait it out as long as they are not degradign in any way at all. After a week, I will often just do a water change and black out the tank for a day or two and they spring right open.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2064276
Reefing, why do we do it? Cause we treasure the joy and the pain.
Mooch
Did you notice any pods on the polyps BTW?
Though I don't think it is related to your polyp retraction, I would never ever keep a Hippo Tang in a tank full of zoas regardless of how much you feed him. Others my disagree, but you can search for yourself and see. Any fish can go rouge once they get the taste of a polyp, but this is one fish I have watched with my own eyes mow down polyps one at a time. Will try and find the link here on RC. Or, you can search this forum alone and read it.
Good luck.
Mooch
Please cast your vote here. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2063850
Though I don't think it is related to your polyp retraction, I would never ever keep a Hippo Tang in a tank full of zoas regardless of how much you feed him. Others my disagree, but you can search for yourself and see. Any fish can go rouge once they get the taste of a polyp, but this is one fish I have watched with my own eyes mow down polyps one at a time. Will try and find the link here on RC. Or, you can search this forum alone and read it.
Good luck.
Mooch
Please cast your vote here. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2063850
Anthony.Luciano
New member
no I never saw any pods on them and I hope my hippo doesn't start eating polyps but won't the palytoxins kill the hippo if he bites them?
Anthony.Luciano
New member
Ok I got some refractometer calibration fluid last week and calibrated my refractometer then yesterday I did a 50 gallon well-aerated water change and still the zoas are all closed.
Did you double check all of your paramters with secondary kits?
Did you get a PH reading yet?
Did you change the GAC?
Did you dip 1 or 2 colonies yet?
Did you go black out yet?
Did you check for stray voltage with the lights on?
Have you ran your actinics only yet?
Mucho Reef
Did you get a PH reading yet?
Did you change the GAC?
Did you dip 1 or 2 colonies yet?
Did you go black out yet?
Did you check for stray voltage with the lights on?
Have you ran your actinics only yet?
Mucho Reef
Anthony.Luciano
New member
Did you double check all of your paramters with secondary kits?
Did you get a PH reading yet?
Did you change the GAC?
Did you dip 1 or 2 colonies yet?
Did you go black out yet?
Did you check for stray voltage with the lights on? ✔
Have you ran your actinics only yet? ✔
I haven't gone to the LFS to get the GAC or have them test the water. I did move the zoas to a shadowed place in the tank where they don't get a lot of light but didn't actually black out the tank yet.
Did you get a PH reading yet?
Did you change the GAC?
Did you dip 1 or 2 colonies yet?
Did you go black out yet?
Did you check for stray voltage with the lights on? ✔
Have you ran your actinics only yet? ✔
I haven't gone to the LFS to get the GAC or have them test the water. I did move the zoas to a shadowed place in the tank where they don't get a lot of light but didn't actually black out the tank yet.
Anthony.Luciano
New member
wow ok well I think the problem is solved with benefits 
My LEDs were at 40% 8 inches above the water so I raised them to 10 inches above the water to see if that would help the zoas open about 2 days ago. The Zoas started opening up the next morning with great color and my torch coral is extended much more then I have ever seen it before and it is even splitting it's head also my sunset monti I noticed amazing growth in these 2 days. It encrusted 1 cm on the rock in 2 days, thats crazy.
My LEDs were at 40% 8 inches above the water so I raised them to 10 inches above the water to see if that would help the zoas open about 2 days ago. The Zoas started opening up the next morning with great color and my torch coral is extended much more then I have ever seen it before and it is even splitting it's head also my sunset monti I noticed amazing growth in these 2 days. It encrusted 1 cm on the rock in 2 days, thats crazy.
