Something is eating my polyps

[Sparkpaul]

I have two separate gardens at the long end of each tank on different islands. My zoa gardens were flourishing and doing well until I recently noticed many of the polyps are closed during the day. They look melted.

This is after I introduced a jewel puffer fish and killed a hitchhiker black hairy crab in the live rock.

I caught the puffer fish and removed him today because he was munching on my birdsnest, scoly, and other corals but I never saw him bite the zoas.

Is it because I killed the crab who was eating away pests or is it because of the puffer fish?

Thus I'm not certain who the real culprit is....

Hopefully I can save my gardens.

Mix reef, tank parameters alk 7.5 (it was at 5.6 because of my dosing regiment was off, slowly bring it back up) po4 0 nitrate 0-5ppm salinity 1.025 temp 27 Celsius.

 

[TankStudy]

Maybe see what happens when you stabilize your alk. Your zoas may have adjusted to the 5.6 and now are acting finicky to the change.

 

[kichimark]

Maybe see what happens when you stabilize your alk. Your zoas may have adjusted to the 5.6 and now are acting finicky to the change.

This would be my guess as well. How long has the alk been at that level?

 

[Sparkpaul]

2 weeks maybe?
Fortunately none of my sps were affected.

 

[kichimark]

I don't suppose you have a picture of the colonies? A picture is worth a thousand words. In the meantime, try to keep the parameters stable.

 

[Sparkpaul]

I'll put up pictures tomorrow morning. I'm in Taiwan 3 am right now. Thanks guys, Good night!

 

[frostyjay1]

check them with a flashlight in the dark, that way you can see if its a nocturnal pest. I had the little star fish in my tank and didn't know it. lucky for me though they stayed away from my zoas