Ugh... Need some help, unhappy zoathids.

[JSeymour]

I just didn't feel the previous pic documented what I'm seeing in the polyps completely, so I took a few more. You'll note all of the zoanthids before the infection(previous photo) have very similar patterns and colors. These new pics show the variety of patterns, tentacle 'mutations, and pigments(pink mouths on some now too). Who knows maybe they'll all revert back to a standard model, but maybe not.

Colony

Left side

Right side

 

[BIG_KAHUNA]

Chemical warfare?

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[JSeymour]

It's possible I guess, but I would think someone would have seen this before if it was based on allelopathy. I have yet to find anything like/about this documented as of yet.

 

[JMCAquarium]

Just a stress reaction the heads crack only bad side to this they cant eat while the mouth is jacked up. So short of living off what they make with the lights they arent eating until the heads repair. I had some greenbay packers do this after I dipped them for Nudi's half the colony died anyways but the other half came back and besides a few discolored ones the new growth looked normal.
Good luck

 

[JMCAquarium]

Also you seem to have a ton of snails do you know what kind they are ?
Pyramidellid or Rissoid snail?

 

[JSeymour]

Just a stress reaction the heads crack only bad side to this they cant eat while the mouth is jacked up. So short of living off what they make with the lights they arent eating until the heads repair. I had some greenbay packers do this after I dipped them for Nudi's half the colony died anyways but the other half came back and besides a few discolored ones the new growth looked normal.
Good luck

The dark radial lines are a color difference not a split in the tissue. If you look at the super happy before infection pic, you'll see some have it there too.

Also you seem to have a ton of snails do you know what kind they are ?
Pyramidellid or Rissoid snail?

I looked over the pics, over and over. The only snails I can find in the pics are Vermetid and Collonista snails, of which I have a ton of both. I quarantine religiously and pyramids are something I watch for on my snails. Of course none of the potential host snail species in the tank are on the front glass tonight, but I'll keep an eye out just in case.

 

[JSeymour]

Just an update pic showing the growth of the 'oral' skirt.

 

[A. Grandis]

You've got some aiptasia around them now, correct?
Try to eliminate them scraping the rock out of the tank, if you can.
Or siphon them out while scraping them off the rocks.
If you don't do it they will bother the polyps soon with their stinging cells!

The polyps look good. I'm glad, they are very colorful!
I've never had those extra tentacles growing on any of my polyps.
Do you have any new polyps? If so, are they manifesting the same phenomenon?

Grandis.

 

[JSeymour]

lol, yeah, I'm currently battling Aiptasia in this tank :headwally:. It's a multifaceted problem. Peppermints are quickly eaten by my mystery wrasse. I quarantined and introduced a copperband, but the yellow tang destroyed it (figured as much). Berghia are a pain to culture and likely won't survive in this system anyways. I have some peppermints growing out in the sump, but until they become jumbos, I've just been kalk pasting any that are encroaching corals every two weeks or so. I don't like scraping or vacuuming them out, they just spread so much worse. Even kalk pasting, if you don't entomb them completely, will cause them to spread.

New polyps are developing it too, but only as they get older, reaching adult size. Again though, not all the adult polyps have made this change. The 'mutated' polyps also seem to be much slower in their growth. Sadly, I don't think they will ever have the gorgeous color they had before the infection.

I'll continue to update every once in a while.