what to do about zoos that wont open

[gfk]

I've had these neon green zoos for about 6 months now. Very slow spreaders, but finally are off the frag rock and onto the surrounding live rock.

they have been closed about 2 weeks and they have a little algae starting to grow on them while theyre closed. i think theyre going to die unless i do something.

can i dip them in something to kill any parasite or nudis that might be on there? i havent seen anything but that doesnt mean it isnt there. thanks for any advice i can get

 

[duec22]

I would start by trying to give them a bit more flow. If they continue to stay cloesed then try a dip (not sure what type though)

 

[Mr. Ugly]

Fresh water with iodine dip for nudibranchs. Salt water with iodine dip for decay and general gunk. Peroxide and salt water for fungus. I wouldn't dip unless I was sure of any pests of disease.

It seems to me that zoas can close if they have too low water flow. I don't know for sure, but it seems like they get sick or stressed and maybe some microorganism takes hold, which further stresses the zoa.

One thing that seemed to help was to blast the zoa with a power head to blow off any gunk or collected material. This may be preceded by sw/iodine dip, depending on the condition of the zoa. I've had some start opening after couple days of the power head treatment.

Another thing that seemed to work, though not as fast, was to move the zoa to a completely different tank. Different flow, different temp, different alkalinity. The idea being that if the previous tank conditions allowed a disease to take hold, changing the environment make make conditions less hospitable to the disease organism.

Also, it helps to get some hermits or other critter to keep the zoas clean from algae. I've seen some zoas open back up after the algae has been picked clean.

If there's a film of stuff growing on the zoa, it seems to help if you gently brush them off.

 

[gfk]

i read up in the zoo section and decided on a fresh water iodine dip.

i think i have nudi eggs on them.

i have snails and hermits which have been all over them seince they closed

 

[tonggao]

Are the zoo nudi visible? How do they look like?

 

[Mr. Ugly]

You have to peel the eggs off. They stick pretty well to the polyps.

If you have big colonies, it might be worthwhile to frag them. The smaller pieces are more maneageable as far as checking for nudis and eggs.

If you do have nudis, you probably will need to check and dip several times over the next weeks to get them all.

 

[Mr. Ugly]

Tonggao,

http://www.zoaid.com/index.php?module=pnGallery2&func=main&g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=384

 

[tonggao]

Mr. Ugly,

Thanks a lot for the information.

I don't think I have any nudi, but some of my zoos grow in perfect condition for some time, then all the sudden close up, or shrink while still open and lost its skirts. Some of them just dissapeared, while some others shrink to a tiny ball, and eventually grow out new babies. I don't see any white spots on them, and can not see anything eating them, even though they looked like eaten. This has happened to a few of my zoas, and after sometime, everything goes back to normal. Has anybody have similar experience, and know why?

 

[gfk]

i cant see any nudi's thats the thing. my zoos have just been closed the last couple of weeks and dont look so hot. it isnt a colony its a frag rock with them grown onto the lr around it. i dont think they are eggs, cause it doesnt look curved its so small i cant see a curve, just a white speck when i look closely at it

 

[dantodd]

When my zoa quit opening it was because my goniopora had grown enough to cause them to close up. They weren't quite touching but the chemicals were strong enough to cause them to close from 2" away.

Is there anything in the tank that could be attacking them?

 

[gfk]

there is candycane close, but its always been there