Whats Going on With My New Zoas? Theyre Disappearing

[hops523]

I got some new zoas about a week ago, they were doing very well, but each day I noticed it seemed like a couple were disappearing. I didnt really think anything of it until I noticed some other new zoas I got started to disappear as well. In my tank I have two ocellaris clowns, a royal gramma, a few hermit crabs, a few snails, and a peppermint shrimp. Can anything be eating them? What are some hitch hikers that eat zoas? Here a couple pics.

When I first got them

And pic I took today(please excuse the algae on the sand, thats another issue)

 

[csago05]

tagging along same thing going on with mine

 

[650-IS350]

See any of these buggers in your tank?
http://www.coralpedia.com/index.php?module=Gallery2&g2_itemId=384
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-04/rs/index.php

what fish do you have by chance?? any Tangs/Foxface ?

 

[hops523]

I do have a lot of amphipods that crawl around the rocks at night, and when I say a lot I mean A LOT. I also have some asterina starfish. No tangs no foxface. Just two ocellaris clowns and a royal gramma

 

[650-IS350]

Some Ampipods can/will eat polyps. Do a search here on RC about threads on them. You can view them at night with a red light when all other lights are off.

Some Asterina's can also be destructive to polyps. I pull them out be it a harmless one or not, I don't want to take risk's.

I keep a bunch of wrasses to hunt down every pod be it copepods or ampipods in my tank.

 

[hops523]

There are also these very small orange/red things in my tank. Cant get a good pic of them. Theyre just very small, smaller than asterina stars and amphipods. They dont have any type of face/eyes. Sometimes theyll go on the glass but mainly just sit on the rocks and hardly ever move at anytime. But I have seen them stick to the glass and I guess slither around. Theyre really hard to explain and take a pic of. But there are probably thousands of them in my tank.

The next fish Im getting will be a sixline wrasse, but I just add the clowns not too long ago, so it will have to be a couple weeks from now.

EDIT: Actually on the right side of the second picture I posted you can see the little red/orange things on the sand. Same with the first pic, theyre in the bottom of the picture on the rock.

 

[reggiepe]

Sorry to say my friend......those appear to be flatworms. Red Planaria to be exact. There are methods of wiping those out too. Find what is taking out you zoas and then focus on flatworm eradication. I am in the same process myself. I had a huge Eagle Eye colony that was slowly disappearing. I finally decided to pull it and see what was up. Lo and behold I found two asterinas on the polyps. Confused and befuddled I checked for more. Coast appeared clear. 3 days later the colony is still going down hill. I check tonight and what do I see....

Now if there is one of these...there are more. The picture will help you know what to look for. When these nudis are within the polyps, their backs just appear to be the tentacles from a polyp as they seem to flouresce (sp?) just like the polyps do. I am now on a death hunt for the next week or so. Good luck with yours.

 

[hops523]

Thanks for clarifying what the red things are, I'm going to find out how to get rid of them. I know I have some asterina stars I'll start pulling out of the tank, but I'm not sure if I've seen any nudis

 

[650-IS350]

For redbug treatment search, interceptor.

 

[werdlone]

I had a problem with asterina stars that were munching on my zoanthids...had TONS of asterinas...got a harlequin shrimp and in a matter of weeks they were completely gone. I now add a chocolate chip starfish every month or so to feed him. As far as the nudibranches, just dip the zoa colony in tank water mixed with a few drops of iodine...then blast with a turkey baster...they should drop right off. This has worked for me in the past.