zoa help required - parasite, eggs or natural markings?

[coit]

Hi,

So, I have these -





I initially thought the white markings / dots were some kind of flatworm or egg in the zoanthid. I've dipped them in iodine (not much, paranoid about how much these can really take) and RO water to try and get rid of it several times. It's +1 week from initial treatment and ... nothing. No change in appearance that I've noticed, nothing's closing up, no snails or nudibranchs or large flatworms I can see moving around in there, nothing falling off after treatment.

Is this a natural marking? I know there are some zoas traded as 'starburst' pattern zoas, but I'm not sure I'm comfortable relying on a common/trade name for diagnosis . IIRC most things that parasitize zoas tend to appear on the base or outer skirt of the zoa and then hatch, rather than inside the oral disc, but I can't say I'm fully up on everything that can possibly happen to them.

 

[reefwars]

Hi,

So, I have these -





I initially thought the white markings / dots were some kind of flatworm or egg in the zoanthid. I've dipped them in iodine (not much, paranoid about how much these can really take) and RO water to try and get rid of it several times. It's +1 week from initial treatment and ... nothing. No change in appearance that I've noticed, nothing's closing up, no snails or nudibranchs or large flatworms I can see moving around in there, nothing falling off after treatment.

Is this a natural marking? I know there are some zoas traded as 'starburst' pattern zoas, but I'm not sure I'm comfortable relying on a common/trade name for diagnosis . IIRC most things that parasitize zoas tend to appear on the base or outer skirt of the zoa and then hatch, rather than inside the oral disc, but I can't say I'm fully up on everything that can possibly happen to them.

Those marking are natural and common for that type of polyp