Zoa (RPE) Fungus? Need Help.

R

Reefer1225

New member
Hey all,

Need help troubleshooting an issue with my RPEs. All my other zoas/palys are doing fine. I believe the problem started when I started ramping up my LEDS (AI Sol Blues) for my SPS. I noticed my RPEs turning lighter and have a whitish ring around them, which I took as a sign of bleaching. I left it thinking that they would adjust, but they didn't. Mistake. The RPEs started having this brown growth in the base and stems. I thought it was algae, so I used a turkey baster to try to blow it off. It would not come off. Eventually, the polyps began to close and the brown crust scab took over my colony. Amphipods pounced on their weakened state and half of my colony died off.

Stupid me, but it took this long for my to take action. I cut the colony off the rock and put it in the sandbed on a shaded area. Zoas remained closed. Did research on RC and concluded possibly zoa pox or a fungus. I tried the Furan2 treatment for 2 weeks (3 days of treatment and wait a week for next). It loosened up some of the brown scab/crust in the base/stem, and the some polyps started opening up, but after a while left alone the brown scab/crust comes back preventing it from opening fully. It is a hard crust that I tried to wipe off with a soft toothbrush and qtip, but it just comes back. So, I am stumped on what to do next.

Here are my parameters (I don't think its water quality as my other corals are fine)
Salinity - 1.026 (refract)
Cal - 430 (Salifert)
dKH - 8.5 (Salifert)
MG - 1320 (Salifert)
Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate - 0 (API)
Phosphate - 0 (Hanna)
PH - 8.3-8.5 (fluctuates throughout day)

Here are the before and after pics:
cf9298ef.jpg

87e23617.jpg


Thinking of trying Lugol treatment or Peroxide treatment next, but I think they are stressed as is after two weeks of Furan2 treatment.

Hope that's enough info. Thanks for any help you guys can think of.
 
I have a colony exhibiting exactly what you've described and what is in your photos. Attempted turkey basting off the growth, cranked up the pumps, and did a CoralRx dip.

It has been 2 weeks since the treatment and there hasnt been any change. Was about to try the Furan2 treatment but I see you've had no luck. I would also like to get a clue what this brownish growth is and what to do about it.
 
I did Peroxide dip. 2 parts tank water to 1 part peroxide. As soon as I put it in the the polyps started fizzing/bubbling. I left it in for 5 minutes and rinsed with tank water. Polyps remain closed but are slightly opening. Some of the brown crust started peeling off, so I blew it with a turkey baster. The brown crust is difficult to remove, so I tried brushing it off with toothbrush, which definitely irritated already weakened polyps, so I stopped and put it in tank in shaded spot. End result is some of the brown crust flaked off and you can see the smooth skin of the base and stem, but there is still a lot of it covering the polyp. I will let them rest for a few days and do another dip later. I would say it was more effective and cheaper than furan2, but a lot more harsh. The base and stem under looked very shiny and raw in some parts. So, I am worried that it is thinning out the skin of the base and stem.
 
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I had a nice magician colony do the same thing, it just kept getting worse so I have been fragging the "healthy" polyps and they seem to do better off the rock.
 
I lost over 400 Nuclear Green palys to I was not able to do any dip .
I have 65 gal are you guys know of any treatment for Full Tank.
Fungus or pox can spread easily to another colony and another.
How to treat them in the tank :hmm2:
 
Any answers? I'm going through this as well.

They say zoanthids are easy to keep. I couldn't disagree more. I'm constantly fighting this fungus/ pox and it is maddening. I have no trouble with sps or any other coral, just my zoo's. UUUHHHGGG!
 
i dipped my space monsters in 2-1 tank water to peroxide last night. 5 min of bubbling...

we'll see how it works, will update....
 
Sorry for rushing with my post...

Please remove the white film cutting off the the attached polyps. Save the ones that don't have the fungus on/in them.
Lugol's solution dip: 8 - 10 oz of fresh water and 3- 5 drops of Lugol's for 3 minutes.
Put the polyps back in the system and begin target feeding regimen after a week.
You can offer Reef Roids, Coral Frenzy or Fauna Marin zoa food (quality stuff!!).
Once a week target feed them only what they could consume. Turn off the pumps and make sure the fishes and shrimps are not stilling from them.

Hope this post isn't too late...
Good luck!

Grandis.
 
I took my Miami Hurricanes for a swim in freshwater today. Two minute dip. I'll let you know how that one goes.

I thought it was zoo pox so I did the Furan regime, but that didn't work.

Does anybody know how this stuff starts. My colony was doing so well and growing very fast. One day one polyp wouldn't open up and that was the beginning. Five days later I've lost 40% of the colony. Bummer!
 
Well I fragged the bad polyps and did another peroxide dip. The remaining polyps are looking a lot better. The brown crust is almost all gone. Polyps are still ****ed off and closed, but they are alive. Will just give them time to recover now.
 
Did you do a dip, Mayjong? I lost more than half of my colony, but the ones that survived are starting to open up. Good luck with your Space Monsters. It would suck to lose those...
 
Just wanted to post updated pics. They are from my iphone and the RPEs are in a shaded area of my tank, so bad quality. Lost most of my colony. Here is what is left. The brown stuff is gone and polyps are starting to open. In sum, Furan2 didn't do much, peroxide did a lot more, but probably killed some polyps too.

2db09242.jpg

34aec111.jpg
 
Thanks for the update Reefer. Hope whats left pulls through. The colony I have with the same issue has opened up as much as its going to after the treatment awhile back so going to give the peroxide a try. <fingers crossed>
 
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