GovtCheese
New member
MUCHO REEF said:
I just get totally bummed out when I think of the countless number of zoo colonies of various colors, melt away or get munched on by my hippo tang, which I have affectionately named "the eating machine"
Zoanthid Mortality, A discussion
- Thread starter MUCHO REEF
- Start date
I just get totally bummed out when I think of the countless number of zoo colonies of various colors, melt away or get munched on by my hippo tang, which I have affectionately named "the eating machine"
BrianPlankis
Premium Member
Mucho,
I'm very interested in this thread, I hope more people continue to respond to it. I'm curious because I can't seem to keep pink zoas of any morph alive in my tank and I'm starting to think I shouldn't try any more.
The process was very similiar in both color morphs I tried:
1. Both came as frags with 10-20 polyps on the frag. Both appeared healthy and had been living months in the frag supplier's tank. Different suppliers. One colony was over 2 years old and fragged multiple times.
2. Both appeared healthy in my tank initially for about a week with all polyps opening. Both were treated to your RC zoa dip before being placed in the tank.
3. About 1-2 weeks after placement in the tank one or more polyps start to close. Within a couple of days very small white dots appear on the closed polyps. The white dots never get bigger, just more numerous. They are not nudibranchs or their eggs. The skin on the closed polyps appears to start shedding and then the polyps begin to shrink until only a mat is left.
4. The mat slowly disappears or parts will flake off in the water column until nothing is left.
5. RC zoa dips were done again on both frags. The first time it was just one dip, the second frag it was one dip per week. No known described predators fell off in any dips. All other zoas were fine during this time, no losses and I have 20+ types of zoas in my tank. In fact most zoas were showing very good growth.
6. Water parameters were in the following ranges during the losses. Average reading in ()
pH: 8.0-8.3 (8.0)
Salinity: 1.024-1.027 (1.026)
Ca: 350-450 (400)
Alk: 6.0-11.5 (I've been slowly raising this to 11. It was mostly in the 8.0-9.5 range)
Mg: 1200-1400 (1350)
All other readings were zero (Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, phosphate are what I test).
Brian
EDIT: Oh yeah, I keep them under 2 - 175W MH 10K and 2 - 110W super actinic VHO. The first frag came from midway up a tank with 400W MH, so I'm curious if the reduction in lighting ended up killing them.
I'm very interested in this thread, I hope more people continue to respond to it. I'm curious because I can't seem to keep pink zoas of any morph alive in my tank and I'm starting to think I shouldn't try any more.
The process was very similiar in both color morphs I tried:
1. Both came as frags with 10-20 polyps on the frag. Both appeared healthy and had been living months in the frag supplier's tank. Different suppliers. One colony was over 2 years old and fragged multiple times.
2. Both appeared healthy in my tank initially for about a week with all polyps opening. Both were treated to your RC zoa dip before being placed in the tank.
3. About 1-2 weeks after placement in the tank one or more polyps start to close. Within a couple of days very small white dots appear on the closed polyps. The white dots never get bigger, just more numerous. They are not nudibranchs or their eggs. The skin on the closed polyps appears to start shedding and then the polyps begin to shrink until only a mat is left.
4. The mat slowly disappears or parts will flake off in the water column until nothing is left.
5. RC zoa dips were done again on both frags. The first time it was just one dip, the second frag it was one dip per week. No known described predators fell off in any dips. All other zoas were fine during this time, no losses and I have 20+ types of zoas in my tank. In fact most zoas were showing very good growth.
6. Water parameters were in the following ranges during the losses. Average reading in ()
pH: 8.0-8.3 (8.0)
Salinity: 1.024-1.027 (1.026)
Ca: 350-450 (400)
Alk: 6.0-11.5 (I've been slowly raising this to 11. It was mostly in the 8.0-9.5 range)
Mg: 1200-1400 (1350)
All other readings were zero (Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, phosphate are what I test).
Brian
EDIT: Oh yeah, I keep them under 2 - 175W MH 10K and 2 - 110W super actinic VHO. The first frag came from midway up a tank with 400W MH, so I'm curious if the reduction in lighting ended up killing them.
MarvinsReef
In Memoriam
white spots..
white spots..
I'm also curious about the white spots on zoas.. I'm starting to experience this on our green (yellow skirt) colony... I did a FW dip on them last week and no sign of nudi's or eggs.. just small white dots... the polyps still are not doing well.. I will post some pictures of them when I get back this weekend..
Any insight about this will be appreciated...
white spots..
I'm also curious about the white spots on zoas.. I'm starting to experience this on our green (yellow skirt) colony... I did a FW dip on them last week and no sign of nudi's or eggs.. just small white dots... the polyps still are not doing well.. I will post some pictures of them when I get back this weekend..
Any insight about this will be appreciated...
after reading this thread I decided to dip one of my small colonies which hasn't seem right for the last few months. I decided to do the FW dip.
Anyways, first thing I noticed, underneath the zoo was a black snail. Black shells, new to me?? Also attached were a few other snails which came off. Also found a small bristle worm.
I think bugs/snails etc were lodging themselves inbetween the rock and the zoo colony which is encrusting the rock.
Anyways, first thing I noticed, underneath the zoo was a black snail. Black shells, new to me?? Also attached were a few other snails which came off. Also found a small bristle worm.
I think bugs/snails etc were lodging themselves inbetween the rock and the zoo colony which is encrusting the rock.
MarvinsReef
In Memoriam
sundial?!?
sundial?!?
does it look like one of these.. if it is, good thing you caught it.. they make zoas their snack
from melevsreef.com
sundial?!?
does it look like one of these.. if it is, good thing you caught it.. they make zoas their snack
from melevsreef.com
MarvinsReef
In Memoriam
edited
edited
just edited... hope it works now.. melevsreef has some great info and pictures you can read... I know it helped me when I got started with our zoa dominated tank...
edited
just edited... hope it works now.. melevsreef has some great info and pictures you can read... I know it helped me when I got started with our zoa dominated tank...
kass03
New member
I saw a black stomatella snail in my tank yesterday. I have the white/cream but never saw a black one before. They are suppose to be harmless. I call them helmet heads lol.
As for muchos question I too have had mysterious zoo deaths.
I had colonies I started from 6 polyps grow into over 30 and then all of a sudden melt.
They had that film on them you talked about in another thread.
I have never had nudi's. I do dip all new zoa's and never found one.
The weird thing about that blue/green film disease is that I had 2 colonies on the same rock growing together next to each other.
One colony melted the other is fine. I had them for like 6 months before the 1 melted and it was thriving and getting new polyps before that.
It seems like it's gone away now and no more are melting but it's odd when it happens because I have alot of zoa's and most werent affected.
kass
As for muchos question I too have had mysterious zoo deaths.
I had colonies I started from 6 polyps grow into over 30 and then all of a sudden melt.
They had that film on them you talked about in another thread.
I have never had nudi's. I do dip all new zoa's and never found one.
The weird thing about that blue/green film disease is that I had 2 colonies on the same rock growing together next to each other.
One colony melted the other is fine. I had them for like 6 months before the 1 melted and it was thriving and getting new polyps before that.
It seems like it's gone away now and no more are melting but it's odd when it happens because I have alot of zoa's and most werent affected.
kass
I've had them close up for unexpected reasons. The latest episode what when I scraped the glass of some pretty long hair-like algea. not your typical GHA, a little thicker. It collected in the micron bag in my sump, and within 2 days most colonies were closed. No other parameters changed, I can only assume the relation. I did a 30% W/C, put in carbon, and broke down and added a skimmer thinking it was something released into the water.
Lost a few individual polyps in the colonies, but the colonies themselves took about a week - week and a half to open again..
xenia wasn't affected, neither was an acanth or platygyra.
Oddly enough, they started getting better from the top of the tank down. the bottom zoanthids were the last to start opening again, taking 5 or more days to reopen then the top zoanthids.
Plenty of flow too, and good top to bottom exchange.
Lost a few individual polyps in the colonies, but the colonies themselves took about a week - week and a half to open again..
xenia wasn't affected, neither was an acanth or platygyra.
Oddly enough, they started getting better from the top of the tank down. the bottom zoanthids were the last to start opening again, taking 5 or more days to reopen then the top zoanthids.
Plenty of flow too, and good top to bottom exchange.
You won't believe this, but I took a visit back to the LFS to see if that pink colony crashed as I knew it would when the 3 spots of BI began to spread. Well, something happened, the store owners decided not to frag it up to save it. Even more strange than that, was the BI stopped in it's tracks without any treatment at all. The 3 spots of BI were no where to be found and all of the zoos in those 3 spots were perfectly fine and healthy. I have never ever heard or seen that happen, never. I was blown away and there is no explanation for it. In the past I have allowed a smaller infected colony to just stay where it was and see if it would fight the BI off itself. Knowing that was nearly impossible as I had witnessed its contiunual growth in the past. So why on earth did this colony fight off the infection, for the lack of a better word, and now appears perfectly normal.
Regarding the sudden onset of BI, I can recall every time I have had it as well as when and what happened when other zoo keepers I know have had it.
1. This has happened to me several times so I know there is something to this. I have received a total of 11 frags or colonies over the years that were covered in this BI or fungus right out the bags. The sellers/shippers I have dealt with are friends whom I trust dearly as I know they would not send me sick zoos. Only 3 of the 11 had major temp shifts of 4 degrees or less, so temp variation wasn't it. It's nothing more than a guess, but I truly believe that these outbreaks are stress induced. Though hardy, zoos can and will suffer trauma in transit. Could the handling, bagging, packing, shipping, cargo hole pressurization, unloading, sorting, packing and loading onto the trucks again and the day long journey to your home be the culprit? I don't know.
2. When I've had outbreaks in my tanks, it was never in my prop tank where the current was much higher than my main reef. Those colonies/frags that were affected in my main reef, were the ones sitting in areas where the current was extremly low. Could it be a lack of current for prolonged periods of time? I don't know.
3. Others have noticed the break out of BI or fungus after agitating the sand bed. Could that be it? I don't know. I just hope someone else has something to share that might be somewhat similar.
They're just guesses.
Mucho
Regarding the sudden onset of BI, I can recall every time I have had it as well as when and what happened when other zoo keepers I know have had it.
1. This has happened to me several times so I know there is something to this. I have received a total of 11 frags or colonies over the years that were covered in this BI or fungus right out the bags. The sellers/shippers I have dealt with are friends whom I trust dearly as I know they would not send me sick zoos. Only 3 of the 11 had major temp shifts of 4 degrees or less, so temp variation wasn't it. It's nothing more than a guess, but I truly believe that these outbreaks are stress induced. Though hardy, zoos can and will suffer trauma in transit. Could the handling, bagging, packing, shipping, cargo hole pressurization, unloading, sorting, packing and loading onto the trucks again and the day long journey to your home be the culprit? I don't know.
2. When I've had outbreaks in my tanks, it was never in my prop tank where the current was much higher than my main reef. Those colonies/frags that were affected in my main reef, were the ones sitting in areas where the current was extremly low. Could it be a lack of current for prolonged periods of time? I don't know.
3. Others have noticed the break out of BI or fungus after agitating the sand bed. Could that be it? I don't know. I just hope someone else has something to share that might be somewhat similar.
They're just guesses.
Mucho
kass03
New member
I dunno mucho. I have pretty strong current in my tank.
I have seen a few of mine recover usually when I move them to the bottom of the tank with less flow and light.
The odd one to me is where I had the 2 colonys on the same rock and 1 whole colony died where the other is fine. They were touching each other also.
Sometimes my zoo's do get bumped and fall to the bottom so this stress related thing might have something to it. A few small frags Ive had that were knocked down a few times got it.
kass
I have seen a few of mine recover usually when I move them to the bottom of the tank with less flow and light.
The odd one to me is where I had the 2 colonys on the same rock and 1 whole colony died where the other is fine. They were touching each other also.
Sometimes my zoo's do get bumped and fall to the bottom so this stress related thing might have something to it. A few small frags Ive had that were knocked down a few times got it.
kass
Like I said, "They're just guesses.". I want to know as much as the next guy. Just throwing things out there hoping one of you guys can figure it out. I would love to know.
MR
MR
eastcoastzigzag
New member
so you guys FW dip zoo's? if you do how long?
Below is a cut-and-pasted post about a zoo dip that I'd like to try on my sick zoos. Does any one know a source for the Lugols Iodine mentioned in the post?
>>>>Copy-and-pasted from RF, where it was copy-and-pasted from RC
Zoo Dip
I take no credit for this, it's really no big deal to do. All of the items used are most likely underneath your cabinet already. I have performed this for years on hundreds, yes, hundreds of zoos and it has worked every single time. No I'm not being cocky or anything like that, this really and truly works as many RC members have PM'd me directly saying so. No I'm not looking for a that-a-boy or anything, I just see that a lot of reefers have ask about it so I thought I would post it in its own thread.
Each and every zoo that goes into my tank, healthy or not, gets a dip. This dip has worked for most every ailments my zoos have had. Some will require a bit of surgery and in some rare cases where I have received a colony with a very nasty fungus, I have deviated slighlty and placed several drops of Lugols Iodine directly onto the infected colony after a bit of surgery. I see that a lot of people are dealing with the whitish, opaque to yellowish fungus or some sort on your colonies. For some reason this happens alot during shipment and I'm sure a lot of you will concur. The key to saving a colony with this issue is to act immediately. You must remove all of the fungus with tweezers outside of your tank. Now using a very sharp razor blade, cut down and around the entire area that was affected. If you have a large rock and you want to be sure that you have irradicated the problem, remove 2 or 3 rows of good zoos around the area that was infected. Rinse the colony well with tank water using a turkey baster or the like, still outside of your reef, now perform the dip with the dipping brew below. I sent it to someone last week so i just copied and pasted it below.
Here's the dipping brew that I have used and most people on RC are using it now as well. If it is performed as soon as you see the signs in the proper manner, success is always attained.
1. Using a 5 gallon white bucket, add 3 gallons of RO water.
2. Now add 1 or 2 drops of Lugol's Iodine per gallon of RO water. ( I read that using 3-4 drops works better)
3. Set your PH to 8.2
4. Set your water temp. at 78 degrees
5. If you have some Flatworm exit made my Saliferts, add
2 drops per gallon to the RO water to kill any Flatworms
Place the colony in the white bucket right side up. Leaving it there for about 5 minutes. Then grab the rock and invert it and place it in the water 3 inches below the water surface. Now twist the rock as fast as you can in a clockwise and counterclockwise motion for at least a minute. While the rock was sitting still in the RO water, it was killing off all bristle worms, Nudibranchs, flatworms and parasites. It will not kill off any Nudibranch eggs so you will have to inspect the rock for what looks like a tiny white 1/8 of and inch curly white piece of thread. They won't detach from the rock as the sack is very sticky. Inside this egg sack is up to 40 or so eggs just waiting to hatch. If you see one, just remove it with tweezers before placing the rock back into your reef. By the way, once you have finished twisting the rock in the water for a full minute, pull it out the water and dunk it back into the water a few times, splashing and swooshing is good, it dislodges anything that didn't fall off in the twisting motion. You are going to kill off a few copepds as well, but this is ok, as you have tons more already in your reef tank and your sump/fug. The dip will not kill your zoos, trust me, if you do exactly as stated above, you will be fine. If your colony is in declined and has been for some time, it may be too late to save them, but if you always do a dip on the first or second day of the problem, I have had a 99 % success rate at saving my own. I don't care what anyone else says, I know what has and will always work for the above issues. Zoos are all I know and I truly like to help out if and when I can.
Oh, I forgot, once you place the colony back into your reef, make sure they receive some current as they will be a little stressed and might slim a little, but that's ok, they will be fine. Your zoos will open in minutes.Always, ....always run your actinics only for the rest of that day. Actinics will encourage them to open. Try not to introduce any food into the system as well until the following day. On the following day, go back to your normal photoperiod. As I said, the zoos will be a little stressed and your 10 or 12k lighting will only try to encourage them to fully expand when they really don't want to right now because of what they have just experienced. I believe the bright lighting after a dip has and will discourage them from opening as soon. Trust me, you will not kill them my friend.
It would be great if any of you who have tried this would post your results below. I know of several who have emailed or Pm'd me, but I prefer that you mention your experience with the above dip.
Safe reefing everyone
Mucho
PS, I chose Lugols for its medicinal/antiseptic properties. Please remember to wear reef safe gloves. The white bucket will allow you to see everything that you have just killed off. Two drops of Lugols will not hurt or harm the zoos. I use two drops most of the time myself. Best of luck to all of you.
Hobby Experience: 12 years, and one lucky August 2003 TOTM winner,
2. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/totm/index.htm
Current Tanks: 70 gallon zoo and ricordea reef
Last edited by MUCHO REEF on 10/13/2004 at 11:16 AM<<<<
>>>>Copy-and-pasted from RF, where it was copy-and-pasted from RC
Zoo Dip
I take no credit for this, it's really no big deal to do. All of the items used are most likely underneath your cabinet already. I have performed this for years on hundreds, yes, hundreds of zoos and it has worked every single time. No I'm not being cocky or anything like that, this really and truly works as many RC members have PM'd me directly saying so. No I'm not looking for a that-a-boy or anything, I just see that a lot of reefers have ask about it so I thought I would post it in its own thread.
Each and every zoo that goes into my tank, healthy or not, gets a dip. This dip has worked for most every ailments my zoos have had. Some will require a bit of surgery and in some rare cases where I have received a colony with a very nasty fungus, I have deviated slighlty and placed several drops of Lugols Iodine directly onto the infected colony after a bit of surgery. I see that a lot of people are dealing with the whitish, opaque to yellowish fungus or some sort on your colonies. For some reason this happens alot during shipment and I'm sure a lot of you will concur. The key to saving a colony with this issue is to act immediately. You must remove all of the fungus with tweezers outside of your tank. Now using a very sharp razor blade, cut down and around the entire area that was affected. If you have a large rock and you want to be sure that you have irradicated the problem, remove 2 or 3 rows of good zoos around the area that was infected. Rinse the colony well with tank water using a turkey baster or the like, still outside of your reef, now perform the dip with the dipping brew below. I sent it to someone last week so i just copied and pasted it below.
Here's the dipping brew that I have used and most people on RC are using it now as well. If it is performed as soon as you see the signs in the proper manner, success is always attained.
1. Using a 5 gallon white bucket, add 3 gallons of RO water.
2. Now add 1 or 2 drops of Lugol's Iodine per gallon of RO water. ( I read that using 3-4 drops works better)
3. Set your PH to 8.2
4. Set your water temp. at 78 degrees
5. If you have some Flatworm exit made my Saliferts, add
2 drops per gallon to the RO water to kill any Flatworms
Place the colony in the white bucket right side up. Leaving it there for about 5 minutes. Then grab the rock and invert it and place it in the water 3 inches below the water surface. Now twist the rock as fast as you can in a clockwise and counterclockwise motion for at least a minute. While the rock was sitting still in the RO water, it was killing off all bristle worms, Nudibranchs, flatworms and parasites. It will not kill off any Nudibranch eggs so you will have to inspect the rock for what looks like a tiny white 1/8 of and inch curly white piece of thread. They won't detach from the rock as the sack is very sticky. Inside this egg sack is up to 40 or so eggs just waiting to hatch. If you see one, just remove it with tweezers before placing the rock back into your reef. By the way, once you have finished twisting the rock in the water for a full minute, pull it out the water and dunk it back into the water a few times, splashing and swooshing is good, it dislodges anything that didn't fall off in the twisting motion. You are going to kill off a few copepds as well, but this is ok, as you have tons more already in your reef tank and your sump/fug. The dip will not kill your zoos, trust me, if you do exactly as stated above, you will be fine. If your colony is in declined and has been for some time, it may be too late to save them, but if you always do a dip on the first or second day of the problem, I have had a 99 % success rate at saving my own. I don't care what anyone else says, I know what has and will always work for the above issues. Zoos are all I know and I truly like to help out if and when I can.
Oh, I forgot, once you place the colony back into your reef, make sure they receive some current as they will be a little stressed and might slim a little, but that's ok, they will be fine. Your zoos will open in minutes.Always, ....always run your actinics only for the rest of that day. Actinics will encourage them to open. Try not to introduce any food into the system as well until the following day. On the following day, go back to your normal photoperiod. As I said, the zoos will be a little stressed and your 10 or 12k lighting will only try to encourage them to fully expand when they really don't want to right now because of what they have just experienced. I believe the bright lighting after a dip has and will discourage them from opening as soon. Trust me, you will not kill them my friend.
It would be great if any of you who have tried this would post your results below. I know of several who have emailed or Pm'd me, but I prefer that you mention your experience with the above dip.
Safe reefing everyone
Mucho
PS, I chose Lugols for its medicinal/antiseptic properties. Please remember to wear reef safe gloves. The white bucket will allow you to see everything that you have just killed off. Two drops of Lugols will not hurt or harm the zoos. I use two drops most of the time myself. Best of luck to all of you.
Hobby Experience: 12 years, and one lucky August 2003 TOTM winner,
2. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/totm/index.htm
Current Tanks: 70 gallon zoo and ricordea reef
Last edited by MUCHO REEF on 10/13/2004 at 11:16 AM<<<<
sjfishguy
Active member
I had these large pods feeding on some of my zoos one time (luckily it was my first colony). I took the rock out and did a freshwater dip as a hundred of these little critters came scrambling out. The were about this long ___ . Zoos came back in no time. Never had a problem since (knock on wood, I will probably wake up tomorrow now to no zoos).
kass03
New member
Toothers the zoa dip you posted was written by Mucho Reef who started this thread.
It does work great for some zoa ailments like nudi's and fungus but this thread was started about a different zoa ailment where they start to melt for no reason. The dip doesnt seem to help it whatever it is but if my zoa's start to close I do still try the dip first.
Since I read Mucho's post about the dip I dip all my new zoa's and have never had nudi's thankfully.
I had a spurt where some of my zoa's started melting but it's stopped now. Some died and some recovered but I did the same thing with all of them so don't know why. Basically I put them on the bottom for a few days until they either died or opened again.
None of mine are melting anymore.
kass
It does work great for some zoa ailments like nudi's and fungus but this thread was started about a different zoa ailment where they start to melt for no reason. The dip doesnt seem to help it whatever it is but if my zoa's start to close I do still try the dip first.
Since I read Mucho's post about the dip I dip all my new zoa's and have never had nudi's thankfully.
I had a spurt where some of my zoa's started melting but it's stopped now. Some died and some recovered but I did the same thing with all of them so don't know why. Basically I put them on the bottom for a few days until they either died or opened again.
None of mine are melting anymore.
kass
cknowlto
New member
My biggest problem with my zoos it that they are getting small. They open just fine, but the polyp sizes have been shrinking down to 1/8th in on several colonies. They are still reproducing at a moderate/slow level (by morph), but I am obviously doing something wrong as certain morphs (Dark Green all over, yellow all over) are definately not spreading/opening as I expected them to. Pinks (long skirt), and reds are doing fine, but no where near what they are doing in the bigger tanks.
The tank is a 10G Nano with zooanthids and a token colony of red sea and elongata xenia. No other corals. No fish, no other inverts (the snails died after about 8 months)
Parameters are as follows:
PH 7.9 - 8.1
Sal: 1.024 - 1.025
Alk: 3.2
Calc: 350+
The rest of the pertinent parameters are pretty much 0
Lights are a 32W PC 10K+620nm actinic + a 18W NO 50/50
The same colonies are getting big and frisky in the 150 and I have similar (but not the same) water parameters in that tank and less water flow. (I am running a 10G tank with a MJ 1200 @ 320GPH)
Suggestions?
The tank is a 10G Nano with zooanthids and a token colony of red sea and elongata xenia. No other corals. No fish, no other inverts (the snails died after about 8 months)
Parameters are as follows:
PH 7.9 - 8.1
Sal: 1.024 - 1.025
Alk: 3.2
Calc: 350+
The rest of the pertinent parameters are pretty much 0
Lights are a 32W PC 10K+620nm actinic + a 18W NO 50/50
The same colonies are getting big and frisky in the 150 and I have similar (but not the same) water parameters in that tank and less water flow. (I am running a 10G tank with a MJ 1200 @ 320GPH)
Suggestions?
BrianPlankis
Premium Member
cknowlto said:
I'm definitely not a zoa expert, so this is just my stab at half-informed advice
In my experience (I have about 20 frags of zoas), they all seem to do better in bright light. I'm not familiar with running a 10 gallon, so I'm not sure if your lights are considered strong or not.The other thing I've noticed is that my zoas seem to grow much faster and get bigger with phyto and a high Alk. What unit is your Alk in? I keep mine around 10 dKH and since doing that and feeding phyto 3x a week my zoas have been taking off.
I don't know if the zoas actually use the phyto, but it sure seems to increase the pod population and maybe they grab something in the water.
Brian
PS. On another note, my eagle eye zoas are slowly melting away. They were irritated for a long time by a sand burrowing crab spitting on them, I finally realized this was happening, but it was too late. I've done a zoa dip, but they continue to decline with 1/3 to 1/2 of them dead. Only sign they are sick is not opening up and some black slime on the body of the zoas.
