Zoas and H2O2 dip

[dviper150]

I dipped a few zoas in peroxide a couple of days ago to get rid of excess algae growing on the plug and since then, they have been closed. I dipped them the day after in lugols solution and they are still closed. Its been 3 days so far. Should I be worried? Some of them seem to be shedding a layer or two.

 

[scsdukefan408]

No nothing to worry about i did the same thing and i did worry...mine were actually closed a week+ and they are perfectly fine....but mine never sheded anything

 

[debincalif]

I dip all of my corals in a 4:1 hydrogen peroxide solution as opposed to other dips. Sometimes it takes a while for them to open up afterwards, but they should start to open up pretty soon. Some of my zoas open right away, and some take a while.

 

[dviper150]

What about the shedding? is that normal after the dip?

 

[debincalif]

What kind of shedding? Do you have pics?

 

[dviper150]

No pics but it looks like a thin outer layer being shed.

 

[debincalif]

Mine have never done anything like that. Sometimes right after the dip they will slime a little bit - like stringy looking mucous.

What ratio of peroxide to water did you use? And how long did you keep the zoas in the solution?

 

[Jgut3]

They'll be fine I'm pretty sure.

 

[dviper150]

Mine have never done anything like that. Sometimes right after the dip they will slime a little bit - like stringy looking mucous.

What ratio of peroxide to water did you use? And how long did you keep the zoas in the solution?

I dipped them in about 60-70% tank water and 30-40% peroxide. I left them in there for about 10 mins.

 

[JDK]

I have done this with success on zoas frags as well.

Does anyone know if peroxide dips can be done on Acan frags?

 

[debincalif]

I have done this with success on zoas frags as well.

Does anyone know if peroxide dips can be done on Acan frags?

Yes, I dip all my corals in peroxide. I use a 4:1 ratio of peroxide to distilled water and leave the corals in for up 3-4 minutes.

As to leaving the zoas in for up to 10 minutes, that should be fine... but I have found that less time is still effective. My reef is still fairly young, but my corals are all healthy and pest-free. Some of the corals I've dipped have had some scary stuff come off, and one (a mushroom) was infested with nasty flat worms. Gross!

So give your zoas some time to de-stress and don't fuss with them (easier said than done, LOL). Eventually they should start to open up.

 

[dviper150]

Thanks! I will keep you guys posted. Today it looks like a polyp out of the 3 are open from 2 other frag plugs that I had dipped too. Good sign!

 

[reefwars]

Thanks! I will keep you guys posted. Today it looks like a polyp out of the 3 are open from 2 other frag plugs that I had dipped too. Good sign!

glad to hear theyre coming back , for future reference 10mins is too long, remove what you can first outside of the tank and then sit the coral in the peroxide, doesnt take long for it to do its job.

what you use is up to your self ive used 100% and less , the ratio i use for all my zoanthids now is 3:1 (tankwater to h2o2)

i dip for a couple of mins, for me h2o2 is a last resort i find coral rx products to be better but more expensive.

 

[dviper150]

I have revive and other medications too but I just wanted to get rid of the algae and I don't think coral rx or revive gets rid of that.

 

[A. Grandis]

Yes, I dip all my corals in peroxide. I use a 4:1 ratio of peroxide to distilled water and leave the corals in for up 3-4 minutes.

As to leaving the zoas in for up to 10 minutes, that should be fine... but I have found that less time is still effective. My reef is still fairly young, but my corals are all healthy and pest-free. Some of the corals I've dipped have had some scary stuff come off, and one (a mushroom) was infested with nasty flat worms. Gross!

So give your zoas some time to de-stress and don't fuss with them (easier said than done, LOL). Eventually they should start to open up.

Do you use 4 parts of H2O2 to 1 part of distilled water?

Grandis.

 

[Dapg8gt]

I had some captain America's that did the exact same thing. They were the only ones to act like that after the 50/50 dip. I only did 3 mins though. All others opened up within a few hours. Sorry to say the captains took a few weeks to fully open up and almost a month to color back up. Hope yours doesn't take that long but I really thought I lost them. But they are back on track and a new little guy is sprouted right next to the other four. It's just a hurry up and wait thing.

 

[A. Grandis]

I have revive and other medications too but I just wanted to get rid of the algae and I don't think coral rx or revive gets rid of that.

Yes, normally we use H2O2 (3%) for the algae.
The recommended ratio is most of the time 3 parts of water to 1 part H2O2.
Some people use tank water but I use only fresh water and the H2O2.
If you use too much, or eave for longer than supposed to, you'll damage the polyps and that was probably what happened when you saw the "shedding".

If you use way too much H2O2 the polyps will have bubbles inside and that's very bad!!! The less H2O2 you need to use the better for the polyps.
Avoid dipping the same polyps in different types of solutions after short periods of time. That's double stress!! Let them recuperate from the first dip and you'll see that most of the time one dip is enough for it's purpose. Each dipping solution is for its specific purpose and non of them are magic portions. They act as medicine, not as magic. It's critical to identify the reason for the dipping before doing it.

Try to use only 3 parts of H2O2 to 1 part fresh water next time and you'll see the difference. They will open much faster with a better healing time. 3 minutes would do it for most algae.

Just my US$.02.

Grandis.

 

[A. Grandis]

I had some captain America's that did the exact same thing. They were the only ones to act like that after the 50/50 dip. I only did 3 mins though. All others opened up within a few hours. Sorry to say the captains took a few weeks to fully open up and almost a month to color back up. Hope yours doesn't take that long but I really thought I lost them. But they are back on track and a new little guy is sprouted right next to the other four. It's just a hurry up and wait thing.

Hydrogen peroxide is transparent and it's hard for us to see how strong it is for the polyps to take more than 50% of if. Next time try to do a 1 part H2O2 to 3 parts of water. It works better that way.

Grandis.

 

[reefwars]

heres a little tale or lesson learned lol i was dipping a large colonie of fire and ice zoas for some nuisance algae that was growing a long time ago, after dropping the zoas in i figured id sit on the couch and flick through a few channels while i killed some time.....to say the least i woke up several hours later.

i had totally forgot all about the zoos so i went to my fishroom as per normal and had a seat in the chair and i looked at my dip bucket....my jaw almost dropped as i had remembered what was doing earlier.

it was a colonie of 100+ polyps, they were the color of stainless steel and half of them melted away, today from that rock the only thing to survive were 2-3 polyps of the zoanthids.

ive fooled around with pure soulutions of h2o2 and all kinds of part solutions, i find short tips more often much better than a stronger dip once.



lesson is...dont fall asleep while dipping lol

 

[A. Grandis]

Yep, too long isn't good.

To work properly, H2O2 dipping needs the right time of exposure to the solution in the right ratio.

Wrong amounts and/or wrong time exposed to H2O2 will kill the zoas like it kills the algae.
They can take only so much while the algae can't, then they need to be "rescued" from the dipping.

Grandis.