Zoas dying, found culprit.. pls help.

[Baconbandit]

i just recently did a tank swap from 10 to 15 gallons and the next day some of my zoas weren't opening, i figured they were a bit stressed from the move as well as being under more light than before. today, i noticed a few of my zoas were melting, turning a greyish/white color and were pretty much gone. upon closer inspection i found these small, clear, roach like things running around. if anyone can help me identify and maybe help on a way to treat this, i would be very grateful. i've attached a couple of pictures of the culprits..

 

[Sk8r]

They could be amphipods, sort of like a copepod on steroids, but SFAIK they wouldn't harm your zoas. Sometimes if you have things dying, undertaker species will move in to clean up, but may not have caused it.

Zoas are reactive to light intensity. Is the distance TO the light source changed? And are you sure of your salinity and alkalinity?

 

[Baconbandit]

the light has changed, my old tank was lit by a hand me down 4x18w odyssea, current tank is lit by a 4x24w aquatic life. the light does seem a lot brighter and is at the same height as the old fixture. my nitrates have also gone from 10ppm(steady for about 4 months) to 0, don't know if that would have anything to do with it.

those bugs do run around like they're on steroids, one went across a 1 inch plug in about a second.

 

[kegogut]

when in doubt,dip

 

[worm5406]

Deff leaning away from copepods.

I have over 1000+ running in my tank and sump. Never had a problem.

 

[TankStudy]

You need to clarify tank swap.

So you moved just the contents from the 10g to a cycled 15 gallon or did you move contents plus water?

If you used the same stuff in the 10g to the 15g a new pest should not arise. If you cycled the 15g before the move with new live rock or have new frags in their already then the possibility of a new pest is plausible.

It would help if you clarified what you exactly did.

 

[metasinapsis]

Same happen to me zoas keep dying

 

[650-IS350]

Since your doing tank swap did you move the old sand from one tank to another? how much of the old tank water did you move from old tank to new tank?

What are your current tank parameters on the new tank?

 

[metasinapsis]

solve zoa issue

solve zoa issue

Great , i experience the same problem so i did a dip using reefsafe from seachem and coral rx , same time. The f... pest 'çopepods''on steroids where all over my zoa colony and in the dip they where ok, sooo increase the dose and shake does critter in the solution and 1 hr later my zoa are open again. My tank is 4 months old but i put a lot on effacis on pos and i dose twice and i dont have any eating pods fish so i gues the population went vary high ---wait i see my orchid dottyback from ora (24hrs after qt now in display tank ) REALLY HAPPY WELL HOPE I BALANCE MY SISTEM will keep it posted

 

[ca1ore]

My tank is full of Copepoda, amphipods and a few Mysid shrimp - never had them take down even a single Zooanthid. They are scavengers and will certainly eat dead or dying corals. Need to look elsewhere for cause. My experience is zoos can be very slow to open under new light, however melting suggests some kind of bacterial problem.