Best bacterial dips for closed Zoas

[Cantusaurus]

Hey, I have some Kung Fu Fighter Zoas. They started decent (only opened like 80%) but then suddenly closed up entirely for about 2 weeks, and they were shedding a bit. Now they have a bit of film algae or something growing on them. I've brushed them off and basted them a couple times, but it doesn't seem to be helping much.

I have a Medicoral dip, but not sure how effective it will be. And I may wanna try some sort of Antibiotic type thing.
I heard Furan 2 is a great option, but I think it has been discontinued? So not sure if I can get that. I also heard Chemiclean can work, but I am hesitant on treating my whole tank. 2 of my acans (of course my most beautiful and expensive ones) have also been suffering greatly so whatever I choose I will most likely use for them since I'm willing to gamble with saving them.
I've also had a single polyp illuminati frag that's been closed tightly for like 3 months, and I'm not really sure how it is still alive.
Could I use chemiclean or red slime stain remover as a long dip? Not sure if it will work since I think those take a bit of time to work. Would a dip with Melafix, Metroplex, or Kanaplex work?
I may give them a try, and I may dose a very small amount of Melafix to the DT to help with bacterial issues.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

I'm guessing I didn't light shock them since my lighting isn't crazy intense, but I do like to put my Zoas higher in my tank because they tend to stretch a bit.

 

[blaxsun]

First and foremost, I'd probably look at your water parameters, flow and lighting. Zoas are really tough to antagonize, so if they're not doing well it could be something that a dip may not provide a permanent solution for. If your zoas are stretching, it's usually an indication they're not getting enough light.

When I had issues with a bunch of my zoas closing up for weeks on end, I eventually traced it to low PAR (even though many of them were high up). Addressing that literally turned everything around within days - and many weeks later they all look absolutely stunning.

 

[Cantusaurus]

First and foremost, I'd probably look at your water parameters, flow and lighting. Zoas are really tough to antagonize, so if they're not doing well it could be something that a dip may not provide a permanent solution for. If your zoas are stretching, it's usually an indication they're not getting enough light.

When I had issues with a bunch of my zoas closing up for weeks on end, I eventually traced it to low PAR (even though many of them were high up). Addressing that literally turned everything around within days - and many weeks later they all look absolutely stunning.

Hmm. Yeah. I think I may crank my lights up more. But it's strange since my birdsnest is doing great, along with my Green Monti Cap which has grown a lot and has great color. The one's stretching aren't stretching too too much, but I may adjust some things to make sure they get higher light.
It's weird though since my Kung Fu Fighters are the only ones annoyed, as well as the tiny Zoa frag that's been closed for months and months.
I think I've had some tank bacterial issues the past weeks to month, but things seem better/more stable and most corals are recovering or were never affected at all. But my Acans I hope can recover. My Alk is pretty stable. My PO4 is about 0.05. I try to keep it between 0.06 - 0.1.
I think I may dip my Zoas and Acans in a bath with the Red Slime Stain Remover and an airstone.
And then follow it up with a dip in Medicoral and then rinse them, and put them back in the tank.

 

[littlebigreef]

On Furan-2, it’s currently not in production. API is working on sourcing and starting production on all of its meds. However, you’re going to have a hard time finding it. The two base ingredients are available for purchase. I’m still sitting on my cache of furan-2 but I’ve purchased the other meds and will likely give them a try at some point.

Chemi clean is indeed just as effective as a dip as it is a whole system treatment. Process is same as it is for any other dip. Following with a mild lugols bath with improve results.

Regarding par, kung foo fighters should be able to tolerate a wide range. There are some like wolverines, JF kraks, Mohicans (to name a few) that do better in low par. Mine are in 70-80 par for example. Many zoas will do fine into the 150’s. Everyone’s lights and settings are a little different and it takes some experimentation to see what works for you.

It is important to consider your parameters and whether anything (including temp) is widely fluctuating during the day. Given most everything seems to be doing well this is probably less of a concern.

You didn’t mention age on the tank or feeding. Zoas will benefit from a blast of reefroids once a week (again, this seems like less of an issue but it bears mentioning).

Based on tissue peeling and stuff growing on them I’d suggest the chemi clean dip + lugols bath. If you have a worn tooth brush you can ***genteelly*** see if you can remove the stuff growing on it. If it turns to mush it’s probably best to toss. I’d advise against hydrogen peroxide as IME it’s too harsh (even diluted) on an already stressed zoa. Naturally if you can post a close up pic it always helps.

 

[Cantusaurus]

On Furan-2, it’s currently not in production. API is working on sourcing and starting production on all of its meds. However, you’re going to have a hard time finding it. The two base ingredients are available for purchase. I’m still sitting on my cache of furan-2 but I’ve purchased the other meds and will likely give them a try at some point.

Chemi clean is indeed just as effective as a dip as it is a whole system treatment. Process is same as it is for any other dip. Following with a mild lugols bath with improve results.

Regarding par, kung foo fighters should be able to tolerate a wide range. There are some like wolverines, JF kraks, Mohicans (to name a few) that do better in low par. Mine are in 70-80 par for example. Many zoas will do fine into the 150’s. Everyone’s lights and settings are a little different and it takes some experimentation to see what works for you.

It is important to consider your parameters and whether anything (including temp) is widely fluctuating during the day. Given most everything seems to be doing well this is probably less of a concern.

You didn’t mention age on the tank or feeding. Zoas will benefit from a blast of reefroids once a week (again, this seems like less of an issue but it bears mentioning).

Based on tissue peeling and stuff growing on them I’d suggest the chemi clean dip + lugols bath. If you have a worn tooth brush you can ***genteelly*** see if you can remove the stuff growing on it. If it turns to mush it’s probably best to toss. I’d advise against hydrogen peroxide as IME it’s too harsh (even diluted) on an already stressed zoa. Naturally if you can post a close up pic it always helps.

Thanks! My tank is over 1.5 years old. I do try to spot feed occasionally with Seachem Phyto (I'm going to start doing it more though since my nutrients aren't too high, and I'm starting to do much more water changes in order to remove any possible random crap that will tick off Zoas.
But if any Zoas start opening I am definitely going to feed them since it will benefit them.
I used the Red Slime Stain Remover by Ultralife with an airstone for a while. I also did it for my Acans, and they seem to not have been negatively affected which is good. I will continue to monitor the Zoas, and if they do not open I will dip them again, and I may use a high dose of Brightwell Medicoral. Zoas just are super weird in my tank. I have some red ones for example that stretch up a bit (definitely more then they should, but I don't mind) but the color is decent on them, could be brighter. But I started with like 3-4 polyps like 7 months ago and now have like 19. So like Zoas will definitely grow in my tank, but idk I always seem to run into problems with them maybe my tank isn't the most Zoa friendly.