Zoa’s Closed

[Trenton Henderson]

So I got a frag of zoas (about 15-20 polyps) a couple of weeks ago. It was wide open for about a week and is now, for the most part, completely closed. Here is what it looked like a week ago:

And now:

I dipped this frag, but there has been a noticeable growth of this wispy algae (I’m not entirely sure on the kind, and it’s not the same as what’s on the rock). Could it be the algae making them close? Also, my flow was too high I think, which may have aided in it, but has since been turned down with no response. The nitrates and phosphates we both 0 for a while (working on getting those back up). I now have 0 nitrates and about 0.02 ppm phosphate. I believe the fuzz on the rock is actually a form of cyano, as it blows off easily and I had some red cyano show up too (likely from low nutrients).

All this said, was it flow, nutrients, or the algae that is messing with it? Thanks!

 

[Bucs20fan]

First things first, use a turkey baster and try and blow on some of that dark sticky looking algae. It almost looks like the beginning stages of dinos. If some of that algae blows off, then its probably dinos, and this is why the zoas are unhappy.

 

[melonheadorion]

tank looks new. if its new, what are the parameters? ive had polyps close up tight after a drop in ph/alk. ive also had issues with nitrates higher than 20 with certain zoa types. ive also had zoas close for no reason for up to a week before they reopened

 

[Trenton Henderson]

tank looks new. if its new, what are the parameters? ive had polyps close up tight after a drop in ph/alk. ive also had issues with nitrates higher than 20 with certain zoa types. ive also had zoas close for no reason for up to a week before they reopened

Tank is about 5 months old with 0 nitrates and 0.02 phosphate. The alkalinity has been relatively stable, barring some precipitation issues that I’ve been dealing with for a while. I have the Alk and pH stabilized about 8 dKH and 8.1-8.3 now.

 

[Trenton Henderson]

First things first, use a turkey baster and try and blow on some of that dark sticky looking algae. It almost looks like the beginning stages of dinos. If some of that algae blows off, then its probably dinos, and this is why the zoas are unhappy.

It appears to be a combination of both Calothrix and Lyngbya , which are both forms of Cyanobacteria. I think this because there was also your standard red cyano that showed up as well, in tandem with low nutrients.

 

[Trenton Henderson]

This is about as far as they open:

I could run some Chemi-Clean to clear out all the cyano and see if that helps too.

 

[scottkoji]

This is about as far as they open:

I could run some Chemi-Clean to clear out all the cyano and see if that helps too.

chemi-clean is too drastic at this point imo. IME it always brings more problems than solutions especially this early in the game

 

[Trenton Henderson]

chemi-clean is too drastic at this point imo. IME it always brings more problems than solutions especially this early in the game

You think it could be adjusting to the tank still? It’s not been in there long.

 

[scottkoji]

You think it could be adjusting to the tank still? It’s not been in there long.

yeah possibly - I'm not saying that your cyano problem isn't the cause either. All I'm saying is that if i were you I'd try and sort this problem naturally are just wait it out instead of adding chemi-clean. I have had zoa frags take a long time to fully open especially in a newish tank.

 

[Trenton Henderson]

Update:

The Zoanthids have slowly begun to open, but I’m noticing that they appear to be shedding an outer layer. The polyps that are still closed still have a shiny coat to them. You can see a large piece of shed material hanging off the largest one:

Is this a normal behavior? When I blow on them with a turkey baster, they open up more as I peel back the outer coat. I was just watching a tidal gardens video that was describing this very thing. It was saying that zoas will sometimes develop a waxy coat to shed off algae, but if film algae (which I have) covers that, they can’t shed it.

 

[littlefoxx]

Update:

The Zoanthids have slowly begun to open, but I’m noticing that they appear to be shedding an outer layer. The polyps that are still closed still have a shiny coat to them. You can see a large piece of shed material hanging off the largest one:

Is this a normal behavior? When I blow on them with a turkey baster, they open up more as I peel back the outer coat. I was just watching a tidal gardens video that was describing this very thing. It was saying that zoas will sometimes develop a waxy coat to shed off algae, but if film algae (which I have) covers that, they can’t shed it.

Maybe move him to a different location? I have one spot in my tank my zoas love, but when I put them other places they get very unhappy. Just my take though

 

[Evil1]

So I got a frag of zoas (about 15-20 polyps) a couple of weeks ago. It was wide open for about a week and is now, for the most part, completely closed. Here is what it looked like a week ago:

And now:

I dipped this frag, but there has been a noticeable growth of this wispy algae (I’m not entirely sure on the kind, and it’s not the same as what’s on the rock). Could it be the algae making them close? Also, my flow was too high I think, which may have aided in it, but has since been turned down with no response. The nitrates and phosphates we both 0 for a while (working on getting those back up). I now have 0 nitrates and about 0.02 ppm phosphate. I believe the fuzz on the rock is actually a form of cyano, as it blows off easily and I had some red cyano show up too (likely from low nutrients).

All this said, was it flow, nutrients, or the algae that is messing with it? Thanks!

Try a hydrogen peroxide 3% dip. 3 to 1 ratio. 3% tank water to 1% peroxide. Local drugstore peroxide is fine as long as it does not have any additives. This will kill off algae. Rinse in fresh tank water and replace coral. Repeat if needed after a week.

 

[Evil1]

Soak in peroxide mix for about 3 minutes. The peroxide will also aid in healing the coral much like in humans.