Zoas partially opening

[andresvallado]

Hi all! I’ve had my zoas for little more than a month and they’ve never fully open. I’ll post photos and parameters bellow. I have a 5gal pico tank successfully growing Leptoseris, Gorgonians, mushrooms and cyphastrea. I use RedSea Pro test kits -double checked by LFS with Hanna-. I’ve had them on the upper part of the tank with high flow, middle and actually they’re on the sand bed. I’ve used Seachem Iodine dip and found no parasites. Any ideas?

PARAMETERS

PH: 8.1
Salinity: 1.026 -constant-
Temp: 77-78° F
Calcium: 440 ppm
Alkalinity: 11.7 dKH
Phosphate: 0
Ammonia: 0
P04: 0.01 ppm
Water changes: 15% weekly
Light Schedule: 11:30 am - 10:30 pm with sunrise and sunset settings -30 min each-

INHABITANTS:

Boxer shrimp
Emerald Crab
Fire Goby

 

[blaxsun]

Are they getting enough light?

 

[LordofCinder]

what is the nitrate level? Zero phosphates is rarely good, should have some nitrates in the tank, corals need nutrients.

The rock seem tucked behind a larger rock, seem to be almost in the shade, but it might be the camera angle, but make sure they are getting enough light,

 

[andresvallado]

Are they getting enough light?

They were at the top of the tank for the first 2 weeks or so. I’ve now placed them again near the middle-top. Hope that works. I’ll give them a couple of days to see how they respond. thanks!

 

[andresvallado]

what is the nitrate level? Zero phosphates is rarely good, should have some nitrates in the tank, corals need nutrients.

The rock seem tucked behind a larger rock, seem to be almost in the shade, but it might be the camera angle, but make sure they are getting enough light,

It may be on the lower side; nitrates are at 3ppm at the moment. I target feed my corals twice a week with ReefRoids and the rest seem to be doing fine. Any recommendations on how to raise the nítrate safely, remember it’s a 5 gal tank. Accounting for rock, equipment ando so on maybe we’re at 3.5 gal

I’ve placed them now on the top-middle of the tank to see if they get more light, they were there the first 2 weeks or so. Thanks for the tips! I’ll let you know how they work!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi all! I’ve had my zoas for little more than a month and they’ve never fully open. I’ll post photos and parameters bellow. I have a 5gal pico tank successfully growing Leptoseris, Gorgonians, mushrooms and cyphastrea. I use RedSea Pro test kits -double checked by LFS with Hanna-. I’ve had them on the upper part of the tank with high flow, middle and actually they’re on the sand bed. I’ve used Seachem Iodine dip and found no parasites. Any ideas?

PARAMETERS

PH: 8.1
Salinity: 1.026 -constant-
Temp: 77-78° F
Calcium: 440 ppm
Alkalinity: 11.7 dKH
Phosphate: 0
Ammonia: 0
P04: 0.01 ppm
Water changes: 15% weekly
Light Schedule: 11:30 am - 10:30 pm with sunrise and sunset settings -30 min each-

INHABITANTS:

Boxer shrimp
Emerald Crab
Fire Goby

View attachment 3107359 View attachment 3107360 View attachment 3107361

Elevate them a little and assure theyre getting moderate water flow. Dont think its a light issue as they would stretch for additional intensity.
Another is lack of feeding and food as infrequent feeding and low nutrients can lead to an entire colony melting down. You dont need to target feed as zoas are photosynthetic. Another is lack of feeding and food as infrequent feeding and low nutrients can lead to an entire colony melting down. You dont need to target feed as zoas are photosynthetic.
Good water quality is a must.
dKH: 8.0 - 11
Calcium: 400 - 450
Magnesium: 1300 - 1350
Iodide: Maintained via regular water changes or manually at small dosages
Temperature: 78-79 degrees
pH: 8.1-8.3
Phosphates: .04 - .08
Nitrates < 10

 

[andresvallado]

Elevate them a little and assure theyre getting moderate water flow. Dont think its a light issue as they would stretch for additional intensity.
Another is lack of feeding and food as infrequent feeding and low nutrients can lead to an entire colony melting down. You dont need to target feed as zoas are photosynthetic. Another is lack of feeding and food as infrequent feeding and low nutrients can lead to an entire colony melting down. You dont need to target feed as zoas are photosynthetic.
Good water quality is a must.
dKH: 8.0 - 11
Calcium: 400 - 450
Magnesium: 1300 - 1350
Iodide: Maintained via regular water changes or manually at small dosages
Temperature: 78-79 degrees
pH: 8.1-8.3
Phosphates: .04 - .08
Nitrates < 10

Will do! They’re now a little higher and with more flow. I feed my fish and inverts twice daily Mysis Shrimp, in the mornings it’s frozen mysis with spirulina and y hydrate some BRS Mysis at night. I have some algae -short and green, not hair algae- that both the shrimp and crab eat on. Do you recommend more feeding?