zoo's not opening

[Emoney]

Have had a problem with my zoo's not opening. Or 3-4 heads open while other stay closed......there all spaced far apart, with different depths for lighting, all are doing the same, the are growing for sure, just not opening properly...........

I do water changes once a week 10-20%.....salinity around .25...Nit,Nir, amon, all 0...P.H....8.4......cal 380....alk 12.....Mag ?????

any help/ advice would be great,

FYI all other corals are doing well....acans,staghorn,starpolyp,xenia,candycane.. ....only other one not doing great is the frog spawn..????.....moved it a week ago, was in high light and jig flow area.....

[crvz]

sounds like... a pest. whether it's a zoa eating nudibranch, spider, snail, etc., that very characteristic of how they react when infested. Are you familiar with the various pests that attack zoanthids and how to look for them?

Also, just for your edification, the appropriate abbreviation for zoanthid is zoa, or zoas. Some folks get all in a twist with the use of zoo, but I'm able to let it slide.

[Emoney]

Originally Posted by crvz

sounds like... a pest. whether it's a zoa eating nudibranch, spider, snail, etc., that very characteristic of how they react when infested. Are you familiar with the various pests that attack zoanthids and how to look for them?

Also, just for your edification, the appropriate abbreviation for zoanthid is zoa, or zoas. Some folks get all in a twist with the use of zoo, but I'm able to let it slide.

i have no idea what im looking for......sorry still a " newbie"...so ill start useing zoa's...lol.......thanks for the free pass.........so what should i be looking for..??.....any water peramiters that could be messing them up.??

[crvz]

water parameters can surely be a factor as well, as can other diseases and infections. Could you get a few images of the zoas? Close ups would be best.

[Loverotties]

Originally Posted by crvz

water parameters can surely be a factor as well, as can other diseases and infections. Could you get a few images of the zoas? Close ups would be best.

Ditto! pic mite help and tell us your water parameters.

[Emoney]

gonna go home tonight and take pics.....also do a full test ( so i can have accurett results)....will post later....( after i take my light down to inspect)...fun times..

Thanks!

[Emoney]

not time to do tests last night...will do tonight.. need to figure this out!...little upset that i spent alot of money on these ZOA's and cant fully enjoy them.......also pics tonight, wife had camera at work!

[aquawolf]

Look very closely, may need a magnifying glass, to see if there are any type of bugs on them. If they are frags, then you could freshwater dip them which should make any of the bad bugs die and fall off them as well.

Also check for any small silver looking starfish. They may look like asterinas and barely be bigger than the polyps. If they are wrapped around a polyp eating it, it will look just like a closed up polyp.

[Emoney]

ph 8.6
alk 11.0
cal 350

n ,n, amon. all = 0


last pic just for fun..first pic with both Tangs in it.

[aquawolf]

I would break the frag plugs off the rock, freshwater dip them, pull all of the algae off them, and place them back in the tank loosely. Keep an eye on them and if they are still acting funky repeat the process 2 days later.

[crvz]

agreed, a 5 minute freshwater dip shouldnt be terribly stressful (match the freshwater temp to that in the tank). do that, swish the zoas around at then end, and see if anything comes off. pests are going to be small, and will die/melt quickly in the freshwater, so it may be hard to see, but keep your eyes peeled.

[Emoney]

Thanks for the help guys!..Gonna do it tonight!