Zoanthid treatment

[H7brandi]

I got this zoanthid colony about 2 weeks ago. I noticed small white spots on some of the polyps so I did the furan dip as I had successfully done with another colony.

 

This time the polyps with small white spots turned completely white and then brown (indication of fungus?). Now today I came home from work and found about a third of the colony completely covered with a white mat. The picture is hard to make out, but most of the mat is smooth with a small area (maybe 3 polyps size) having raised points (still white).

 

This has covered a pretty big area rapidly and I need to know if I need to treat it (with what?) or get it out now. If so, is there any hope for saving the polyps not currently showing any signs?

[Weetabix7]

I think there is hope for the unaffected polyps, but quick action needs to be taken.

 

This case is a little more difficult to figure out tho, cause it's a bit unusual that the Furan-2 was unaffective.

Considering the lack of success with the Furan, I would recommend doing some kind of iodine based dip. You could use Lugol's iodine, Seachem Reef Dip, or Kent Marine's concentrated iodine.

Seachem's Reef Dip comes with instructions.

For Lugol's, I would use 2 drops to one cup of tank water.

The KM concentrated iodine I would have to look up, but I believe the Propagator knows the correct dosage for that.

I would dip for 3-5 mins.

You could also try painting the undiluted dip solution on the polyps that have the film over them and let the colony sit out for 3 minutes with this on them, then rinse in SW before returning to the tank. If you do this, I would do it after dipping for 3 mins. in the dip solution mentioned above.

When you return it to the tank, try to place in a high flow area, and away from other corals if possible.

Good luck and keep us updated!

[H7brandi]

Weetibix. Thanks for your suggestions. Do you think it is pox? You mentioned painting the area that is covered in addition to the whole piece being dipped...what should I look for to determine when I should just start trying to save the rest? I don't want to wait too long and lose everything. Should I do the dips for 3 days also?

 

I will take better pics when I remove the piece and then daily. I have seen that you deal a lot with zoanthids and being I am just really getting into them, I appreciate any help you have for me.

[noobwithatank]

The KM concentrated iodine I would have to look up,

when i did mine i put 6 drops per 2 cups of water and let them sit for about 5 mins. lost 20% of the affected ones. everything is fine, havnt had a come back.good luck.

Should I do the dips for 3 days also?

dip, rest, dip, rest. worked for me.

[Weetabix7]

Weetibix. Thanks for your suggestions. Do you think it is pox? You mentioned painting the area that is covered in addition to the whole piece being dipped...what should I look for to determine when I should just start trying to save the rest? I don't want to wait too long and lose everything. Should I do the dips for 3 days also?

 

I will take better pics when I remove the piece and then daily. I have seen that you deal a lot with zoanthids and being I am just really getting into them, I appreciate any help you have for me.

 

It's hard to say for sure about the pox without seeing them in person or seeing a sharper pic, but I would almost think it isn't the pox just because it hasn't responded to the Furan.

I say this alot, but you're kinda gonna have to play it by ear. You really do need to start dipping IMMEDIATELY though.

 

Here's what I would expect to happen.

In the area that is worst affected and needs painting, I would expect some of the affected polyps to start melting and sloughing off the next day after treatment. You should probably pull the colony out the next morning after treatment and just swish and swirl it around in a small container of tank water to get that dead stuff off without getting it in the tank. You could even use a soft bristle, unused toothbrush to gently brush some of it off. It may continue to do that a little bit for a couple of days, it may stop.

 

You should continue dipping on a daily basis until the colony appears healthy.

You should NOT see the white film continue to spread. If it continues to spread rapidly, I would remove the affected portions and throw them away and continue to dip the remaining part til it looks past danger.

 

If this regimen doesn't help at all, we need to consider other options.

Feel free to PM me with questions.

[H7brandi]

Thanks again.

 

Ok, last night I took the piece out and the white mat was more like a slim over some of the polyps. I pulled off as much as I could without touching the polyps below. Under there though the polyps were a green color and very mushy. I did the dip and then painted the polyps that looked bad. This morning, I looked in there and about half the area was covered again in the white slime.

 

Unfortunatly, I didn't have a chance this morning to check this post before I went to work, so I didn't take it out and swish the dead stuff off. I guess I will be crossing my fingers all day. I will post another pic this evening with it out of the tank and the white pulled off.

[cstewart79]

nail the zoas with some high flow from a powerhead, they wont like it but it will debride off the white matt

[H7brandi]

nail the zoas with some high flow from a powerhead, they wont like it but it will debride off the white matt

 

I put them about 2 inches away from the side of a Koralia 2. I think thats the highest flow area I have in my tank.

[Weetabix7]

I put them about 2 inches away from the side of a Koralia 2. I think thats the highest flow area I have in my tank.

 

That sounds good.

Try the dipping and painting again when you get home and you can swish off the dead gunk then.

Don't feel like you have to avoid touching the polyps, they're pretty tough. You will probably lose most of the polyps that looked green and mushy, but a few may make it. They'll either melt away or come off the rock in the "swishing" process.

[H7brandi]

ok... here's pics from last nights dip. First with the slime still on and second after I had scraped the white of and painted the bad area. I also noticed a few of my smaller frags had some on them, so I dipped them for half the time that I did the large piece.

 

When I got home yesturday, the surface skimmer had slipped down a bit and caused the water levels in the back chambers to raise up too high for the protien skimmer to work and pull out anything coming off of this piece. If it is not one thing it is another! AGGGHHHHHH!

[Weetabix7]

Wow!

Looking at that last set of pics, it looks like the infection is much more severe than what I had thought from the first pics you posted.

After seeing those pics and taking into consideration that the infection is showing up on your other zoas, I would seriously consider tossing the infected colony and working on eradicating the infection on the other pieces.

I'm sorry to give you such bad news, but those pics looked pretty bad.

If you still feel like messing with the original piece, I would try setting up a small quarantine tank. You could actually do something really simple if you just used a small 1 gal or 2.5 gal aquarium from Wal-Mart, or even just a larger plastice food storage container. You would just need something to provide circulation (small powerhead or air pump), water, and maybe a small piece of live rock. If you have a spare, a heater would help too.

When I have infections that look that bad, I have a small quarantine tank that I use for treatment.

[MyCatsDrool]

Weetabix --

 

Just out of curiosity, and in case I am ever (God forbid, please) in this situation, why not frag off what is less affected (the stuff that isn't under they white mat) and dispose of the highly affected? Then treat the fragged stuff that appears more likely to be savable?

 

And on the new stuff starting to show signs of infection....

 

Would this also be dipped in iodine solution? what causes this?

[H7brandi]

Weetabix --

 

Just out of curiosity, and in case I am ever (God forbid, please) in this situation, why not frag off what is less affected (the stuff that isn't under they white mat) and dispose of the highly affected? Then treat the fragged stuff that appears more likely to be savable?

 

And on the new stuff starting to show signs of infection....

 

Would this also be dipped in iodine solution? what causes this?

 

 

Well, last night I did end up cutting off the some of the good polyps. I just had to try treatment first seeing how I just got the piece and didn't want to lose it already. Also, I've only fraged one other time and I had 50% success. On this piece, there were so many infected polyps here and there throughout the piece, I was only able to get off 1 clump of 4 polyps the rest were scattered. As far as the other 2 frags that I saw something on and dipped... there is nothing even noticeable now (after one dip).

 

A lot of people use the iodine dips anytime they add a new piece. I don't know if there is any possible harm though. I know that if you use Furan for bacteria, it could weaken the coral and make it more susceptible to fungus, but I don't know about the reverse...Weetabix?

[Weetabix7]

Weetabix --

 

Just out of curiosity, and in case I am ever (God forbid, please) in this situation, why not frag off what is less affected (the stuff that isn't under they white mat) and dispose of the highly affected? Then treat the fragged stuff that appears more likely to be savable?

 

And on the new stuff starting to show signs of infection....

 

Would this also be dipped in iodine solution? what causes this?

 

There are definitely times when this is a good idea.

In this case, I was initially hoping she would be able to save the whole thing, which is why I told her to act quickly.

I have had someone else tell me that fragging unhealthy portions off of a rock like that just causes the fungus to spread to the healthy polyps. I haven't decided yet whether or not I agree with that. That was one of the reasons that I hesitated to tell her that initially though.

While I have dealt with this several times (unfortunately!), I am still learning too!

 

Any new stuff starting to show signs of infection should ALWAYS be dipped!

The infection can spread to other frags and colonies, just like sickness transmitted between people in close contact.

 

I personally do almost always dip new zoas, ESPECIALLY whole colonies. The only exception to this is if it's a small frag coming from the system of someone that I am fairly familiar with and I know they know what they're doing. Otherwise, frags get dipped in a SW dip with iodine for 3 mins., whole colonies ALWAYS get dipped in a FW dip with iodine for 3 mins.

I have also found that new zoas that have been shipped to me acclimate better if the lights are left off for the first day, or if only actinics are turned on.