grafxalien Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 I noticed for about a week now my favorite zoa colony hasnt been opening and the number of polyps have been disappearing. however, i worked ~ 90hr last week so didnt have time to investigate much. Today there is only 2 freaking closed polyps left, so i said what the heck, i will fresh water dip it. after about 5 secs in this bad boy flew off the rock. Looks like a big pod to me, but i am pretty new at reefing still. Im guessing if there is one doing it, there are probably more. how do I fix this problem? It is a 10 gal tank with 20 gal sump Link to comment
metrokat Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Search on here for several threads called amphipods stressing my zoas Amphipods eating my zoas Bastards on my zoas Then do a fresh water Dip on the affected colonies. Swirl the colony in the water to dislodge the critters. They will come back but this gives your zoas a few days breathing space and a chance to open. Link to comment
boxboy Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 I have the same issue. you need something to eat them. likely a fish. like wrasse. or others. just research and talk to the people u buuy ur stock from. . ur tank size will play a part in what kinds of fish u may be able to use. ive yet to find a sultion that does not require a fish . Link to comment
metrokat Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Sea horses. But that is not a solution unless sea horses are all you have. I moved my chaeto to another side of the tank today and hundreds of them came crawing out, slithering down the back wall into the substrate and then into the rocks. ARGH. Link to comment
altolamprologus Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Very few species of amphipods actually eat zoas. Almost every tank has amphipods and only a couple people have problems with the species they have. I would lean more towards zoa eating nudibranchs since the one you have looks small while the zoa eating amphipod species tend to be quite large. Either way, do dips in tank water colored yellow with iodine for 15 minutes every 2 days for a total of 3 dips. That's the only way to get rid of nudis and in the off chance it is the amphipods, the dips will kill any that keep coming back to the zoas. 2 Link to comment
boxboy Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 my only tempary soultion is to keep my moonlights running 24/7. but mine a kinda bright. it keep the suckers in hiding lol regular iodine? dip coral only. or rock also? Link to comment
grafxalien Posted April 9, 2012 Author Share Posted April 9, 2012 thanks for the replies. unfortunately my lfs is closed mondays, will get some iodine dip tomorrow. unfortunately its prob too late for this colony, but will keep my eye on the others. The pic may be a little deceiving. The body of this guy is over 0.5" Link to comment
altolamprologus Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 my only tempary soultion is to keep my moonlights running 24/7. but mine a kinda bright. it keep the suckers in hiding lol regular iodine? dip coral only. or rock also? Regular iodine is fine so long as it's pure iodine. I use lugol's solution because it's specifically made for use in reef aquaria so I know it doesn't have anything harmful in it. You can dip the rock if you absolutely need to, but the dip will kill beneficial microfauna so avoid it if you can. thanks for the replies. unfortunately my lfs is closed mondays, will get some iodine dip tomorrow. unfortunately its prob too late for this colony, but will keep my eye on the others. The pic may be a little deceiving. The body of this guy is over 0.5" If it really is that big then yeah it's probably a zoa eating pod. Keep dipping the zoas every few days to keep them at bay, but you may need to get a fish that will eat them as a permanent solution. How big is the tank? Link to comment
mike c Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Your zoa colony was probably already going downhill when these guys came on board. They're just doing what they do, cleaning up the mess. I think you have something else in there thats taking out your zoas. Any big bristle worms? Emerald crab? What are your params? When I started going more SPS, I dosed to keep my Ca, Mg, and KH up high, and my skimmer running 24/7. My SPS did good, but my zoas took a hit. I moved them into my wifes pico (no skimmer, no dosing), and they bounced back. Link to comment
grafxalien Posted April 9, 2012 Author Share Posted April 9, 2012 no emerald crabs. I haven't seen any large bristle worms but who knows what is lurking. I haven't had a chance to grab params yet since i have been working so much, but all my other coral seems to be doing well, including multiple other zoa colonies Link to comment
metrokat Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Your zoa colony was probably already going downhill when these guys came on board. They're just doing what they do, cleaning up the mess. I think you have something else in there thats taking out your zoas. Any big bristle worms? Emerald crab? No Mike, amphipods do eat zoas. This has been documented in many threads on this forum. The species of amphod that eats zoa are really large, mine are about 3/4 in to 1 inch long. HATE THEM. 1 Link to comment
lessergeneration Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 i HAD those before i got my mandarin....yellow coris..... and leopard wrasse. but now i still am dealing with dozens if not hundreds of asterinas that dont mind taking a bite out of my zoas Link to comment
C.I._Reefer Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 I cannot attest to amphipods actually eating zoas, but I can certainly attest to them irritating the everloving HELL out of them. I have been doing pretty regular FW dips with my zoa colonies recently. Link to comment
Yves17 Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 That's idk because I have like 70 of those ones in my 6g fluval and they dont mess with my corals they are so ugly :S Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Are they this size? Link to comment
cuber14 Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 I have big pods(at least 1/2") that crawl on my zoas and have not seen them eat any. After I had zoa pox on a few colonies and treated them I laid them on the sand and noticed they did clean up the zoas that did not make it. So if they are the cause or effect of your situation I don't know but they will definitely eat dead or deteriorating zoas. Link to comment
metrokat Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Are they this size? not as fat but certainly as long! EEEEEKS Link to comment
grafxalien Posted April 11, 2012 Author Share Posted April 11, 2012 well, examination with flashlight tonight revealed pods that were even bigger than the one i caught. im talking 0.75". Also found 3 sundial snails.... the snails are an easy removal. how the heck do i get these big pods out? Link to comment
altolamprologus Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Are you sure you found sundials? Collonista snails look very similar but are reef safe and much more common Link to comment
Euphyllia Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Those amphipods are big enough to pass as shrimp in my Chinese food... Link to comment
grafxalien Posted April 11, 2012 Author Share Posted April 11, 2012 Are you sure you found sundials? Collonista snails look very similar but are reef safe and much more common im not possitve but I am not chancing it. out they go. Link to comment
Jbennett Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 its hard to believe that pods eat zoas till it happens to you. I have been in the hobby long enough never had a problem till last month. My zoa frags were gone over night I started to watch closely and saw the pods eating the zoas. i moved them to another tank (all tanks plumbed together) and they did just fine.so the answer still is unanswered why do they eat them? Link to comment
xerophyte_nyc Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 FWIW, I see pods all the time walking around my zoas, and the zoas open up fine. It must be a specific variety that harms zoas. Link to comment
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