zoanthids won't open

[mindaugas]

My zoanthids haven't opened in the last 2 weeks. Can I safely assume they never will? I don't know what happened and I've got some small Xenias on the frag that are fine. Do I need to remove them?

[glennr1978]

I have some that haven't opened since set up my new tank about 1 1/2 months ago. They don't look dead, just closed. I've read that sometimes people have zoa's that won't open for a few months and all of the sudden they open up. If they aren't slimed over or shriveled and brown I would wait it out if I were you.

[mindaugas]

ya, they look fine, no shrivel, no slim that I can tell. I'll try to take some pics later as well.

[ficklefins]

Sometimes zoas will seemingly shed an outer layer. For me it happens when I frag them or do something wrong to the tank. I like to help them along by using the fingers to rub off the outer layer exposing a clean and new polyp underneath. Within a few hours they open right back up. If you shoot some pics I may be able to tell yours are shedding.

 

Good luck

[mindaugas]

ok, finally pics. let me know what you guys think

[SeeDemTails]

Looks like you got water quality issues. I would double check it. Make sure your temp is stable and do a couple water changes for the hell of it.

 

What type of lighting are they under?

 

If they dont open after that I would do a couple furan 2 dips to see if that helps. No matter what it is not normal for zoas to be closed for more than a couple days unless something is wrong. The dont just stay closed for months.

 

That xenia doesnt look good either.

[mindaugas]

the xenia are normally closed during the end of the day, they have never shown any signs of being uncomfortable. I've got a BF 14g with stock lighting.

 

1 - 24w 10,000K Lamp

1 - 24w Actinic 03 Lamp

 

Ammonia 0

Nitrite 0

Nitrate 0

PH 8.2

Salt .024

 

I do weekly water changes. tank has been running since 3-35, I have been VERY patient. Lots of coralline algae growth as well.

 

furan 2 dips

meh?

[SeeDemTails]

Furan 2 is a type of medicine that kills gram +/- organisms, such as zoa pox and the fungus.

 

IME some zoas may be infected with the pox or the fungus, but not showing lesions, just showing symptoms, like long stalks and bulbs at the top, rather than a cylindrical shaped closed zoa.

 

Just because they dont have white bumps on them, doesnt mean they are all good. I would try to keep my hands out of the tank, and do a couple furan dips to be safe. It wont hurt anything and costs maybe $5.

 

Ohh and double your PWC's and make sure your temp is stable.

[eklikewhoa]

Is that a white dot on them or suspended debris? I would probably dip them in RO/Lugol's/FWE and then leave them alone....bottom of the tank in in-direct flow.

 

I had some Radioactives that didn't open for about a month but as soon as I moved them away from the flow they opened right up.

[Fanof49ASU]

As long as they're not shrinking/melting, I wouldn't worry.

[SeeDemTails]

As long as they're not shrinking/melting, I wouldn't worry.

 

Yeah, dont fix the problem now, just wait until they are almost dead.....

 

If your zoas are closed, and they were previously open in your tank, you have a problem. I would find it and fix it asap.

[mindaugas]

sorry, they have been closed since the frag was placed in the tank. they have just done the little opening as in the photo. sometimes they open a little more. they are still alive, but I think its the flow. that's the front of the tank directly in the flow. I think I should have reversed the Xenia and zoas, the xenia seem to really like the flow. the little ones stuck to the zoas colony are growing great.

[SeeDemTails]

Its not the flow, zoas like flow, without it they get mad detrius and HA grows between them = bad. Do some big water changes and see if it helps. It may be something in the water irritating them that you arent/cant test for.

 

I would also do some furan 2 dips like I said. It wont hurt them at all, and will kill anything bothering them if they have something.

[BustytheSnowMaam]

the xenia are normally closed during the end of the day, they have never shown any signs of being uncomfortable. I've got a BF 14g with stock lighting.

 

1 - 24w 10,000K Lamp

1 - 24w Actinic 03 Lamp

 

Ammonia 0

Nitrite 0

Nitrate 0

PH 8.2

Salt .024

 

I do weekly water changes. tank has been running since 3-35, I have been VERY patient. Lots of coralline algae growth as well.

 

meh?

 

My .02 is not enough light. You probably have a hood where half the tank is under the actinic bulb and half is under the other lamp. Are the zoas under the actinic side? I would place them closer to the side of the 10000k bulb. I think, though, you need at least 80 watts of PC lighting for zoas. I also think zoas thrive better in established systems- your tank is still pretty new.

[wtfe]

My .02 is not enough light. You probably have a hood where half the tank is under the actinic bulb and half is under the other lamp. Are the zoas under the actinic side? I would place them closer to the side of the 10000k bulb. I think, though, you need at least 80 watts of PC lighting for zoas. I also think zoas thrive better in established systems- your tank is still pretty new.

 

IMHO, 48W should be fine for zoos. I'm in the "wait it out" camp. I've had some zoa issues, and I'd avoid using Furan 2 unless you have a good reason to suspect that it's zoa pox or something that Furan is known to cure. Take a look in the tank with a bright flashlight at about 2am and see if anything is bothering them.

 

If you are getting to the point of experimenting with treatment, I think that a 15 minute SW dip in Lugol's or a FW dip for 3-5 minutes would be inexpensive and relatively harmless. Check your alkalinity and calcium levels, just to make sure. I had low alk for awhile and it made everybody less likely to open up. If you're doing regular water changes, your chemistry is probably OK and it's something else, like a predator, bacteria, or fungus.

[SeeDemTails]

Furan 2 is just as harmless as lugols and certainly LESS harmful than fresh water, but IME much more effective than both. It does a better job killing fungus and bacteria than iodine or freshwater and of course it kills zoa pox. You zoas dont have to be showing white lesions to be infected, I think that is a later stage of the disease.

 

Every zoa I own got dipped several times and not a single one has who has shown ill effects, months down the road.

[NanoReefGuy]

Hi

 

I had a problem with some zoas recently that turned out to be nudibranches feeding on them! I looke at the tank after dark and found a couple of 1/4" grey nudis. Pulled them out and the zoas started opening again. It may be worth a couple of "night dives" to see if these are in your tank.

 

 

Cheers

NRG

[Brian Crook]

Im experiencing this problem with two large polyp rocks and one small polyp frag in my tank as well. Over the past week Ive done two water changes, including one large one, and over the next couple nights Im going to check really late at night to see if anything is irritating the polyps. The star polyps in my tank look great and are open all the time, however the three frags of regular 'stemmed' polyps are always closed (and the star polyps are even on the same rock as the other polyps). If necessary, is this Furan chemical available at the LFS's, or would I need to buy it online?

 

All other corals in the tank look great and are showing signs of growth, including mushrooms, leathers, gonipora, candy-cane, and anthelia.

 

thanks a lot

 

 

---

 

 

 

edit:

 

heres some pictures of my polyps:

 

 

 

 

 

 

let me know what you think..

[SeeDemTails]

The first pic is easy. The GSPs are stinging/killing the palys. Unless you remove the GSPs they will eventually cover the polyps. GSPs are a very aggresive coral. I have yet to see anything stand up to them.

 

I would dip the ones in the second pic.

 

Furan 2 is available at most pet stores. It is like $5. Comes in a green package with orange capsules.

 

I put 1 capsule to 1 cup of tank water and dip for 10-15 minutes with an airstone in the bag to keep things flowing around the zoas.

[Brian Crook]

well in regards to the first picture, that really sucks lol. I purchased that rock because it had both types of polyps on it at the local fish store. I didnt know that they would sting eachother.

 

And thanks for the info on that Furan chemical, I just finished a large water change today so I am going to keep an eye on them for one or two more days and then Ill try that chemical out.

 

--

edit:

 

 

I will also try removing the star polyps on one side of that rock and see if those few polyps open up.

[BustytheSnowMaam]

the xenia are normally closed during the end of the day, they have never shown any signs of being uncomfortable. I've got a BF 14g with stock lighting.

 

1 - 24w 10,000K Lamp

1 - 24w Actinic 03 Lamp

 

Ammonia 0

Nitrite 0

Nitrate 0

PH 8.2

Salt .024

 

I do weekly water changes. tank has been running since 3-35, I have been VERY patient. Lots of coralline algae growth as well.

 

meh?

 

Were they open and happy at the store? Have they ever opened up in your tank? If they were fine at the LFS, but closed up in your tank, it makes me think either the water isn't good (and per your test results it seems fine) or the light isn't sufficient. I had similar lighting when I first started my tank and could not get zoas to last- they would just slowly waste away.

[greeneyes]

Also have you tried having somone else test your water?

[mindaugas]

they looked great, I bought them from a fellow reefer though, not an LFS. they have never fully opened in my tank. my water was perfect when I first acclimated them, nothing has really changed. the person I bought them from said they keep a pretty high salt content though, like .026. Sorry I just remembered that. idk if the .002 would make a dif tho.

[Brian Crook]

Well I stayed up late for two nights now and I havent seen anything unusual irritating the polyps. Occasionally my hermit crabs will walk over them or pick at some algae near them but they dont directly attack them. I have ordered a bottle of Lugols solution and some of those Furan-2 tablets as well and will try them out when they get here. Ill let you know how it goes...

 

I have also tried repositioning the zoo's and adjusting the flow, to no avail.

[mindaugas]

I moved mine and it didn't make a dif, the xenia attached to the same frag are happy tho