tibbsy07 Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I can't figure out zoas either... I've had some with perfect conditions just up and die, no reason I can find. Others just hang on forever. Link to comment
NanoClown Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I had some zoas with longer stalks that I placed towards the lower part in my tank. I moved them up higher closer to the light and after a month or so they stopped stretching and started to get shorter and flatter. Maybe they want a little more light Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 why cant they talk and just tell us what they want?!?!?! Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I've had them reach to whites on 70% then shrink back down when I lower the light to 40% so that makes no sense, same zoa, the Vivid Rainbows. Link to comment
metrokat Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Sexy shrimp aren't very sexy with their habits, they will munch on corals even when they are well fed. Also what about amphipods, do you have a large population perhaps? I had one in my first tank and they killed off some zoa colonies. I made a thread about it too and people were like they're the good guys, but slowly more and more people started posting about witnessing the same thing - amphipods munching zoa skirts. Link to comment
teenyreef Posted July 11, 2015 Author Share Posted July 11, 2015 Yeah, the sexies do sometimes bother the zoas, but after watching them closely, they seem to be eating what's dead, not what's alive. When my zoas are healthy, the sexies are on them just as much, but the zoas pop right back open when they leave with no long term effect. I do have some big amphipods, and I have suspected them as the culprits for some time. The only thing I've found that seems to consistently help my zoas is to pull all the rocks out as part of a big tank cleaning. When I do this, a lot of amphipods fall of the rocks and I get rid of them. Then when I put everything back in, the zoas are happy again for a month or so. So I suspect they are at least part of the problem. The weird thing in this case is the amphipods normally only come out at night. So I would think the zoas would be the most bothered in the morning and gradually recover during the day. But mine do best in the morning and gradually close up during the day, until most are closed up by the end of the day. Maybe the amphipods are getting bolder during the day now that they're getting bigger. I'm going to try a big tank cleaning this weekend, since I need to do my bi-monthly vermetid worm crushing anyway. I've had them reach to whites on 70% then shrink back down when I lower the light to 40% so that makes no sense, same zoa, the Vivid Rainbows. Yeah, go figure I've decided to go ahead and increase the lighting a little bit anyway, because my rics have been cupping a lot, which I know means they aren't getting enough light either. Fingers crossed why cant they talk and just tell us what they want?!?!?! I know! But if mine could talk, they would be saying "Heeeelllllllllpppppppp...." Link to comment
metrokat Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Amphipods do regulate themselves eventually, i fed less and FW dipped my rocks/colonies to get them off. Link to comment
teenyreef Posted July 11, 2015 Author Share Posted July 11, 2015 Amphipods do regulate themselves eventually, i fed less and FW dipped my rocks/colonies to get them off. I haven't tried to do FW dips - I was afraid to get too aggressive and hurt something desirable like my little feather dusters or worms. But I'm getting resigned to the idea that I'm going to have to do more than I have been. At least it's not a big deal to pull all the rocks out of such a little tank Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Yeah, those nasty amphipods ate my Aquascaper zoas and touched no other zoas. Got a 6-line and he took care of 'em. They'd seriously be under the plugs during the day, I could flip them over and there there were, waiting til the lights went out to chomp. Link to comment
jaquetheshrimp42 Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Hi there you have a really nice set up may I ask a question by any chance? If I were to buy a tank that looks like yours but 5 gallons. If I bought a yellow watchman goby and a pistol shrimp do you think they would do well in the tank thank you so much and keep up the good work Link to comment
markalot Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 I'm not a big fan of Zoas for this reason. Paly's all the way, nothing seems to bug them. Link to comment
teenyreef Posted July 12, 2015 Author Share Posted July 12, 2015 Yeah, those nasty amphipods ate my Aquascaper zoas and touched no other zoas. Got a 6-line and he took care of 'em. They'd seriously be under the plugs during the day, I could flip them over and there there were, waiting til the lights went out to chomp. Tonight was feeding night. Tomorrow night is amphipod dipping night I've thought about giving Fitzgerald (my pink streaked wrasse) a working vacation in this tank. But I don't know how I'd ever get him out of the 10g tank without taking it all apart I'm not a big fan of Zoas for this reason. Paly's all the way, nothing seems to bug them. Even my big ones that eat whole brine shrimp seem to be bothered in this tank. But I don't think any of them are technically palys. Hi there you have a really nice set up may I ask a question by any chance? If I were to buy a tank that looks like yours but 5 gallons. If I bought a yellow watchman goby and a pistol shrimp do you think they would do well in the tank thank you so much and keep up the good work Thanks! Any questions are welcome, but I'm afraid I don't have any experience with that particular pair. I know there are people keeping them in 10g tanks, but I don't know if a 5g is too small. I do know that when I was considering fish for this 4g tank I thought a watchman/pistol seemed too much for my tank. You might have better luck finding someone who's kept them in a 5g tank if you post your question as a new topic in the general forum. Good luck! Link to comment
jaquetheshrimp42 Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Tonight was feeding night. Tomorrow night is amphipod dipping night I've thought about giving Fitzgerald (my pink streaked wrasse) a working vacation in this tank. But I don't know how I'd ever get him out of the 10g tank without taking it all apart Even my big ones that eat whole brine shrimp seem to be bothered in this tank. But I don't think any of them are technically palys. Thanks! Any questions are welcome, but I'm afraid I don't have any experience with that particular pair. I know there are people keeping them in 10g tanks, but I don't know if a 5g is too small. I do know that when I was considering fish for this 4g tank I thought a watchman/pistol seemed too much for my tank. You might have better luck finding someone who's kept them in a 5g tank if you post your question as a new topic in the general forum. Good luck! Hi thank you for the response I guess I will post it in general discussion thanks again and really beautiful tank Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 I'll betcha if you move the sexy shrimp into a breeder's net or somewhere else the zoas will perk up. Link to comment
teenyreef Posted July 13, 2015 Author Share Posted July 13, 2015 OK, when both Kat and Ben tell me to save my zoas from the sexy shrimp, I've got to give it a try. The two sexy shrimp are now having a staycation in the 10g tank for a few weeks In the meantime, I cleaned out the back chambers and the pump (yuck), and pulled most of the rocks out. I crunched up the vermetid snails with long nose pliers (only found about half a dozen this time, yay), and then I did a quick freshwater dip for each rock. Doing the freshwater dip reminded me of a movie scene depicting torture by drowning. I held the rock under for about 15 seconds, pulled it back out, watched the amphipods crawl out, and repeated about couple more time. Then I rinsed the rock really well in old tank water and put it back in the tank. I was cringing the whole time, afraid that I was killing everything, not just the amphipods... I meant to do about a 50% water change, but I managed to spill the last half a gallon of new water onto the carpet. I had to recycle some of the old tank water to fill that tank back up, so I think it was more like about a 35% water change. Finally, after putting everything back together, I checked the temperature and realized I totally forgot to heat up the new water. The temperature went from 79 to 75 when I changed the water Hopefully I didn't kill everything between the freshwater dip and the sudden temperature drop I got rid about a couple dozen amphipods, up to about 3/8" long each. Here's a few of them sitting in the RO water: Dead Amphipods by TeenyReef, on Flickr The corals all look totally stressed, which is pretty much how I feel too! Fingers crossed this everything is OK tomorrow! Link to comment
ReefWeeds Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 OK, when both Kat and Ben tell me to save my zoas from the sexy shrimp, I've got to give it a try. The two sexy shrimp are now having a staycation in the 10g tank for a few weeks In the meantime, I cleaned out the back chambers and the pump (yuck), and pulled most of the rocks out. I crunched up the vermetid snails with long nose pliers (only found about half a dozen this time, yay), and then I did a quick freshwater dip for each rock. Doing the freshwater dip reminded me of a movie scene depicting torture by drowning. I held the rock under for about 15 seconds, pulled it back out, watched the amphipods crawl out, and repeated about couple more time. Then I rinsed the rock really well in old tank water and put it back in the tank. I was cringing the whole time, afraid that I was killing everything, not just the amphipods... I meant to do about a 50% water change, but I managed to spill the last half a gallon of new water onto the carpet. I had to recycle some of the old tank water to fill that tank back up, so I think it was more like about a 35% water change. Finally, after putting everything back together, I checked the temperature and realized I totally forgot to heat up the new water. The temperature went from 79 to 75 when I changed the water Hopefully I didn't kill everything between the freshwater dip and the sudden temperature drop I got rid about a couple dozen amphipods, up to about 3/8" long each. Here's a few of them sitting in the RO water: Dead Amphipods by TeenyReef, on Flickr The corals all look totally stressed, which is pretty much how I feel too! Fingers crossed this everything is OK tomorrow! I was kinda stressed out for you reading this!!! Link to comment
metrokat Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Give it a couple of hours and post how everything is. Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 I think the Zoas will most likely be fine. Someone shipped me Zoas with two day shipping JUST IN BETWEEN DAMP TOWELS and they arrived just as nice (Or nicer) than the fancy overnight in water shipping. (Just trying to say that the are pretty hardy IMO) Link to comment
teenyreef Posted July 13, 2015 Author Share Posted July 13, 2015 Give it a couple of hours and post how everything is. Thanks, Kat. Will you come hold my hand next time? I'm sure everything will be fine. It's like anything else in this hobby, the first time you try something it's nerve wracking, the second time it's business as usual. I've just never done a freshwater dip before, and even though I know what's supposed to happen, actually doing it myself on my own tank is totally different. This morning a few of the vice zoas (which have been doing fine all along) were already open, and the pipe organ coral was open as well. And the sexy shrimp were happily running around in the 10g tank. I'm really looking forward to getting off work today so I can check and see how things are going I think the Zoas will most likely be fine. Someone shipped me Zoas with two day shipping JUST IN BETWEEN DAMP TOWELS and they arrived just as nice (Or nicer) than the fancy overnight in water shipping. (Just trying to say that the are pretty hardy IMO) That's crazy! But I've noticed that when you actually want to kill them it's almost impossible I was kinda stressed out for you reading this!!! Thanks! Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Glad to hear things are working out and moving forward Edit: For the record - I am dreading the re-scape of my 10g and cleaning everything in the process... Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Hate those amphipods. Look like "Alien". I love the movie though, as a side note. Just like roaches in a tank though. Link to comment
teenyreef Posted July 14, 2015 Author Share Posted July 14, 2015 Glad to hear things are working out and moving forward Edit: For the record - I am dreading the re-scape of my 10g and cleaning everything in the process... I know! I live in fear of having to take the rocks in the 10g apart. If I ever do it I'll just have to accept that I'm doing a totally new scape Hate those amphipods. Look like "Alien". I love the movie though, as a side note. Just like roaches in a tank though. Me too! Why can't I have cute little copepods? Link to comment
teenyreef Posted July 14, 2015 Author Share Posted July 14, 2015 Well, when I got home tonight, almost everything had opened back up so apparently I didn't kill anything. The lower set of zoas near the pipe organ coral are still mostly closed, though. And the yellow scroll coral looks a little discolored and it's polyps are not extended. Hopefully the rest of the zoas will open back up tomorrow. Link to comment
Merthynia Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Well, when I got home tonight, almost everything had opened back up so apparently I didn't kill anything. The lower set of zoas near the pipe organ coral are still mostly closed, though. And the yellow scroll coral looks a little discolored and it's polyps are not extended. Hopefully the rest of the zoas will open back up tomorrow. They are tough little guys. I FW dip almost all of my zoas when I get them as part of my dipping process. They should open up within a day or two Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 I know! I live in fear of having to take the rocks in the 10g apart. If I ever do it I'll just have to accept that I'm doing a totally new scape Me too! Why can't I have cute little copepods? You probably had 'em and the amphipods had lunch. Link to comment
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