Do I have a zoanthid pest?

[onlytoby]

I had a zoanthid come through the post 10 days ago which I dipped, and its still not open.
I ordered other corals at the same time which are all open but these haven't even tried in the slightest!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Pics a little fuzzy and high in blue making it hard to see much
Generally, little white dots(pox) are common or little spiders in the center core of zoa
Water flow and light critical for zoa also

 

[Jaden9933]

I had a zoanthid come through the post 10 days ago which I dipped, and its still not open.
I ordered other corals at the same time which are all open but these haven't even tried in the slightest!

Sometimes they just take a while to open. I have some take two or three weeks to open. Especially when parameters aren’t stable! Test salinity daily and keep it within 1.0005 SG of what it was the previous day. If they start shrinking, it’s a sign that they are melting. Some can still recover from this point though! IMO, I say leave them until they either open, or melt completely.

Edit: If the dip was iodine, that ticks them off a bit sometimes. Again, just wait it out.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Give them at least 48 hrs to adjust to tank conditions.
The "cheesing out" syndrome can be the result of limited nutrients (Phosphates, Nitrates). Zoanthids need fish poop, dissolved food matter and the resulting nutrients to thrive.
generally, zoanthids can thrive in the same conditions that SPS corals do. Good dissolved organics levels, high light, good nutrient export, low nutrient byproducts like Nitrates and Phosphates. I am not claiming that Zoanthids need the pristine conditions that SPS corals require but they do thrive in similar conditions. However, I have learned from experience that Phosphate levels below .02 can be detrimental to the health of the polyps. Always remember that Nitrogen and Phosphorus are the building blocks for coral life, so zero Nitrate reading or zero Phosphate reading are not a good thing for your aquarium life.
Zoanthids do not require the level of, or the amount of trace elements that SPS corals do but they certainly benefit from consistent water quality/chemistry. Qualities that should be monitored regularly in a reef aquarium are -- Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium, Iodine, temperature, Phosphates, Nitrates, and pH. I am not indicating that they require all of the aforementioned items specifically, only that consistent levels keep Zoanthids happy and healthy. My chemistry is consistently maintained in this range:

dKH: 8.0 - 9.0
Calcium: 430 - 440
Magnesium: 1250 - 1300
Iodine: Maintained via regular water changes (be careful if you are dosing without testing!)
Temperature: 77 - 79 degrees
pH: 8.1-8.2
Phosphates: .02 - .03
Nitrates < 5

Adding iodide weekly also benefits them

 

[onlytoby]

Pics a little fuzzy and high in blue making it hard to see much
Generally, little white dots(pox) are common or little spiders in the center core of zoa
Water flow and light critical for zoa also

I was thinking maybe spiders to be honest, but I cant see too much really. Over the weekend when i'm home from work early I will have another look in proper lights!

The middle coral, do you think that's a pox? it looks like the zoa has a wart

 

[onlytoby]

Sometimes they just take a while to open. I have some take two or three weeks to open. Especially when parameters aren’t stable! Test salinity daily and keep it within 1.0005 SG of what it was the previous day. If they start shrinking, it’s a sign that they are melting. Some can still recover from this point though! IMO, I say leave them until they either open, or melt completely.

Edit: If the dip was iodine, that ticks them off a bit sometimes. Again, just wait it out.

Ahh yes it is quite a new tank (QT) and to be honest only had livestock go in when the coral was added. I don't think the dip was iodine, I was given it by quite a well known youtuber when I bought some other (and healthier!) corals off him but the dip has little to no writing on the bottle!

I'll just have to be patient, thanks! Was just nervous as everything else was open

 

[onlytoby]

Give them at least 48 hrs to adjust to tank conditions.
The "cheesing out" syndrome can be the result of limited nutrients (Phosphates, Nitrates). Zoanthids need fish poop, dissolved food matter and the resulting nutrients to thrive.
generally, zoanthids can thrive in the same conditions that SPS corals do. Good dissolved organics levels, high light, good nutrient export, low nutrient byproducts like Nitrates and Phosphates. I am not claiming that Zoanthids need the pristine conditions that SPS corals require but they do thrive in similar conditions. However, I have learned from experience that Phosphate levels below .02 can be detrimental to the health of the polyps. Always remember that Nitrogen and Phosphorus are the building blocks for coral life, so zero Nitrate reading or zero Phosphate reading are not a good thing for your aquarium life.
Zoanthids do not require the level of, or the amount of trace elements that SPS corals do but they certainly benefit from consistent water quality/chemistry. Qualities that should be monitored regularly in a reef aquarium are -- Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium, Iodine, temperature, Phosphates, Nitrates, and pH. I am not indicating that they require all of the aforementioned items specifically, only that consistent levels keep Zoanthids happy and healthy. My chemistry is consistently maintained in this range:

dKH: 8.0 - 9.0
Calcium: 430 - 440
Magnesium: 1250 - 1300
Iodine: Maintained via regular water changes (be careful if you are dosing without testing!)
Temperature: 77 - 79 degrees
pH: 8.1-8.2
Phosphates: .02 - .03
Nitrates < 5

Adding iodide weekly also benefits them

Thanks for the detailed answer! Yes to be honest the tank is very new, it's cycled with some live rock but not actually had livestock in until this coral was added with a new fish, snails and hermits!
I'll keep an eye out for those parameter, thank you very much!
For some reason even in my display tank I struggle with getting my Phosphate up, it's an AIO I built but I think my water changes were probably 25% weekly which probably didn't help. I've now been 2 weeks without a water change and my cyano is disappearing as a result, which is great! I feed a cube of frozen food a day, which is quite high I thought for a 20G tank with 3 fish, 1 shrimp and inverts so was curious as to why my phosp was undetectable!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thanks for the detailed answer! Yes to be honest the tank is very new, it's cycled with some live rock but not actually had livestock in until this coral was added with a new fish, snails and hermits!
I'll keep an eye out for those parameter, thank you very much!
For some reason even in my display tank I struggle with getting my Phosphate up, it's an AIO I built but I think my water changes were probably 25% weekly which probably didn't help. I've now been 2 weeks without a water change and my cyano is disappearing as a result, which is great! I feed a cube of frozen food a day, which is quite high I thought for a 20G tank with 3 fish, 1 shrimp and inverts so was curious as to why my phosp was undetectable!

keep doing what youre doing at the moment.