Handling my first Zoa order, advice welcome!

[ultraArcite]

Hey, everyone! I participated in the zoanthids.com live sale and my order arrived today! This is my second order of coral, my first was two toadstools which are happy in my display tank. I'm going to layout how I handled the order and I was hoping to get advice, kudos, and constructive criticism. Thanks in advance!

I read that I should definitely tank palytoxin seriously, so I wore food-grade, powerless gloves, eye protection, and my COVID mask.



I also read that Zoas sometimes ship without water, so they don't need to be acclimated. I moved them from their containers into a dip container and used Seachem Dip for 15 minutes with an airstone.



After 15 minutes in the dip, I rinsed them off with the water from the containers and placed them in a 10-gallon quarantine tank with a pair of Percula Clowns and a Sharknose Goby. Originally they were supposed to go into a 29-gallon tank by themselves, but I had to use that tank to medicate some Clowns for another tank and Biota Yellow Tang.


Next week, I plan to dip them in Two Little Fishies Revive and place them in my display tank on the sand bed. I will then move them higher on the rocks each week to see how they handle the light. I read that this is a good process to find the best spot in the tank for each zoa.

 

[T-J]

My only recommendation is not to use the shipping water to rinse them off after you dip them. You could transfer something back onto them from the water. Also, that water probably is pretty nasty at that point.
When I dip, I do it after acclimating them to the tank temp (floating), then I dip using my tank water and my dip (Coral Rx). Then rinse them using my tank water.
Congrats on your new Zoas!

 

[ultraArcite]

My only recommendation is not to use the shipping water to rinse them off after you dip them. You could transfer something back onto them from the water. Also, that water probably is pretty nasty at that point.
When I dip, I do it after acclimating them to the tank temp (floating), then I dip using my tank water and my dip (Coral Rx). Then rinse them using my tank water.
Congrats on your new Zoas!

Oof, good call... That was stupid of me. At least they're in a QT tank now instead of straight into the display tank. I'll make sure to use tank water after the Revive dip. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Reefing_addiction]

Hey, everyone! I participated in the zoanthids.com live sale and my order arrived today! This is my second order of coral, my first was two toadstools which are happy in my display tank. I'm going to layout how I handled the order and I was hoping to get advice, kudos, and constructive criticism. Thanks in advance!

I read that I should definitely tank palytoxin seriously, so I wore food-grade, powerless gloves, eye protection, and my COVID mask.



I also read that Zoas sometimes ship without water, so they don't need to be acclimated. I moved them from their containers into a dip container and used Seachem Dip for 15 minutes with an airstone.



After 15 minutes in the dip, I rinsed them off with the water from the containers and placed them in a 10-gallon quarantine tank with a pair of Percula Clowns and a Sharknose Goby. Originally they were supposed to go into a 29-gallon tank by themselves, but I had to use that tank to medicate some Clowns for another tank and Biota Yellow Tang.


Next week, I plan to dip them in Two Little Fishies Revive and place them in my display tank on the sand bed. I will then move them higher on the rocks each week to see how they handle the light. I read that this is a good process to find the best spot in the tank for each zoa.

Where did you read about zoas not being shipped in water? They should always be shipped in water

 

[ultraArcite]

Where did you read about zoas not being shipped in water? They should always be shipped in water

From Got Zoas: GENERAL ZOANTHID CARE.

Acclimating these corals is debatable. More and more suppliers are dry shipping zoanthids, which involves being wrapped in a moist paper towel and placed in a bag. If you receive a coral with no water, how are you supposed to acclimate it? You really can’t, however, Zoas seem to handle tank swaps pretty well. When you receive a zoanthid that is submerged it is best to just acclimate it regardless of hardiness.