Help!!! Zoas are puking their guts

[lacybiker2000]

Hi, I just got 5 zoa frags Tuesday of last week. Some melted, others look ok I guess not near the colors that I thought I was buying, but it could be my lights too. I have them in a biocube 8 under 1-18 watt 10000k and 1-18 watt Ture Actinic 03 plus moon glows. Now it seems as if some of them are puking their guts, they have long streamers of purpley lumpy stuff coming from the mouth, some is releasing into the tank. Are they just deficating or ????? Also, I've been noticeing a bit of algae on some of the stems, most of them did a peel when I first got them. Anyhow as these are my first zoas, I just wanted some advise or assurance that they were ok or how to make them that way. Thanks

 

[sf_ramsden]

Lacybiker,

We will need to know a few things in order to try and help you out...

1. What are your parameters? (Temperature, Salinity, Nitrates, Nitrites, PH, Ammonia, how long have you had the tank setup, etc)
2. Were these wild colonies from a LFS or online, or were they aquacultured in a reefers tank?
3. Pictures work wonders as well!

Let us know all the information you can and we will try to help ya out!

Scott

 

[ecotoxlady]

It sounds as if they are expelling zoanthellae (not sure of spelling here - these are a symbiotic algae that live inside the zoas and give them their brilliant coloration). In small quantities that can be normal but if they are really doing this a lot then that is a warning sign that something is making them unhappy. Tank parameters will be very helpful. Also, do you know what lights they were being kept under prior to you getting them? Sometimes they will expel zoanthellae if the lighting has changed drastically for them. It is often best to slowly acclimate zoas to your lighting if there is a big change. Hope this helps

 

[lacybiker2000]

Ok, they have all pretty much stopped their puking. I'm not sure what type of lights they were under before. They were aquacultured, bought them from Zoafrags on Ebay. Don't look anything like the colors in the pics though. The Pink Mantis I can recognize and are the only one's not too far off in color. They are doing pretty good I think. I also bought Foxy's, Watermellons, Green Lanterns and Kryptonites. The green lanterns have completely closed up and they and the watermellons which are on the same piece of dead coral look really bad, have algae growning on the stems. The light Purple colored ones with the pink areas in their rings that were doing the most puking are opened back up and don't look too bad. The darker purpls with green rings and blue centers are semi-open, they don't look horribly bad. But I am worried about the watermellons and green lanterns. My params are: temp 81-82.5, it's a nano, can't get it cooler. Amonia is around 0.37, Nitrites are at 0, PH is around 7.9, Salinity is 1.023 and Nitrates are around 20. Yesterday, I finally was able to get a little calerpa in the hopes of lowering them. Also, I had noticed a hermit or two picking at the zoas. So someone suggested feeding the hermits (duh). I also have speckled mushrooms and what I think are hairy mushrooms that are doing great in the same tank. I have included a few pics, hope they turn out. One is a pic of the pink mantis and a mystery zoa when I first got them. Then a pic of the watermellon and lantern when I first got them, then a current pic of the purply pink ones that did the most puking with the few tiny Kryptos that made it. Then 2 current pics of the green lantern/watermellons,

 

[lacybiker2000]

Here is a current pic of the pink mantis I changed the location and it seems to look better. Also pics of my two mushroom rocks. I have not had the hairy mushrooms long and they have two or three rusty brown zoas that look completely different amidst them. instead of the many little eyelashes these have fewer longer ones. I could not get a close up of them as they are small and there are two on one side of the rock and one on the other. Then I've included a pic of the overall tank. Thanks for giving me your advise guys I do appreciate any help.



Sorry the images are so small, but that was the only way they would load.

 

[Pufferpunk]

If you are showing ay ammonia at all (very toxic!), then your tank isn't cycled. How long has it been set up? Water changes, water changes, water changes!

 

[lacybiker2000]

It's been set up close to three months. I do a water change every 7 to 10 days. in effect every month I change out 5 gal worth of water. When I filled up the 8 gal, it took 4.5 gal to fill it up with the LR and sand in it. Now my test kit is a API master kit, even though it had not been used, it was not the freshest as I got it in a package deal off of Ebay. The Ammonia test is two part and one had formed a bit of residue under the lid. When I took my water to the LFS (60 miles away) before I got my own test kit, they did not seem to think anything but the Nitrates was high. I did not ask what the other measurement were though. So could my test be off?

 

[Pufferpunk]

Quite possibly... but nitrates should also be near 0 for a reef tank.

 

[lacybiker2000]

That is what I have read, but other than the water changes and just getting the Callerpa yesterday, I don't know what else to do about that.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Have you added any new rock lately?

 

[lacybiker2000]

Yes, I did add another piece of cured LR ( about three weeks ago) and the Hairy Mushroom rock. The speckled mushroom rock and the rest of the rocks have been in there from day 1. One of the reasons I did so was trying to lower the nitrates. I replaced the bio balls with rock rubble also. And the Nitrates have lowered from 40 to the 20 they are now.

 

[lacybiker2000]

Ok, did another water change after my last post. Amonia is now 0, Nitrites 0, PH 7.8, Nitrates 20, salinity 1.022, temp 81.

 

[lacybiker2000]

Update, the green lantern and watermellon still look really bad, shriveled with algae grunge. Only one or two of the polyps are slightly opening. Although pale, the other varieties look to be doing ok. Would y'all suggest just disposing of the two that look so bad or ????

 

[Rich]

1.022 is low for salinity - most run around 1.026 IMO. Raise it gradually over a week or so.

 

[lacybiker2000]

I was not aware that most people kept it at that. The sources I have read say anywhere from 1.021-1.025. I've raised mine up to 1.024. The fish and everyone else seem to be ok with how it is. However, thanks for your opinion.