How cold can Zoas survive in shipping?

Skep18 · Nov 16, 2018

If zoas arrive in bags @ 62*F, is it likely they'll survive?

littlebigreef · Nov 16, 2018

Its def not ideal but they might be able to bounce back. I'd be sure to slowly drip acclimate as well. Not that it helps but I'd rather get them at 62* that 95* which has happened to me before (they survived). I'd be sure to reach out to the seller asap.

Coralreefer1 · Nov 16, 2018

It is hard to say, because I think it would depend on how long they would have to withstand at a particular temp. Moreover, the species of Zoanthid or Paly, I’m sure, would also play a major part in the equation.

Skep18 · Nov 16, 2018

Coralreefer1 said:
It is hard to say, because I think it would depend on how long they would have to withstand at a particular temp. Moreover, the species of Zoanthid or Paly, I’m sure, would also play a major part in the equation.

Right. Just looking for others with experience in the field to advise as to what they've found.

Skep18 · Nov 16, 2018

littlebigreef said:
Its def not ideal but they might be able to bounce back. I'd be sure to slowly drip acclimate as well. Not that it helps but I'd rather get them at 62* that 95* which has happened to me before (they survived). I'd be sure to reach out to the seller asap.

Fingers crossed. Photos and notification was sent directly to seller. We'll see...

ZachR32 · Nov 16, 2018

Ive had a few colonies survive 42 F, there was an unexpected cold spell. Took a few days to open up but they made it no problem

Skep18 · Nov 16, 2018

ZachR32 said:
Ive had a few colonies survive 42 F, there was an unexpected cold spell. Took a few days to open up but they made it no problem

Well, maybe I'm completely off base here. I hope they do survive.

Kremis · Nov 16, 2018

I had some arrive at high sixties, and they opened right up when I floated the bags in warmer water.

Skep18 · Nov 16, 2018

Thanks guys. Feeling better already.

Slowly bringing them to temp while still bagged in a bucket.

Skep18 · Nov 16, 2018

Well the zoas were slowly brought to temp then slowly acclimated to my tank water. I've added them to my coral QT. Some show signs of starting to open.

In general is a zoa opening ever a bad sign? That is, when zoas die, does the polyp always close or will the muscle relax in the open position? Just wondering.

Kremis · Nov 16, 2018

Skep18 said:
Well the zoas were slowly brought to temp then slowly acclimated to my tank water. I've added them to my coral QT. Some show signs of starting to open.

In general is a zoa opening ever a bad sign? That is, when zoas die, does the polyp always close or will the muscle relax in the open position? Just wondering.

polyp always closes

Skep18 · Nov 18, 2018

Well most of the zoas opened up at some point. Unfortunately, the Hallucination frag I got is like literally a 2mm polyp. It is tightly shut and hasn't opened yet. Also have a few purple monster polyps, one of which looks to be melting. A second looks kinda rough but the third looks to still be OK (for now). Keeping my fingers crossed my Hallucination comes around.

P.S. Are Hallucinations like REALLY small zoas or did I get a little baby polyp?

Skep18 · Nov 19, 2018

Bump. This tiny zoa still isn't showing any signs of opening. When do you consider it confirmed dead (i.e. DoA?)

BuddyBonButt · Dec 19, 2022

littlebigreef said:
Its def not ideal but they might be able to bounce back. I'd be sure to slowly drip acclimate as well. Not that it helps but I'd rather get them at 62* that 95* which has happened to me before (they survived). I'd be sure to reach out to the seller asap.

So my water was 74f and I have 3 types of zoa and only one is closed up. All parameters are normal. Is it normal for only one zoa to close up? It's been closed since lights came on at 9am today

littlebigreef · Dec 19, 2022

BuddyBonButt said:
So my water was 74f and I have 3 types of zoa and only one is closed up. All parameters are normal. Is it normal for only one zoa to close up? It's been closed since lights came on at 9am today

Going down to 74º isn't that big of a deal. I'll always advocate for an inexpensive Ink-Bird controller and to check your heater during this time of the year.

This post was in regards to shipping, which, yes zoas in particular can sometimes bounce back from sub optimal shipping temps (but not always).

The 'all parameters are normal' is sort of a blanket statement that isn't super helpful. What might look normal to you might be flagged by someone else as a potential issue worth looking at.

There's dozens of reasons why the zoa might not be opening up. You didn't mention if this was a new or established coral, if it was a frag or a colony. As I'm sure you're aware *most* z&p's close after the lights go out and in the mornings it might take some longer to open. I would keep an eye on them throughout the day and wait and see. The most persistent issue of why zoas stay closed is because of pests like aiptasia. If possible take a close look and see if you spot anything that looks like 1) white heads (pox), 2) glowing specks or zoa-looking skirts (nudis) 3) any sort of color shifting (bacterial/protozan) or if there's any physical damage to polyps (rouge clean up crew or fish).

A minor one-time temp dip is unlikely to cause any issues especially amongst the more robust strains. This is likely a nothing burger but as with all issues keep a close eye on it.

BuddyBonButt · Dec 19, 2022

littlebigreef said:
Going down to 74º isn't that big of a deal. I'll always advocate for an inexpensive Ink-Bird controller and to check your heater during this time of the year.

This post was in regards to shipping, which, yes zoas in particular can sometimes bounce back from sub optimal shipping temps (but not always).

The 'all parameters are normal' is sort of a blanket statement that isn't super helpful. What might look normal to you might be flagged by someone else as a potential issue worth looking at.

There's dozens of reasons why the zoa might not be opening up. You didn't mention if this was a new or established coral, if it was a frag or a colony. As I'm sure you're aware *most* z&p's close after the lights go out and in the mornings it might take some longer to open. I would keep an eye on them throughout the day and wait and see. The most persistent issue of why zoas stay closed is because of pests like aiptasia. If possible take a close look and see if you spot anything that looks like 1) white heads (pox), 2) glowing specks or zoa-looking skirts (nudis) 3) any sort of color shifting (bacterial/protozan) or if there's any physical damage to polyps (rouge clean up crew or fish).

A minor one-time temp dip is unlikely to cause any issues especially amongst the more robust strains. This is likely a nothing burger but as with all issues keep a close eye on it.

Ok yeah I know I was a little vague, but it looks to be opening up now. It's a colony that was fragged a while ago. He just gave me the whole thing. Someone mentioned that it may have caught food? I quarantine all my livestock including corals inverts and fish. so I don't think there's any pests in the tank. I'm keeping an eye on it though. I'm looking at an ink Bird right now.

littlebigreef · Dec 19, 2022

BuddyBonButt said:
Ok yeah I know I was a little vague, but it looks to be opening up now. It's a colony that was fragged a while ago. He just gave me the whole thing. Someone mentioned that it may have caught food? I quarantine all my livestock including corals inverts and fish. so I don't think there's any pests in the tank. I'm keeping an eye on it though. I'm looking at an ink Bird right now.

Good to hear!

QT is king, glad to hear everything gets it's time before going into your system.

Zoas are heterotrophic and will catch whatever comes their way. It's always good to broadcast feed foods of different sizes ie phyto, cyclopeez, reef roids (or similar product). I run an auto feeder with different size spectrum pellets. It's common that the zoas to grab and eat these. Inversely, food size/availability the same reason why so many micro zoas fail.

An Ink-bird is the best $30 you'll ever spend on insurance. Naturally if you have an Apex (or other controller) that works just as well.

BuddyBonButt · Dec 19, 2022

littlebigreef said:
Good to hear!

QT is king, glad to hear everything gets it's time before going into your system.

Zoas are heterotrophic and will catch whatever comes their way. It's always good to broadcast feed foods of different sizes ie phyto, cyclopeez, reef roids (or similar product). I run an auto feeder with different size spectrum pellets. It's common that the zoas to grab and eat these. Inversely, food size/availability the same reason why so many micro zoas fail.

An Ink-bird is the best $30 you'll ever spend on insurance. Naturally if you have an Apex (or other controller) that works just as well.

I want an apex eventually but not now. I grow and culture phyto and pods. I make 15 gallons of phyto, nano, tetra, and iso a week (5 gal of each) and 6 ten gal tanks with pods that i dose 5 times a week. Tank is 8 months old with no fuge and I can already support a mandarin dragonet. I try to keep all my stuff fat and happy

BuddyBonButt · Dec 19, 2022

littlebigreef said:
Good to hear!

QT is king, glad to hear everything gets it's time before going into your system.

Zoas are heterotrophic and will catch whatever comes their way. It's always good to broadcast feed foods of different sizes ie phyto, cyclopeez, reef roids (or similar product). I run an auto feeder with different size spectrum pellets. It's common that the zoas to grab and eat these. Inversely, food size/availability the same reason why so many micro zoas fail.

An Ink-bird is the best $30 you'll ever spend on insurance. Naturally if you have an Apex (or other controller) that works just as well.

I see two on Amazon. This one

https://a.co/d/81SMYrc

And this one:

https://a.co/d/0svxXGe

I don't know the difference, do you have an opinion?

littlebigreef · Dec 19, 2022

First one is WiFi enabled and you can connect via an app. The second one is a 'set it and forget it' model.

I run the non-WiFi version of these for redundancy as I have Apexs on both of my main system and my trough... so I can login via the apex app to check the temp on the systems. I also have the 'dummy' version on my QT and hospital tanks.

I might suggest springing for the WiFi version because it is nice to keep tabs if you're away for vacation or even a long weekend. I'm not familiar with the Ink-Bird app interface though so I can't speak to that.