Is my Zoanthid dying?!?

[logangeraghty]

So today I notice my gods armour zoa looked a little under the weather, it didn't seem as large when opened and the mouth was slightly extruded instead of vice versa. I'm new to the hobby and am a little worried as there is a polyp on one other zoa doing the same thing. My green star polyp seems fine, but my green goniopora has been hiding a bit. I tried target feeding with reef roids, and the same 3 troubled polyps still won't close, though the others did. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[tankstudy]

Run these tests. Your gonio doesn't look so hot in the background. Since your handling your paly frag, it's not uncommon to see them react like that. It's better to take a picture of them when they are in their designated spot.

Salinity
Calcium
Magnesium
Alkalinity
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate

 

[logangeraghty]

Run these tests. Your gonio doesn't look so hot in the background. Since your handling your paly frag, it's not uncommon to see them react like that. It's better to take a picture of them when they are in their designated spot.

Salinity
Calcium
Magnesium
Alkalinity
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate

Tested everything but alkalinity, calcium, and Magnesium. All within normal ranges... I'll pick up a test kit for Calcium, Magnesium, and Alkalinity tomorrow. Any suggestions in the meantime?

 

[tankstudy]

Hard to say without all tests.

Did you recently get these corals?

 

[logangeraghty]

Hard to say without all tests.

Did you recently get these corals?

Yes, about a little over a week ago, seemed very hardy when they went in... Without the test for calcium and alkalinity yet, I can tell you that I did dose calcium twice and alkalinity once in the past 2 weeks. I was trying to increase the coraline algae growth.

 

[tankstudy]

Yes, about a little over a week ago, seemed very hardy when they went in... Without the test for calcium and alkalinity yet, I can tell you that I did dose calcium twice and alkalinity once in the past 2 weeks. I was trying to increase the coraline algae growth.

Generally, don't dose any of the big three unless you know where they are at. Overly high alk, calcium and magnesium will cause corals to do poorly and it's the same when these three are under the recommended ranges as well. Within the recommended ranges, most things we keep are fine but if you push it outside those ranges, the more sensitive organisms start to do poorly.

Once coralline starts, as long as you keep water parameters within the recommended, that stuff will take off faster than you want. lol.

Did you dip these corals and if so what did you use to dip?

 

[logangeraghty]

Generally, don't dose any of the big three unless you know where they are at. Overly high alk, calcium and magnesium will cause corals to do poorly and it's the same when these three are under the recommended ranges as well. Within the recommended ranges, most things we keep are fine but if you push it outside those ranges, the more sensitive organisms start to do poorly.

Once coralline starts, as long as you keep water parameters within the recommended, that stuff will take off faster than you want. lol.

Did you dip these corals and if so what did you use to dip?

No dip, I am new to the hobby and don't have direct access to most saltwater supplies so I have to order it in... I'm making another order shortly since my cuc isn't enough so I'll add some dip to the order, what do you recommend?

 

[tankstudy]

I'd recommend Dr. G's coral dip. For zoa's/paly it's extremely soft on them compared to Coral RX.

The reason I asked whether or not if you used a dip is not for pests but if you dip in coral rx, it can beat the zoa/palys up for a few days or weeks depending on how concentrated the solution is and how long you expose it to the solution.

 

[Tired]

You shouldn't really handle coral frags with your bare hands, and you should especially not handle zoas and palys. Some are toxic. The really nasty ones will give you a bad skin reaction if you touch them. Even if you just mean to grab the plug, it's easy to brush the coral by mistake. They aren't dangerous as long as you follow some pretty simple safety precautions, but they are definitely not something to just touch, since it's not well known which morphs are particularly toxic. Also, in general, don't put your bare hands in your tank and on any solid objects, there are all kinds of bacteria and sharp edges. Your tank won't like whatever's on your hands, either. Get some long tongs and/or elbow-length gloves.

 

[logangeraghty]

I'd recommend Dr. G's coral dip. For zoa's/paly it's extremely soft on them compared to Coral RX.

The reason I asked whether or not if you used a dip is not for pests but if you dip in coral rx, it can beat the zoa/palys up for a few days or weeks depending on how concentrated the solution is and how long you expose it to the solution.

Ok, good to know, I'll reply again to the earlier thread once I get the tests tomorrow, thanks for all your help!

 

[logangeraghty]

You shouldn't really handle coral frags with your bare hands, and you should especially not handle zoas and palys. Some are toxic. The really nasty ones will give you a bad skin reaction if you touch them. Even if you just mean to grab the plug, it's easy to brush the coral by mistake. They aren't dangerous as long as you follow some pretty simple safety precautions, but they are definitely not something to just touch, since it's not well known which morphs are particularly toxic. Also, in general, don't put your bare hands in your tank and on any solid objects, there are all kinds of bacteria and sharp edges. Your tank won't like whatever's on your hands, either. Get some long tongs and/or elbow-length gloves.

Yeah, after I took the picture I realized it wasn't the best idea to handle a zoa barehanded and let my worry get the best of me... Gloves will be on in the future no matter what. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Bfragale]

I bare hand them all the time lol. But paly toxin is no joke. Just be smart about what you do, if you have open cuts on your hands, don’t handle them. If your cutting or fragging or really bothering them then, Yes wear protection (gloves and face shield). But a quick pick up for a photo while leaving them under water is probably not gonna matter.

 

[Tired]

Fair enough. Sensitivity to different toxins can really vary, though- a slight brush against one of the nasty ones can be harmless for one person, and seriously unpleasant for another. Doesn't hurt anything to err on the side of caution, at least when it comes to reasonable measures like not touching stuff directly.

 

[Bfragale]

Fair enough. Sensitivity to different toxins can really vary, though- a slight brush against one of the nasty ones can be harmless for one person, and seriously unpleasant for another. Doesn't hurt anything to err on the side of caution, at least when it comes to reasonable measures like not touching stuff directly.

True- but the slight brush would have to be on an open wound. Paly toxins can not penetrate thru the epidermis. Has to be introduced into your blood stream via open cut, eyes/mouth/nose. Also never boil - they can produce toxic vapors that can be enter the blood stream thru the lungs and are way more toxic.

But nonetheless I agree. Always best to err on the side of caution. being educated in what your dealing with goes a long way.

and it should go unsaid that if you do touch bare handed to wash hands immediately after.