Please help keep my zoa's alive and growing

[tinctorus]

I LOVE zoa's but they HATE me...Everything else in my tank grows amazing, My milli's, ORA bird of paradise, favia's, mushrooms and my 60+ head acan ALL do amazing and grow like crazy but I cant keep zoa's happy and growing for more than a few months at most


Ive got 2 frags of RPE's a frag of eagle eye's and a frag of mean greens as well as some others and NONE of them do anything for me, For awhile my Eagle Eye's were growing but now they are all shriveled up and vanishing 1 by 1, I know nothing in the tank is eating/picking at them as I only have a starry blenny and a filament flasher wrasse in the tank


I am thinking of picking up a bottle of the Salifert Amino Acid's as I hear that that AA's really help zoa's grow and color up so I figure it cant hurt


I do a 10-15 gallon water change every week/every other week, I dose B-Ionic 2 part daily "10ml's of each part" and I dose 8ml's of vinegar daily as well as a carbon source "the 8ml's is my maintenance dose btw"


My params are


Ca - 480
Mag - 1490
Alk - 8
Ph - 8.2
Po4 - 0
No3 - 0
Nh3 and No2 - 0
Temp 79-80


I run a 4 bulb T5ho fixture on the tank and also run a maxi jet for added flow on top of the 2 stock return pumps on my RSM130


ANY HELP WOULD REALLY BE APPRECIATED!!!

 

[ritter6788]

Zoa spiders? Or nudibranches?

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

I would not trust a starry blenny. :mad2: Mine decided to start messing with my corals. :mad2: I actually saw it pick up a zoa frag from my frag rack and move it to another spot on the frag rack. He did manage to put the frag in the slot the right way. :roll:

 

[buddythelion]

I would not trust a starry blenny. :mad2: Mine decided to start messing with my corals. :mad2: I actually saw it pick up a zoa frag from my frag rack and move it to another spot on the frag rack. He did manage to put the frag in the slot the right way. :roll:

Lol, too funny!

 

[Ninjapotamus]

Your tank is simply getting too clean too often. Zoas like a clean tank just as much as the next coral... but unlike the other corals in your tank they don't like it when it is really clean all of the time. For most people this isn't an issue because a heavier stocked aquarium provides micro-spikes in the levels of waste that generally do all the work needed to keep zoas/palys thriving. Simplest solution is to let your nitrates climb a little... add a few more fish,feed a little more, and go easy with the carbon dosing... things will look better over a month to 2 month span.

If your are insistent on keeping your tanks current nutritional levels at least create the occasional influx of nutrients via dosing. I keep my tanks extremely clean with frequent changes and a sulfur reactor...My zoas/palys start to look bad if I don't dose phosphate/nitrate(using hydroponics store products) weekly.

good luck

 

[NanaReefer]

Seems to be that time of the year for melting zoas. Lots and lots of the same happening all over. Me included!! My favorites are melting away after 6 months of wonderful growth.
Part of me feels it the extra topping off that's being done due to all the evap that's happening. Water to clean? Who knows. Whatever it is it seems to come and go.....

 

[buddythelion]

Your tank is simply getting too clean too often. Zoas like a clean tank just as much as the next coral... but unlike the other corals in your tank they don't like it when it is really clean all of the time. For most people this isn't an issue because a heavier stocked aquarium provides micro-spikes in the levels of waste that generally do all the work needed to keep zoas/palys thriving. Simplest solution is to let your nitrates climb a little... add a few more fish,feed a little more, and go easy with the carbon dosing... things will look better over a month to 2 month span.

If your are insistent on keeping your tanks current nutritional levels at least create the occasional influx of nutrients via dosing. I keep my tanks extremely clean with frequent changes and a sulfur reactor...My zoas/palys start to look bad if I don't dose phosphate/nitrate(using hydroponics store products) weekly.

good luck

Sounds like solid advice right here! Anything specific you use to dose? My frag tank has no fish in there since they always jump out from the flow and the bareness of the tank.

 

[lakeviewink]

I had a wild colony that seemed to be really tough to keep alive. I tried lots of light levels, nutrients,etc. I found the key was lots more flow. I always thought low to mid flow for zoas but these ones love a fairly heavy intermittent turbulence. Since discovering this, I have moved other colonies to higher flow areas and so far they are thriving like never before.

Just a thought, try it if you want, or not. Good luck with saving them!!