Really Need GOOD advice. All Zoa's gone

[Jonathan Presseau]

Large amphipods do, in fact, eat zoas. If they are hungry they will eat. The fact you have no fish in there to control the population allows them to breed even more.

+++++++ to the addition of a wrasse. You had a large tank so you will need more than just 1 fish to take down this problem.

Also, why no tank shots? It would be very helpful to also know how many zoa colonies you lost. 5? 100?

 

[Breakthecycle2]

Are these all from the same Fish store or Source??? Or are they all from different suppliers?

No. All different.

 

[Second Shot]

Have the same issue with my zoas. I put a frag up on a frag rack and it recovered so I’m pretty convinced it’s the amphipods. I bought a melanurus wrasse but the only problem is they come out at night and he buries himself in the sand at night so he isn’t putting a dent in the population. Thinking of going with dr g’s myself.

 

[Breakthecycle2]

Large amphipods do, in fact, eat zoas. If they are hungry they will eat. The fact you have no fish in there to control the population allows them to breed even more.

+++++++ to the addition of a wrasse. You had a large tank so you will need more than just 1 fish to take down this problem.

Also, why no tank shots? It would be very helpful to also know how many zoa colonies you lost. 5? 100?

Tank shots arent going to do anything. I have no zoas left. I had about 12 frags with 4+ polyps and 4 colonies with hundred of polyps. Even when the fish were in there, they weren't putting a dent in the population.

 

[Cnidoblast]

Your gonna have to bomb the system with dr.g's insecticide as per @Centerline 's dosage and procedure

 

[Breakthecycle2]

Your gonna have to bomb the system with dr.g's insecticide as per @Centerline 's dosage and procedure

I cant find it anywhere.

 

[Cnidoblast]

Hopefully they will post there protocol soon

 

[that Reef Guy]

There are lots of Tips on Zoanthid Care Here.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/s...nthids-happy-healthy-and-growing-fast.250791/

Click on the Link Above.

 

[Centerline]

I cant find it anywhere.

First off - remember, I'm not a zoa guy. This worked for me with some obviously infected colonies. This could just as easily be some weird bacterial infection or water params. May want to post again in the LPS program before going the Dr Gs / Interceptor route (same stuff). If you murder your tank please don't blame me. That said....

I used 1 ml per gallon. Turned off my skimmer and waited 12 hours. After 12 hours I ran about twice the amount of active carbon than I typically would have and did a 25% water change the next day. Not a pod or spider left that I could find. I did a second treatment 5 days later to be on the safe side. This will kill shrimp, crabs, any inverts so be sure to pull them out of your tank before you treat. None of my other corals were harmed in any way.

This is the link to the product I used. Please note the product info specifically states its should not be used to treat the whole tank.

 

[Cnidoblast]

https://reefs.com/acropora-red-bug-milbemycin-treatment-calculator/

 

[Cnidoblast]

do the high dosage if you want to do it @Breakthecycle2

 

[ReefBeta]

On amphipods, are there STILL thousands of them there as your zoas are gone? I'm very doubt they are the problem. I have some in my tank that are 1+cm long and they do no damage to my zoanthis. If the zoanthis are dying for other reasons though, they will probably come to scavenge them. If they are the one that eat the zoas, their number should dramatically decrease once their food sources are gone. A tank full of amphipods are usually indicator of too dirty of a tank, over fed, or too much detritus.

On things to try, I would find some relatively clean space in your sump, like around your return pump chamber, and setup a frag corner. A small frag rack, and a cheap light will do. Put a cheap zoa frag or two, and see how it goes. Since the place should be lack of predators at the beginning as there were no food there before. If it start dying as fast as like before in your display tank, it's more likely the problem is the water. If it hold on for a while, then start dying, or not dying, then probably something in your display is the cause.

 

[Centerline]

do the high dosage if you want to do it @Breakthecycle2

Ya, as with straight interseptor this stuff is very gentle.

 

[PopaSmurph]

I'll try to be precise here. Over the last 3 to 4 months, every polyp in my tank is gone. Everyone. I know the obvious thinking is, something is eating it. Let me start there. I thought it was fish and I had ICH going on, so I decided to go fishless and have been for 6 weeks. That did n ot stop it. They all kept disappearing. What was happening was, they would stay closed, sometimes for weeks or a month, eventually shrinking on disappearing completely. If I added a new frag, gone in a week or two. I've done the following: removed all fish, did dips in: revive, iodine, peroxide and bi furan ( not at the same time). I did not see anything in the buckets. I used both white and black buckets. This brings me to the next thing I have amphipods ALL OVER. Thousands (10 of thousands really) and have seen them all over my zoas. Now, I know they can irritate them, but eat them?Not sure. I started this tank 3 years ago and used completely dry rock, so I don't think there are any rouge crabs. I also do not have any astrenia (SP) starfish at all. So two questions here: 1. What could it have been ( I do not have any zoas left right now). 2. If it was something like spiders, how long should I wait before trying zoas again? The rest of my coral seems fine and thriving. LPS, SPS and a ton of mushrooms.

Params:

Salinity: 1.025 (refractometer)
Calcium: 490
ALK: 8.2-8.8
MAG: 1350
Phos: .04-.10
Nitrates: 30PPM
PH: 7.8-8.01 (using a calcium reactor)

Temp: 77-79

Lighting 3 Radion G3's, 11 hour schedule.

As much as you have lost in Z's and P's I'd spend some money on a water analysis to rid all this guess work and have a definitive solution to your problem and how to make it better. well worth the $50 if you ask me and im sure you've lost at least double that. If everything is fine start looking at your lighting. And try not to do too much at once because it might tick the rest of the tank off. Good luck!

 

[Breakthecycle2]

As much as you have lost in Z's and P's I'd spend some money on a water analysis to rid all this guess work and have a definitive solution to your problem and how to make it better. well worth the $50 if you ask me and im sure you've lost at least double that. If everything is fine start looking at your lighting. And try not to do too much at once because it might **** the rest of the tank off. Good luck!

As I said, I already have had a water analysis done.