So, what's in their mouths?

don_chuwish · Mar 16, 2017

Not even sure if 'mouth' is the right word. But a bunch of the closed up zoas in this colony have some kind of brown clumps in there. Thought maybe it was spiders but a Bayer dip didn't get any reaction out of them. Please see pics!

Before Bayer dip:

Immediately after dipping, back in the tank:

Next day:

LbulletM · Mar 17, 2017

Can you get a close up picture of one of the polyps with the brown stuff? Also, I've read spiders are hard to kill, even with dip.

AcroNem · Mar 17, 2017

Could be spiders or another pest. They are hard to kill but that's why I always keep a yellow coris wrasse, they control them quite well.

don_chuwish · Mar 18, 2017

LbulletM said:
Can you get a close up picture of one of the polyps with the brown stuff? Also, I've read spiders are hard to kill, even with dip.

Thanks, I was able to get one of the loose 'blobs' out and tried to take a look with my kid's "EyeClops" toy but couldn't get a clear enough focus. I think I just need a strong magnifying glass. Best I can do for a photo is zoom in on the one I already took:

LbulletM · Mar 19, 2017

That second one down dead center totally looks like a spider. Probably best to just burn down your house.

Jisko · Mar 19, 2017

LbulletM said:
That second one down dead center totally looks like a spider. Probably best to just burn down your house.

and everything within a 10 mile radius... can't be to careful

don_chuwish · Mar 19, 2017

Yikes! Maybe I'll do a surgical strike instead. I've removed some of the obviously hopeless ones and tried picking out the brown blobs on others with a toothpick. Should I just remove the healthy ones to a different plug or rubble and toss the rest?
And BTW, the Bayer dip was a bit of a disaster. I rinsed twice in clean water but it doesn't seem that was enough. Lost a lot of hermits and two shrimp are acting weird.

LbulletM · Mar 20, 2017

Fragging off the definitely good ones is always a solid backup plan. I would wait until a positive ID, though you kind of need to weight the risk of waiting and being able to save everything by eradicating whatever it is vs fragging and knowing you're safe. I would probably frag at least one good polyp off, just as a backup plan.

LbulletM · Mar 20, 2017

Have you gotten a chance to check them out during lights out? Here's some quick pictures I was able to find.

I dunno, this still makes me want to burn down the house just to be safe.

On the plus side, I haven't actually dealt with them, but I think I've read that they're not actually eating the zoa flesh, they suck the juice out of them (just like a terrestrial spider does an insect), so it will definitely be a slow process with plenty of time to act accordingly compared to something like nudis.

don_chuwish · Mar 20, 2017

Thanks, I haven't been able to get a better photo yet. Going to try an underwater camera today. Just seems like it HAS to be spiders (and your photos in another thread is what made me aware of them) but I can't get a clear enough visual yet to confirm.

don_chuwish · Mar 20, 2017

Best I can do with the equipment I have:

LbulletM · Mar 21, 2017

Do the affected ones ever open? I, personally, would frag a few good polyps off, check them for eggs and such, and then dip the crap out of the rest.

SandJ · Mar 21, 2017

I see what looks like zoa pox on a few of the polyps. And in our experience with zoa pox, the zoas tend to turn white around the top like yours. The brown you see could be the dead tissue from zoa pox.

don_chuwish · Mar 21, 2017

Thanks! I suppose a round of Furan-2 can't hurt.

don_chuwish · Mar 23, 2017

Day 1 and Day 2 Furan-2 dips done so far. I've also been able to pull out the brown blobs on a few and have decided that it must be some kind of waste. It's just a mushy blob of paste. But once removed I don't yet know if things improve for that particular polyp later. Will keep an eye on them.

Nick stokes · Mar 23, 2017

don_chuwish said:
Not even sure if 'mouth' is the right word. But a bunch of the closed up zoas in this colony have some kind of brown clumps in there. Thought maybe it was spiders but a Bayer dip didn't get any reaction out of them. Please see pics!

Before Bayer dip:

Immediately after dipping, back in the tank:

Next day:

Get a 6 lined wrasse and all your worries will go away

don_chuwish · Mar 23, 2017

Nick stokes said:
Get a 6 lined wrasse and all your worries will go away

Heh, had one once - great for years and then turned into a horrible bully. When I get things all settled back into my rebuilt 120G I'll have to look into wrasses again.

Nick stokes · Mar 23, 2017

don_chuwish said:
Heh, had one once - great for years and then turned into a horrible bully. When I get things all settled back into my rebuilt 120G I'll have to look into wrasses again.

If you have a 120G I would look at getting a 8 lined wrasse they are pricey and hard to find sometimes but they are worth it.

LbulletM · Mar 23, 2017

Glad you've found mush instead of crawlies! So I guess onto the next....

Any chance you feed large pellets that they grab? Can it be blown away or is it stuck to the tissue? Have any affected polyps ever recovered or opened back up? Do they still have coloration if they have?

I'm just spit balling here.