Troubles with my zoas

[Kial]

ive got 3 different lots of zoas placed around in my tank and all but one lot are doing great. I have tried moving them all around, with a decent amount of time in each spot even directly next to the ones which are happy but they still will not open? Occasionally a few polyps will be open.

My parameters are all within the recommended levels.

All other corals are doing great which includes a hammer, pink goniopora, trachy and the other two lots of zoas.

I really don't want to get rid of them Incase they are not dead but where do I draw the line and give up with them?

 

[Instigate]

Some pest may be irritating them, did you dip them? My zoas seem to be happy no mater where I put them. I had one frag that always had like 1/2 the polyps closed so I hit them with the baster and a bunch of stuff came off and they've been happy ever since.

 

[Kial]

I read somewhere to dip them in some RO water quickly and give them a quick shake off, didn't see any pest of such come off.
They went back to being mainly closed again

 

[Instigate]

I read somewhere to dip them in some RO water quickly and give them a quick shake off, didn't see any pest of such come off.
They went back to being mainly closed again

I've never heard of using RO. I was talking about a coral dip like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Ocean-Corals-Aquarium-Treatment/dp/B003JD1QNK
https://www.amazon.com/Two-Little-F...ie=UTF8&qid=1514101057&sr=1-6&keywords=revive

You do like a 15 min dip in tank water with this solution while hitting them with the turkey baster and it makes pests drop off. Sometimes several dips are needed because they do nothing for eggs. But I don't know if that's what you actually need to do. Just a possibility. Maybe someone with more experience will chime in. You might also post this question in the soft corals section.

But if I were you I would try just hitting them with a few squeezes from the turkey baster and see if anything comes off. When I did it to mine it looked like a bunch of detritus came off them and they were fully open the next day. Maybe just coincidence but it certainly wont hurt.

 

[Kial]

Yeah I'll give it a go with the baster and if that doesn't work I'll buy some of the proper coral dip.
Im guessing if the dip doesn't work, I should get rid of it?

 

[that Reef Guy]

Click on the Link Below for Help with Zoanthid Care

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

 

[Instigate]

Yeah I'll give it a go with the baster and if that doesn't work I'll buy some of the proper coral dip.
Im guessing if the dip doesn't work, I should get rid of it?

Unless they're dead I don't see why you should give up on them.

 

[that Reef Guy]

Yeah I'll give it a go with the baster and if that doesn't work I'll buy some of the proper coral dip.
Im guessing if the dip doesn't work, I should get rid of it?

Dip in Bayer

 

[that Reef Guy]

I read somewhere to dip them in some RO water quickly and give them a quick shake off, didn't see any pest of such come off.
They went back to being mainly closed again

Do NOT do that.

Although it Would Probably Not Kill a Healthy Zoanthid it will definitely Stress It Out.

And it sounds like this particular Zoanthid is not Healthy to Begin With.

 

[Kial]

Unless they're dead I don't see why you should give up on them.

Thats what I mean. Im not sure what they would look like actually dead, will they just be retracted or fall off the rock?
Definitely don't want to get rid of them.

 

[Kial]

Do NOT do that.

Although it Would Probably Not Kill a Healthy Zoanthid it will definitely Stress It Out.

And it sounds like this particular Zoanthid is not Healthy to Begin With.

Pretty sure I read it on here somewhere to do it for 1 minute but I literally just swished it around In a bowl then straight back into tank. Didn't make the zoa any worse off but next time I'll get the actual coral dip

 

[that Reef Guy]

Thats what I mean. Im not sure what they would look like actually dead, will they just be retracted or fall off the rock?
Definitely don't want to get rid of them.

The Will Melt Away and Nothing will be There When they Die.

You will know.

 

[that Reef Guy]

Pretty sure I read it on here somewhere to do it for 1 minute but I literally just swished it around In a bowl then straight back into tank. Didn't make the zoa any worse off but next time I'll get the actual coral dip

People do that with Healthy Zoanthids.

Yours are Not Healthy.

Doing that Could Very Well Kill Them.

Use Bayer

1. It is the Most Effective Coral Dip Out there.
2. It is the Least Stressful Dip for Coral (This is especially important in your situation).
3. It is the Cheapest Dip there is

So NO Reason not to use Bayer.

There are Many Kinds though.

Make sure you get "Soil and Turf".

P.S. Even if you have Healthy Zoanthids I would Not Freshwater Dip Them.

Bayer is way More Effective and a Whole Lot Less Stressful on the Coral.

 

[Kial]

Thanks for the advice, no more fresh water dip! Oops.
I had a look for that coral dip, is there any other dip you can recommend as from a quick search online I can't find the bayer one in Australia.

I've just had a quick scan through my tank a few hours after lights went out and there seems to be random red cone shape snails roaming around my unhappy zoas. Could these be the culprits?

 

[Kial]

Here is a picture of the snails. Know what they are? Could they be pyramids?

View attachment 20171226_214723.jpg

 

[Kial]

So I’ve dipped my zoas now with seachem reef dip. One set of zoas now seem to be fine but the others have still not came back out, should I dip again? They look the same as the others looked before I dipped them so I don’t think they are dead

 

[Instigate]

So I’ve dipped my zoas now with seachem reef dip. One set of zoas now seem to be fine but the others have still not came back out, should I dip again? They look the same as the others looked before I dipped them so I don’t think they are dead

When zoas die they completely dissolve is what I've been told. Again, not from personal experience but I've been told you can dip corals once every few days. I wouldn't be surprised if it depends on the dip though.

And post that picture in the Hictchhiker ID section and someone will tell you what kind of snail is.

 

[FartyParty]

Two months ago i added 4 different plugs of zoas to my tank. these plugs were from the same LFS and even the same tank, spaced only a foot apart from each other when purchased. when i got home and dipped and acclimated them properly, putting all of the plugs in the sand and in low flow area next to the base rock. three of the four plugs opened the same day. The fourth plug took 2 weeks to open. 2 months later, they are all currently open fully, doing great and propagating fine. i would not consider a zoa sick or dying just becuase it refused to open. If you have other similar corals doing fine, just leave it and see what it does. Sometimes even a small change in lighting is all it takes for the coral to shrink up and stress for a while.

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

I had this a while back, my red zoas (don't know the name) were all fine but my green zoas (don't know the name) were all closed up but they were 50/50 on the same rock and the green ones just started either melting or being eaten. So after some research online about zoas not opening, they said that some amphipods may or may not go after them. Some said they are only cleaning up the dieing zoas some said they're eating them. I did check after lights out with a red led torch and there were loads of amphpiods on the green ones and it did look like the edges were nipped of the ones that were open. Luckily they did leave a couple and they have gone from 3 back up to about 25 ish.
Before

after

now

 

[Kial]

When some of them do open, it seems the outer edge of them (don’t know what the term for them is so I’m going to call them the thin strand bits haha) seem really short.
It’s been quite a while now and they still don’t seem to be doing to well and for tried them in different spots.

Your zoas look awesome though