Utter chaos polyp died should I remove it?

Loring · May 9, 2022

Hello, so a few weeks ago I had purchased a frag of utter chaos I thought they were Zoa's but when they showed up they were a huge so my guess is they're really pally's but I'm not sure.. immediately My tail spot blenny decided he hated them and started chomping on one of them so I had to move it. The result is the one that got chomped never opened back up and now today I see it appears black and is maybe melting away. My question is should I remove the frag and remove that polyp or just let it melt away..I just don't want any negative effects as it is a nano tank. Any insight is appreciated. Thanks

Bucs20fan · May 9, 2022

zoas and Palys can be very resistant to being torn or bitten. I have seen several of my zoas that were munched on by an emerald crab recover and flourish. Its is ultimately up to you, but if you can keep it from being eaten it very well might recover.

Loring · May 9, 2022

Bucs20fan said:
zoas and Palys can be very resistant to being torn or bitten. I have seen several of my zoas that were munched on by an emerald crab recover and flourish. Its is ultimately up to you, but if you can keep it from being eaten it very well might recover.

So he hasn't bitten it for probably 3 weeks (I moved it away from his hole) but ever since he did bite it the thing never opened back up, there are two paly's in the picture one that is super happy and the one to the left is black and melting away it appears. My parameters are all good and my other zoa's are all happy and reproducing faster than I want lol, but this one single UC polyp has just not been happy since getting munched on that day. I just want to make sure there wouldn't be any negative impact on anything if I just left it assuming it is dying away?

Bucs20fan · May 9, 2022

If it has not opened in 3 weeks that would be cause for concern, you will usually see a change in behavior of the coral for better or worse inside 5-8 days.

Loring · May 9, 2022

Bucs20fan said:
If it has not opened in 3 weeks that would be cause for concern, you will usually see a change in behavior of the coral for better or worse inside 5-8 days.

should I remove the rest of the polyp? or would there be any negative impact on my nano tank if I did nothing?

Bucs20fan · May 9, 2022

If it were me, I would remove it. I dont forsee any harm coming from it other than it will add nutrients to your tank as it decays. Other than your usual precautions you would take housing palys.

Cell · May 31, 2022

If a little single melting zoa polyp is enough to crash your tank, then you need more media and a crash was inevitable imo.

nano reef · Jun 1, 2022

Thats a very good question! I had a tank crash from dying corals! I also added to many at once and so many were delivered half dead! I didnt know any better and just kept dipping and trying to get thme to start coming back but before knew it my old established corals started to die! The tank was a 36 gallon bowfront! I basically lost everything except some zoas and one turbinaria and a toadstool!

I dont learn from my mistakes because I am now replacing them and I seriously have a shopping/coral addiction and it dosnt mix well! LOL
I am definitely going to back off! I was supposed to complete a deal today but I am going to let it ride and it sucks because I worked out a great deal!

To answer your question. I think one dying zoa wouldnt be enough to cause a crash though!

Not t hijack your thread but I have a toadstool that hasnt opened in over a month! I dont know if its shedding its skin or what! When I first bought it I kept going back to the store and calling and it took over a month to open but finially did!

Should I toss it? Especially since I have a lot of zos and shrooms coming and all are high end! How would I know if its dead or just closed? It looks like its trying to open and it dosnt stink or anything but it keeps staying the same and I know that leathers have toxins anyway! It does feel kind of hard and no mucous or anything. Its a gorgeous shape so I hate to toss it but dont want to risk my tank! Its only about 2 1/2 inches tall by 2inches wide!

Wish I knew how to attach a pic!

Rick's Reviews · Jun 1, 2022

nano reef said:
Thats a very good question! I had a tank crash from dying corals! I also added to many at once and so many were delivered half dead! I didnt know any better and just kept dipping and trying to get thme to start coming back but before knew it my old established corals started to die! The tank was a 36 gallon bowfront! I basically lost everything except some zoas and one turbinaria and a toadstool!

I dont learn from my mistakes because I am now replacing them and I seriously have a shopping/coral addiction and it dosnt mix well! LOL
I am definitely going to back off! I was supposed to complete a deal today but I am going to let it ride and it sucks because I worked out a great deal!

To answer your question. I think one dying zoa wouldnt be enough to cause a crash though!

Not t hijack your thread but I have a toadstool that hasnt opened in over a month! I dont know if its shedding its skin or what! When I first bought it I kept going back to the store and calling and it took over a month to open but finially did!

Should I toss it? Especially since I have a lot of zos and shrooms coming and all are high end! How would I know if its dead or just closed? It looks like its trying to open and it dosnt stink or anything but it keeps staying the same and I know that leathers have toxins anyway! It does feel kind of hard and no mucous or anything. Its a gorgeous shape so I hate to toss it but dont want to risk my tank! Its only about 2 1/2 inches tall by 2inches wide!

Wish I knew how to attach a pic!

You can add a picture by selecting reply and below is 'attach files' this opens up camera or files option to select from, select your picture from your files and add, hope this helps

Rick's Reviews · Jun 1, 2022

Rick's Reviews said:
You can add a picture by selecting reply and below is 'attach files' this opens up camera or files option to select from, select your picture from your files and add, hope this helps

Or in new comment you can select image (very tiny) looks like a mountain and sun, very small above where you type comments, this also allows you to add photos/pictures in main comment area instead of a reply... Hope this helps also

Rick's Reviews · Jun 1, 2022

nano reef said:
Thats a very good question! I had a tank crash from dying corals! I also added to many at once and so many were delivered half dead! I didnt know any better and just kept dipping and trying to get thme to start coming back but before knew it my old established corals started to die! The tank was a 36 gallon bowfront! I basically lost everything except some zoas and one turbinaria and a toadstool!

I dont learn from my mistakes because I am now replacing them and I seriously have a shopping/coral addiction and it dosnt mix well! LOL
I am definitely going to back off! I was supposed to complete a deal today but I am going to let it ride and it sucks because I worked out a great deal!

To answer your question. I think one dying zoa wouldnt be enough to cause a crash though!

Not t hijack your thread but I have a toadstool that hasnt opened in over a month! I dont know if its shedding its skin or what! When I first bought it I kept going back to the store and calling and it took over a month to open but finially did!

Should I toss it? Especially since I have a lot of zos and shrooms coming and all are high end! How would I know if its dead or just closed? It looks like its trying to open and it dosnt stink or anything but it keeps staying the same and I know that leathers have toxins anyway! It does feel kind of hard and no mucous or anything. Its a gorgeous shape so I hate to toss it but dont want to risk my tank! Its only about 2 1/2 inches tall by 2inches wide!

Wish I knew how to attach a pic!

LeftyReefer · Jun 1, 2022

Loring said:
Hello, so a few weeks ago I had purchased a frag of utter chaos I thought they were Zoa's but when they showed up they were a huge so my guess is they're really pally's but I'm not sure.. i

So does anbody know if Utter Chaos are actually a zoas or a paly? like the OP asked?

Some coral vendors list it as Utter Chaos zoa and others list them as Utter Chaos paly, so I don't know either.

Which is it and how would one tell?

Rick's Reviews · Jun 1, 2022

I would remove any dying or decaying corals just like fish, they can throw off a heap of toxins in this stage. if it is your blenny (have you witnessed blenny eating this coral) your blenny may be lacking nutrition for it to eat coral, maybe try different varieties of food for blenny or feed more often

Koh23 · Jun 1, 2022

Always tought that uc is paly....

Have one and its bigger than any other zoa variety that i have, so.....paly, i guess.

Rick's Reviews · Jun 1, 2022

At the moment just blenny food

nano reef · Jun 1, 2022

The problem is I dont know how to get them off my phone onto the computer! LOL. My hubby showed me once and I forgot!
Thanks though! I have attached pic b4 to comments, posts or whatever but pics I downloaded from computer!

Rick's Reviews · Jun 1, 2022

You can log in to reef2reef via phone and upload, all my pics are through my phone as my computer's to big to carry around lol

Loring · Jun 2, 2022

Rick's Reviews said:
I would remove any dying or decaying corals just like fish, they can throw off a heap of toxins in this stage. if it is your blenny (have you witnessed blenny eating this coral) your blenny may be lacking nutrition for it to eat coral, maybe try different varieties of food for blenny or feed more often

I cut the stem out a while ago and it has actually spawned a second head since then so all is back in order. My blenny is just a dick... and that is all there is to it. I'm at a point in the tank where if I try to place a frag within 4 inches of his little hole he picks the frag up and tosses it off his rock. The UC's I had glued down right away by his spot so when he realized he couldn't toss the rock he would just do drive-by chomps on one of the polyps until I finally moved it away from him and the polyp he harassed never opened again and turned black. He lays on top of my dragon-eye zoa's most of the day so who knows what his deal is. I feed him Hikari seaweed extreme twice daily and mysis from time to time, I also see him eating my clowns TDO pellets if they happen to fall near him. My LFS suggested leaving the lid off for a few days to "take care of the problem" lol.