What's Killing My Zoanthids?

[octoberfest]

For about 4 to 6 months now I have not been able to keep zoanthids. Here is what happens:

They look good at first then a small portion, usually starting on one edge, will start to stay closed up. If they do open back up they are very "weak" looking. Then after a while the polyps start to get narrower and narrower then slowly they start to melt into nothing.

I can't find any obvious bite marks or pieces missing like a fish/hermit/shrimp or whatever is eating them. I keep a close eye on them and notice nothing obvious, during lights on or at night with a flashlight.

Palys are fine, they don't skip a beat but it's zoanthids that are taking a beating. I have LPS, SPS, and other softies that are all doing great. I'm keeping these under T-5's. water parameters are all in check.

I've also tried doing revive dips and it is no help.

Any ideas on what this could be? Also this is anything from common eagle eye zoanthids to high-end zoanthids.

 

[swannyson7]

What are your parameters? Sometimes a slightly elevated PO4 level will cause a film of algae to grow over the polyps and that could cause what you're seeing. Also, have you checked for stray current?

 

[Toombs]

Interesting, I have had issues with a specific type of zoas. I've had this happen due to too much flow and also from being too close to my SPS. It is strange that you are having an issue with all Z's and not P's. Are you getting the Z's from the same LFS? Maybe they have a parasite that is dormant and then awakens in your tank. Hard to say though. Only advise I could give is try a cheap frag again and keep it away from everything else in the tank or get a small pet carrier and put it in there and see what happens. Good luck.

 

[reefkoi]

probably zoa eating nudis those things are hard to see and tough to get rid of

 

[octoberfest]

What are your parameters? Sometimes a slightly elevated PO4 level will cause a film of algae to grow over the polyps and that could cause what you're seeing. Also, have you checked for stray current?

Calcium 400
Mag 1300
Alk 9
Nitrates 20
PH 8.0-8.2 obviously different depending on when I test it
Salinity 1.025
Temp - 78

Interesting, I have had issues with a specific type of zoas. I've had this happen due to too much flow and also from being too close to my SPS. It is strange that you are having an issue with all Z's and not P's. Are you getting the Z's from the same LFS? Maybe they have a parasite that is dormant and then awakens in your tank. Hard to say though. Only advise I could give is try a cheap frag again and keep it away from everything else in the tank or get a small pet carrier and put it in there and see what happens. Good luck.

Yeah the weird part is it always starts on one side of the frag and moves to the other, like a wave walking across it. It takes a while too, sometimes a few weeks.

probably zoa eating nudis those things are hard to see and tough to get rid of

I've looked for them time and time again but can't find any. I've also done multiple dips and can't see any, normally I've seen them come off in the past (even though I know it doesn't kill the eggs).

 

[swannyson7]

If I'm not mistaken, nudis would probably munch on the palys as well, so I doubt that's your problem. Another pest to be on the look out for is zoa spiders... not all that common but another pest that could be leading to your problem. I'd be inclined to go with algae growth on the polyps. With a nitrate level of 20, I'm guessing that your phosphate levels are a bit elevated as well. Try blowing the zoas off with a turkey baster every day or two to see if a film comes off. You could also try dipping frags in a 50/50 mix of H2O2 & tank water to rid them of algae if you determine that algae is the cause of your problems. IME, zoas are pretty unforgiving when it comes to stray current (What we commonly refer to as palys seem to be a bit more hardy), so you might want to grab a voltmeter to check to see if you have a pump or heater that's zapping the tank.

 

[octoberfest]

OK so something I just noticed on my zoanthids, it looks like a white dust. It's not Zoapox, I've dealt with that two years ago, this litterally looks like a dusting of white. I just got some new zoanthids yesterday and they are perfectly clean but some that have been in my tank for about a week have this white dusting on them. Any clues on that?

 

[Toombs]

Might be a fungus or bacteria. Hard to say, try taking a turkey baster and sucking it off. Also take a pic of it so it will be easier to try and solve =)

 

[Lateral72]

A dusting of white definitely seems like a fungal or bacterial infection.
If you can get your hands on it, try a Cephalexin treatment. AKA: Fish Flex
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/zo...better-alternative-furan-dipping-zoa-pox.html

 

[ReeferDave]

Dip zoas in a half tank water and half peroxide....i had the same brown alge growing over my zoas and they were closing up and withering away.....diped them and put them in good flow and now they are healthy as ever

 

[verz36]

check for podz.. i had an issue too and it was the podz. i introduce a mandarin goby and problem solved..

 

[daniella3d]

Really? does your mandarin eat the larger amphipods? Mine don't touch them and they were the ones eating my zoanthids. I bought a copperband butterfly as they are actively hunting at night and bye bye amphipods. I still have some on rare occasions but they are mostly gone.

What type of mandarin is it?

check for podz.. i had an issue too and it was the podz. i introduce a mandarin goby and problem solved..

 

[verz36]

i just got a regular mandarin.. got it from my local store.. and yes it eats different size podz.. however i seen some podz as large as half an inch, maybe a bit bigger than that and those, the mandarin wont touch.. so im thinking in getting a mystery wrass.. i just lost some polyps yesterday.. so theres got to be a huge pod somewhere in my tank.. but ill get the fish this weekend and it should take care of it..

 

[Toombs]

That is one thing I have noticed in some of my friend's smaller tank is larger pod's that irritate thing's. Most of them do not have a wrasse which I like having since they are nice looking fish but also beneficial to the tank as well. I would go with a 4 line or 6 line wrasse or something along those line's.