Zoa ID please / Disease?

[avar2005]

Hi Friends,

I got the rock in trade with a small zoa colony. It also has a few Discosoma's on it.

I noticed a couple of white bubbles on some of the tips. I'm curious if the zoas are just in rough shape, or if they are diseased.

They are currently in my fishless quarantine tank.

Would also love an ID if anyone knows

Thanks!

 

[Eric Cohen]

Hi Friends,

I got the rock in trade with a small zoa colony. It also has a few Discosoma's on it.

I noticed a couple of white bubbles on some of the tips. I'm curious if the zoas are just in rough shape, or if they are diseased.

They are currently in my fishless quarantine tank.

Would also love an ID if anyone knows

Thanks!

Not really sure of the polyp id other than a polyzoan specie, but you could have some bryopsis on the rock you would want to take care of. Flux Rx is a safe and effective treatment for that and would clear up that rock. Polyps look healthy enough. Don't touch your eyes after handling....very toxic!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Some of the tips inflated. Not pox for sure. Did you dip prior to introduction ? Also did you acclimate prior to introduction?

 

[avar2005]

Some of the tips inflated. Not pox for sure. Did you dip prior to introduction ? Also did you acclimate prior to introduction?

Acclimated but not dipped as it's in my quarantine. I'll do a final dip before I move them into my DT.

 

[avar2005]

Not really sure of the polyp id other than a polyzoan specie, but you could have some bryopsis on the rock you would want to take care of. Flux Rx is a safe and effective treatment for that and would clear up that rock. Polyps look healthy enough. Don't touch your eyes after handling....very toxic!

Thanks so much. Just to clarify, are you saying the Flux RX is very toxic? I haven't used it before.

 

[Eric Cohen]

Thanks so much. Just to clarify, are you saying the Flux RX is very toxic? I haven't used it before.

The polyps are very toxic.....Paly toxin is a real thing! Use gloves when handling or wash your hands after each touch.....

 

[avar2005]

The polyps are very toxic.....Paly toxin is a real thing! Use gloves when handling or wash your hands after each touch.....

Ah fair, thank you sir. I have the shoulder high hazmat gloves

 

[damsels are not mean]

Ah fair, thank you sir. I have the shoulder high hazmat gloves

Good to have but zoanthids generally do not carry enough (if any at all) palytoxin to do much harm, unless maybe you do something dumb like try to eat them or smoke them. It can be hard to tell the difference bettween a zoa and a paly though, which makes it a good idea to be extra careful. The point of saying this is so that you don't feel like you're holding a ticking time bomb (which sometimes palys can be)

 

[avar2005]

Good to have but zoanthids generally do not carry enough (if any at all) palytoxin to do much harm, unless maybe you do something dumb like try to eat them or smoke them. It can be hard to tell the difference bettween a zoa and a paly though, which makes it a good idea to be extra careful. The point of saying this is so that you don't feel like you're holding a ticking time bomb (which sometimes palys can be)

I did just get a pellet smoker…. I definitely appreciate the warning though. These guys don’t have much colour like the other beautiful colonies I see on here. I’m curious if they didn’t get enough light / nutrition / colour etc in the previous owners tank.

 

[Eric Cohen]

Good to have but zoanthids generally do not carry enough (if any at all) palytoxin to do much harm, unless maybe you do something dumb like try to eat them or smoke them. It can be hard to tell the difference bettween a zoa and a paly though, which makes it a good idea to be extra careful. The point of saying this is so that you don't feel like you're holding a ticking time bomb (which sometimes palys can be)

Man! I always get paly and zoa confused....Paly is bigger polyps I know, but is there an easier way to identify like Goni and Alveopora?

 

[Just John]

Man! I always get paly and zoa confused....Paly is bigger polyps I know, but is there an easier way to identify like Goni and Alveopora?

Have a look;

https://reefs.com/2015/09/14/the-dangers-and-myths-of-zoa-toxicity-part-1/

 

[Eric Cohen]

Have a look;

https://reefs.com/2015/09/14/the-dangers-and-myths-of-zoa-toxicity-part-1/

Thanks John....good article, and commentary at the end by our fellow colleagues. I happened to have been in attendance when Julian Sprung gave his lecture on his unfortunate experience with the toxins. I have been lucky to never been exposed to toxins even though I have handled thousands of colonies from many countries over a 30 plus year timespan. I don't think I ever had any employees exposed as well. Much of that time however was before we were cutting down full sized colonies. Appreciate the link for sure! Good read

 

[avar2005]

Thanks John....good article, and commentary at the end by our fellow colleagues. I happened to have been in attendance when Julian Sprung gave his lecture on his unfortunate experience with the toxins. I have been lucky to never been exposed to toxins even though I have handled thousands of colonies from many countries over a 30 plus year timespan. I don't think I ever had any employees exposed as well. Much of that time however was before we were cutting down full sized colonies. Appreciate the link for sure! Good read

Thank you both for sharing. I watched the video and read the article.

I have to say, I feel a bit more uneasy about the colony I have now. I don’t know enough yet to identify what type they are, but they don’t appear to have the usual Zoa Color’s that the article / video would associate with less toxin.

 

[Eric Cohen]

Thank you both for sharing. I watched the video and read the article.

I have to say, I feel a bit more uneasy about the colony I have now. I don’t know enough yet to identify what type they are, but they don’t appear to have the usual Zoa Color’s that the article / video would associate with less toxin.

I really think most of the problems happen from mis-handling. Clearly it's not easy to determine if toxic or not, so bottom line....be careful! The odds are in your favor which is a good thing. Most likely you'll make it!

 

[wattson]

Looks like they are super happy. when i do a water change my zoas/palys get these bumps on their skirts but I think it is a good thing

 

[avar2005]

I really think most of the problems happen from mis-handling. Clearly it's not easy to determine if toxic or not, so bottom line....be careful! The odds are in your favor which is a good thing. Most likely you'll make it!

Appreciate the response and discussion. Thanks!