Zoa losing color

[RickvDam]

Hey! I got this one zoa colony that is growing, but also losing it’s color. The new polyps have the bright colors but lose them overtime. Only this specific one has the issue. Any reason why? They get around 100PAR and are not reaching.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

What are your parameters?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hey! I got this one zoa colony that is growing, but also losing it’s color. The new polyps have the bright colors but lose them overtime. Only this specific one has the issue. Any reason why? They get around 100PAR and are not reaching.

While they dont look bad, assure your phosphates aren't elevated and that you are feeding them. I feed mine mysis shrimp. Also moderate light which appears in pics and moderate flow. I dust mine once a week using a turkey baster with gentle blasts to get sediment off of them. Also add occasional Iodide to water which they convert to iodine

 

[RickvDam]

What are your parameters?

While they dont look bad, assure your phosphates aren't elevated and that you are feeding them. I feed mine mysis shrimp. Also moderate light which appears in pics and moderate flow. I dust mine once a week using a turkey baster with gentle blasts to get sediment off of them. Also add occasional Iodide to water which they convert to iodine

I feed them a few times a week with mysis and AF zoa food. Medium flow and around 80-100PAR. They are growing fast, just not keeping color while the others are. Every day after lights go out my wavemaker goes on high speed for a minute to remove the last detrius. I dose phosphates daily to make sure they don’t bottom out so that’s also not it.

 

[Jaden9933]

Red Sea AB+ keeps zoas happy and colorful ime. i also feed a mixture of live phyto, oceanic fish eggs, oyster feast, reef roids, and TDO Chroma Boost (All Reef Nutrition brand except reef roids). target feeding, only half of them actually eat the big particles, but i believe they all filter feed the phyto and AB+ as well as the smallest particles of the other ingredients. for the chroma boost, i add some whole pellets for scolys, shrooms, torches, and nems to eat. i crush up the rest for the zoas, weeping willow, and pectinia/chalices. zoas like “dirty” nutrient rich water, as long as ammonia stays at 0. i can’t speak for PAR because i’ve never measured mine. if they aren’t stretching upward, then lack of light may not be the issue. However, they don’t always reach for the light (typically more paly behavior than zoa), but if they start to, it’s a dead giveaway at the issue

 

[vetteguy53081]

I feed them a few times a week with mysis and AF zoa food. Medium flow and around 80-100PAR. They are growing fast, just not keeping color while the others are. Every day after lights go out my wavemaker goes on high speed for a minute to remove the last detrius. I dose phosphates daily to make sure they don’t bottom out so that’s also not it.

Your nutrients are low (phos and nitrate). How are you testing your levels. I find target feeding is not their favorite. This is SOME of what I have

 

[RickvDam]

Red Sea AB+ keeps zoas happy and colorful ime. i also feed a mixture of live phyto, oceanic fish eggs, oyster feast, reef roids, and TDO Chroma Boost (All Reef Nutrition brand except reef roids). target feeding, only half of them actually eat the big particles, but i believe they all filter feed the phyto and AB+ as well as the smallest particles of the other ingredients. for the chroma boost, i add some whole pellets for scolys, shrooms, torches, and nems to eat. i crush up the rest for the zoas, weeping willow, and pectinia/chalices. zoas like “dirty” nutrient rich water, as long as ammonia stays at 0. i can’t speak for PAR because i’ve never measured mine. if they aren’t stretching upward, then lack of light may not be the issue. However, they don’t always reach for the light (typically more paly behavior than zoa), but if they start to, it’s a dead giveaway at the issue

I also use AB+ and Power elixer both daily on a doser. I also have LPS pellets. They actually get a lot of food daily, which would explain the fast growth. Not sure why only this specific zoa is losing color.

Your nutrients are low (phos and nitrate). How are you testing your levels. I find target feeding is not their favorite. This is SOME of what I have

I test with Hanna checkers. Since the start of the tank I can’t manage to get a good nitrate and phosphate. I went as far as giving 8 different types of food daily and stop changing filterfloss and they still kept bottoming out. I currently have Po4 and nitrate on a doser just to keep them from bottoming out. All other zoa’s are full of colors. Its just this specific one.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I also use AB+ and Power elixer both daily on a doser. I also have LPS pellets. They actually get a lot of food daily, which would explain the fast growth. Not sure why only this specific zoa is losing color.


I test with Hanna checkers. Since the start of the tank I can’t manage to get a good nitrate and phosphate. I went as far as giving 8 different types of food daily and stop changing filterfloss and they still kept bottoming out. I currently have Po4 and nitrate on a doser just to keep them from bottoming out. All other zoa’s are full of colors. Its just this specific one.

This particular one may be getting light it does not desire. Try reducing white 2-5% and see if any change and again, try the turkey baster and see if any dust/sediment comes off of them

 

[RickvDam]

This particular one may be getting light it does not desire. Try reducing white 2-5% and see if any change and again, try the turkey baster and see if any dust/sediment comes off of them

Alright I will try that. My lights are at like 10% (i use a orange filter) but I will try lowering it. After work I will also try the turkey baster thing.

 

[RickvDam]

Update: lowered my whites and upped the complete thing with 5%. No changes yet but still growing. Nothing like dust on them or anything.