Zoa problem help

[cubbyman60]

Hello all,
Recently, I have been noticing a change in my zoas. They had been doing well. Over the last few months, I have noticed that the centers begin to change color-becoming brighter. Then, they begin to lose their skirts and have looked generally unhealthy. There haven't been many major changes. I haven't seen any predators on the zoas. Parameters are: Alk 8-9, Calcium 410, mag 1400, salinity 1.026, temp 78, nitrates between 10 and 20. Any ideas what could cause this? Thanks for any input.

 

[wattson]

did you increase the lights or change anything with the lights ?

 

[cubbyman60]

did you increase the lights or change anything with the lights ?

That is certainly possible. I have over the last few months increased the "whiteness" of the kessil lighting. I have read that Zoas can struggle under white light, but this seems to be anecdotal. I guess I'm wondering if that would create this pattern on the polyps.

 

[Triggreef]

Certainly could be it. #zoaexperts

 

[wattson]

light and nutrients play a big role in zoa morphing,,lastly flow

 

[Sir Pat]

I tend to lean towords too much light or not being acclimated to that high light slow enough.

I would try them in a lower light area and see how they respond.

 

[akitareefer]

It's hard to pinpoint anything but usually I get morphing during stress. Your polyps also look slightly bleached or translucent. Did you use a slow acclimation when changing the light?

I run the Kessils with my zoanthids. I use a 18k-20k+ spectrum about 150 par. Polyps look fantastic, acro not so much.

 

[cubbyman60]

I tend to agree with your thoughts. Thanks for the input.

I think they probably began to struggle when I increased the color, meaning a more white appearance. They were doing fine in the same location before. However, I can't explain why some of the polyps that are more shaded also show the same morphologic and color changes.