Zoas closed
- Thread starter spamvicious
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It's usually due to too much, too little light or something nipping. That's if the parameters are good and everything else is happy. What were they? That might help determine where they should be placed as far as lighting.
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spamvicious
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I have a massive amount of pods that come out during the day now. However it seems a few corals on that side of the tank are struggling but on the other side of the tank I have a devils hand that is doing amazing as well as a BTA and some GSP. I’m still having issues keeping my KH stable as the highest it’s ever been is 8.3 and was as low as 4.5 when I started out. I will have to check my lights when I get home layer to see if one side is failing.
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I think it might be too much light. Zoas aren't big alk or calc users so those parameters won't matter unless drastically out of line. Leathers love high light so I'm starting there. What other coral are having issues?
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spamvicious
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Yesterday I turned my lights down to 40%. I have Frogspawn, Hammer, Bernardapora, Gonipora. I put them in my tank a few weeks ago and they hammer and frogspawn were fully open the first few days but are barely open now. I posted about the frogspawn recently. The Bernardapora and Gonipora have never really opened at all. My light was second hand and is called sps which is why I wondered if that was the issue but the zoas have also closed now. They looked like this in my friends tank before coming into mine
I'd definitely say your par is too high based on what you explained. That Frogspawn looks bleached as well. What lights are you using? BRS has configuration recommendations for most lights. Look for LPS settings
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spamvicious
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I’m just using the default settings as I can’t find anyone else who uses the same lights https://www.tropicalmarinecentre.com/en/tmc/aquarium/lighting/light-units/reef-pulsar-sps-8
vetteguy53081
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This is NOT a light issue although most zoa favor low light. It is melting and a sign of stress. Oten a simple dip in Lugols iodine can perk them up. There are a number of factors why zoas close up especially water movement/flow as zoas do not require the consistent high flow conditions that SPS corals do. I would consider running moderate flow which is ideal but Zoa can adapt to low or high flow. In high flow, you will typically see polyps grow closer to the rock with shorter stalks.Had these people eaters in my tank for a month and was growing but the last week it’s been closed. I read something about zoa pox. Is this happening with my zoas?
Another is lack of feeding and food as infrequent feeding and low nutrients can lead to an entire colony melting down. You dont need to target feed as zoas are photosynthetic. It is generally found that target feeding zoas always provides mixed results when a food falls onto their polyps.
Back to parameters, good water quality is a must.
dKH: 8.0 - 11.0
Calcium: 400 - 440
Magnesium: 1300 - 1350
Iodide: Maintained via regular water changes or manually at small dosages
Temperature: 78-79 degrees
pH: 8.1-8.3
Phosphates: .04 - .06
Nitrates < 10
Asterina stars, little tiny tiny spiders and nudibranchs also will make them miserable to point of death as will aptasia, worms like spinoids or vermetid snails. A few things to look for. Hope this helps
She stated earlier that her Bernardopora and Goni never fully opened up. These are low light coral.
Nutrition is way more complex than what was just stated. My nutrients are way higher and my coral look good imo.
Pests could be an issue but I looked at all the issues stated instead of just focusing on the zoas. Some zoas won't grow in high light and vice versa. You can try to acclimate them to whatever light you have but it could be a lost cause. I know that I can't keep White Zombies. They do great in high lit tanks.
Nutrition is way more complex than what was just stated. My nutrients are way higher and my coral look good imo.
Pests could be an issue but I looked at all the issues stated instead of just focusing on the zoas. Some zoas won't grow in high light and vice versa. You can try to acclimate them to whatever light you have but it could be a lost cause. I know that I can't keep White Zombies. They do great in high lit tanks.
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spamvicious
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The zoas were doing fine and growing more heads until a week ago when they stopped opening up. This is from 20th September :
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Swings can definitely be the cause. I think you have plenty of things to go off of as far as the process of elimination. Changing lights should be last cause of the costs but I still think that's the cause. Outside drastic swings.
