Zoos/palys give off waste??

[sf_ramsden]

Hey everyone... Help me out here. I look at my tank all the time, at least whenever I get the chance. Well, I guess my honest question is do polyps "poop"? Sometimes when I am looking at them they shoot out little brown balls or pellets that come out of their mouths... Anyone know what this is? I hope it isn't bad. Any help would be great!
Scott

 

[impur]

Waste or expelling some zooxanthellae. Pretty normal IME, mine do it from time to time.

 

[sf_ramsden]

Alright, thanks... So that is a good thing? I guess my next question to follow is does anything out there eat their poo? Hermit crabs or snails or anything? I have many, many zoos/palys and I don't want all of this expelled stuff to mess up the parameters of the tank. Just a biocube (14gal). I had no idea they did this. I guess I expected some waste, but not for them to actually give off stuff I can see!

 

[impur]

Its basically algae. Your skimmer will take care of it and its on such a small scale that i've never heard it affect tank params.

 

[Zoanuts]

YOu Bet the POOP!! My son is always on POOP patrol. He still thinks it's guts!! He doesn't understand that they poop from the mouth (oral disc).

 

[sf_ramsden]

Let's say that there is no skimmer: Just the basic 14gal Biocube, pretty much stock besides live rock rubble in the sump area, and extra powerhead. I need to have a kid so they can be on poo patrol :hammer:

 

[Zoanuts]

Yep everyone needs a poo catcher

 

[impur]

Let's say that there is no skimmer: Just the basic 14gal Biocube, pretty much stock besides live rock rubble in the sump area, and extra powerhead. I need to have a kid so they can be on poo patrol :hammer:

Technically YOU would be on double poo patrol for a few years. Then your set

 

[MarvinsReef]

Waste or expelling some zooxanthellae. Pretty normal IME, mine do it from time to time.

agreed..

awesome info guys... I love the info that's being shared here on the zoas discussion.. very helpful and friendly...

keep it up guys...

 

[Pazazz]

Normal water changes help with no skimmer... No need to worry Paly and Zoas like there water slightly dirty. They thrive in all sorts of conditions.

 

[sf_ramsden]

That's what I have heard... I do about 3 gallons a week, so that comes out to 20% per week. Is that too much r is that good for a small tank?

 

[Pazazz]

That is fine... usually most people only do 20% per month or less....

 

[sf_ramsden]

Yea... I know, but I figured that without a skimmer, and all that fancy stuff, that doing 3 gallons a week would be alright... maybe I will cut it back to every other week.

 

[impur]

I do about 20% every week pretty religiously. I think my corals look better after a good WC, more PE and better color. Probably just in my head but hey it can't really hurt anything.