Trying to get zoas to open

[oscar139]

I bought two zoa frags a week and a half ago, they opened right away during the first day or two but haven't since. Only on one frag maybe one or two polyps will open occasionally.
I have a 20 gallon long with a tube anemone, goby, and pistol shrimp. I just switched the regular flourecent lights with and actinic bulb, which made every think look cool, and my salinity is at 1.026 kinda high I know. An I will check PH and Nitrites/ates in a sec. Anything else I can do to help them?

 

[KathyC]

What type of lighting is this T5 or T8 or compact fluorescent?

 

[ryangrieder]

I'm guessing t8/t12. I'd swap that out for at least a 2 or 4 bulb t5. Or a 2 bulb power compact. Get your salinity down. Make sure the tube anemone does not hit anything or they will kill it instantly!

How new is the tank? What's your ph? Temp? Current fish live stock? Ay inverts?

 

[Bryceandmandy]

i have always had trouble with zoas..until i began dipping them. if i could offer any advice that many people would agree with here is to dip everything...especially zoas and acros. i try to avoid iodine based dips because they are harsh on the corals themselves. try the coral revive by julian sprung [ two little fishes], i swear by that. i also heard that freshwater melafix works very well too. seachem and brightwell both make one but i find theyre a little harsh for my tastes.

 

[Cadiz.Jonathan]

i have always had trouble with zoas..until i began dipping them. if i could offer any advice that many people would agree with here is to dip everything...especially zoas and acros. i try to avoid iodine based dips because they are harsh on the corals themselves. try the coral revive by julian sprung [ two little fishes], i swear by that. i also heard that freshwater melafix works very well too. seachem and brightwell both make one but i find theyre a little harsh for my tastes.

What's dipping?

 

[Bryceandmandy]

Essentially you fill a seperate container with water from the tank and put in a dip solution. You then, according to the directions on the bottle, either let them sit or just give them a good shake. The solution helps remove or kill nasty hitchhikers like nudibranchs which i had to personally contend with for way too long. There are alot of nasties out there will either feed on or irritate your zoas, try making a dip routine for new corals a priority so you can avoid a really annoying situation. I hope i helped, im sure someone else here will chime in.

 

[TRIGGERMAN]

Melafix? Interesteing..I never heard that. I would like to hear more about this.

 

[oscar139]

My tank is about 6 months old, PH is in the high 7's I know thts a little low so I will take care of that. My temp stays around 76 and the anemone is far away from any coral, I also have a pistol shrimp, and goby. My lighting only has one bulb so I will save up for a higher power fixture.

 

[Cadiz.Jonathan]

Essentially you fill a seperate container with water from the tank and put in a dip solution. You then, according to the directions on the bottle, either let them sit or just give them a good shake. The solution helps remove or kill nasty hitchhikers like nudibranchs which i had to personally contend with for way too long. There are alot of nasties out there will either feed on or irritate your zoas, try making a dip routine for new corals a priority so you can avoid a really annoying situation. I hope i helped, im sure someone else here will chime in.

Very interesting thanks

 

[knutez24]

+1 on the revive for zoas......many times a hitchhiker such as a nudi will close up one of my smaller colonies. After treating them they usually open right up. There can be alot of things irritating some part of the colony. I would suggest to dip in revive and find a nice place in the tank to place them in then let them be.

I would think if the lighting were the issue (not intense enough) the zoas would be elongated and stretched out. Def should look into better lighting and soon, but i doubt that's why they are closed.

 

[Donewiththisplace]

I would think if the lighting were the issue (not intense enough) the zoas would be elongated and stretched out. Def should look into better lighting and soon, but i doubt that's why they are closed.

Kinda true...I would say if the lights were not strong enough the zoas would stay closed...much like how they close up when the lights go out.

Upgrade the lighting to a 4 bulb T5...you can probably get a used one on here from someone and save some $$ in the process.

 

[Bryceandmandy]

Melafix? Interesteing..I never heard that. I would like to hear more about this.

i was talking to someone i know who aquacultures out of their basement and they recommended fw melafix as a dip because the meleleuca extract within it acts very similarly to the active ingredient in the tlf coral revive. they recommended primarily because it is supposedly very mild on the corals themselves. i havent tried this yet so i dont really have any dosing reccomendations in terms of concentration but i plan to give it a shot eventually.

 

[knutez24]

Kinda true...I would say if the lights were not strong enough the zoas would stay closed...much like how they close up when the lights go out.

Upgrade the lighting to a 4 bulb T5...you can probably get a used one on here from someone and save some $$ in the process.

I def think lighting should be upgraded. They are not lacking lights right now though....even under a moonlight zoas will stay open. Even though running a normal strip light there is light getting to them. I don't think in this case the immediate addition of 4 t5s will cause them to open up (although i do agree this should be done since allready housing zoas and other livestock, should have been done before purchasing livestock). Zoas are beyond hardy if they are not open even with a small amount of light i would think there's a different issue.

 

[oscar139]

Ok thanks y'all for the recommendations! I will try dipping them this weekend and tell y'all how it went, I'm also going to buy higher power lights to go along with the moonlight. Some of them are opening more though so that's a good sign!

 

[Bryceandmandy]

good to hear oscar definetly let us know, and include some pics dude lol

 

[Gwiz3005]

Hey does anyone here dose Vitamin C for their zoas?

Also I think I'll start dipping my new additions, I never have (I'm still really new with corals, and I always preferred to not subject my pets to unnecessary meds, but this sounds like a good thing for me to try.)

It is amazing what new lights will do, I had a leather coral completely bounce back once after replacing my T-5 bulbs and my zoas love the new lights.

 

[SPotter]

I think 1.026 for sg is fine as long as you can keep it steady. High 7's for ph is ok too as long as you're talking 7.9 range. What are you're alk, ca and mag levels? Don't start chasing ph without knowing those levels first.

I read a thread on another site about dipping in hydrogen peroxide for 30 seconds. I had a couple of zoas that were melting and I tried it. Those colonies were almost totally gone when I did the dip and now a month later they have made full recoveries. I also started dosing vitamin c and potassium. Since starting that, all of my zoas and acans have been popping out new heads daily and sps are looking full with very vibrant colors.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[oscar139]

Alright I'm going to get the dip on Friday, one colony is progressively opening up while the other is doing the complete opposite. I do see tiny worms moving around the closed colony so hopefully I can kill them with the dip. Here are some pics, sorry they are bad.

 

[oscar139]

I actually think I'm going to try the hydrogen peroxide. Is it just straight up HO2?

 

[mbg75]

Rule #1. dip everything before it goes in your tank!