Zoo Health Question

[RejectReefer]

I know this is always a shot in the dark but i'm curious so here goes.

I have about eight or nine Zoos in my tank (along with sps, lps, acans, fish, emerald crabs, shrimp... pretty much everything)

I have TWO frags of my favorite zoo's that have been in my tank for about three months. For no reason that I can find they went from awesome looking, to crap and then the larger of the frags has pretty much died off. The other one is hanging in there but still looks bad. EVERYTHING else in my tank is blooming and popping including the other zoos. Water parameters are great including ca, kl, mag, etx.......

Both frags where in different locations and both went south at the same time?

I purchased original frag from BR as a Whispering zoo, they look like PPE but with red. They where not cheap. $40 for a small frag (if anyone has a spare frag of two or three I would like to get them once again if mine die...if this will not repeat)

Anyone want to take some informed guessing to help explain why:

 

[returnofsid]

An informed guess would require a lot more information about your tank.

Size
What's in it?
What's your maintenance schedule?
What do you test for?
What brand of test kits?
What do you dose or supplement?
How is flow created?
What equipment do you have?
Lighting?
Tank inhabitants

What are you acclimation methods for corals?

Do you QT corals? If so, how and how long?

Do you dip or treat corals with anything before introducing them into your display tank?

"Water parameters are great..." doesn't tell us anything. What are your actual numbers on the following...

pH
Sg
Temp
Cal
Alk
Mg
Nitrates
Phosphates
Ammonia

Any recent additions or changes to the tank?

 

[RejectReefer]

29 gallon

Top off everyday and 20% water change on Sundays

Elos test kits:

Temp 78 constant
Salinity 1.022 to 1.024 (but has bumped up to 1.26 a couple times when i'm at the girlfriend for a few day)

Cal: 440
Alk: 8
Mag 1300
Nitrates, Nitrites, Phosphates, Ammonia 0

flow is two K1's and 3 Nano k's
Light is one 14k 250 mh and 130 watts PC atinc

Eight small fish, two emerald crabs, shrimp.

one bad ass skimmer (spacing on the name but its a beast)

Slow drip corals for hour. iodine bath sps. No QT.

Two SPS recent attention and one fish.

I feed a lot.

 

[RejectReefer]

now that I think about it, both coral additions where after the zoo went bad.

 

[returnofsid]

It's not common, but Emerald Crabs have been known to kill Zoanthids. What small fish do you have? 8 fish, even small ones, is way too many fish for a 29 gallon aquarium. 2-4 small fish would be about maximum for that sized tank.

With that kind of bio-load and with your comment that you feed a lot, I'm really surprised you aren't showing numbers for nitrates and phosphates. Maybe even ammonia, as the excess food decomposes.

Calcium of 440 is way high.

I don't think the addition of 2 corals would cause troubles with Zoanthids, unless the new corals had some bad hitchhikers on them but what were the 2 new corals?

Salinity swings from 1.022-1.026 are a little more than what you want. If you're able to keep it a little more stable, it'd help, but I doubt that'd cause this zoanthid problem.

Examine the zoanthid colonies very closely. Zoanthid eating nudibranches are VERY hard to find as they actually become the color of the zoanthids they're eating. There are a few different treatments for zoanthids that you could try. I could be wrong, but seems I've read of some doing freshwater dips of Zoanthids. Don't try it until you get some other feedback though...in case I'm mistaken..lol. Maybe PM Finn about this. He's very good with Zoanthids.

 

[mfinn]

I think you hit most of the points.

One thing,,, you said both frags were at different locations but went south at the same time?

I would think something in the water would do this.

Did you dose something before they started looking bad? Even a day or so before.

Pictures would be good.

If the frags are really in bad shape or even border line I wouldn't add any more stress to them with a freshwater dip. I don't think it would be nudibranchs, attacking both peices at the same time.
Back a few years ago there was a type of fungus that really went after pink zoanthids and one of the dips we tried(with some success) was hydrogin perioxde in saltwater.(not fresh)

Plus, on another website there was a list of high end zoanthids that people were keeping that just right out of the blue did the whole melt thing, and would take out another piece or two with it.
Got a name for yours.
I know that last part seems pretty lame, but a bunch of pretty experinced hobbiest were posting.

Pictures would be good.

 

[RejectReefer]

Here is what it was

here is what it is

here is the one that died.....I'm sad :-(

 

[returnofsid]

Finn, glad you brought up the fungus. I recently lost an entire colony of very cool Zoanthids. The rock they were growing on had several cracks in it. Over a period of about a week, the entire rock disintegrated. This rock was approximately 5"X3". My theory was that a sponge ate the rock and zoanthids...lol. The rock was very solid, except for the cracks in it, when I purchased it. I'm talking the entire rock just dissolved.

 

[mfinn]

Looks a little like Lunar Eclipes palys.


The middle picture makes them look orange.


I'd try about a 1/2 oz of hydrogen peroxide to a quart of tank water for about 10 minutes.
Then place in a moderately high flow. Not a jet stream flow, just wide like a prop driven powerhead makes.
I have to say they look pretty stressed. If you can't get them out for a dip, atleast higher flow than they have now.

 

[RejectReefer]

yea they are orange now! and they are hurting bad....I'm really thinking they are to far gone for a bath, but then again they are probably gonezo anyway so what the heck give it a shot.

 

[RejectReefer]

oh and i did move them into some high flow area zero signs of improvement

 

[alireza]

have you read the Vitamin C thread on RC !

 

[mfinn]

My opinion on the vit c is,, wishfull thinking.

Tried it for about 6 months and didn't see any benefit.

But that's just my opinion. Many people on RC think it's the miracle cure.
Might want to go over and check it out for yourself and see waht you think.

 

[RejectReefer]

I think its folklore to

 

[mfinn]

I do have to say, that while I dosed the vit c, I didn't see any harm.
I contacted the thread starter (PP) and dosed the amount she reccomended.