my green zoa colonies in my tank are only opening half way

[chris alan]

im trying to figure out why only my green zoas are not fully opening the first week i had them they were wide open and very bright and then they closed all the way i put a second 64 watt pc on and they opened half way and also i had a couple mushrooms in the tank that were kinda small when i only had the one 64 watt pc then when i added the second one it opened up 4 times the size and every thing else is doing really good my SG is .022

 

[Bifferwine]

You may have a pest hitch hiker on the zoas. Can you take the colony off the rock? If so, you should do a freshwater dip.

Use RODI or distilled water.

1. Use a small container and fill it 3/4 way up with freshwater at 80F and a PH of 8.2

2. Now add the corals and be sure to fully submerge them for 5 minutes.

3. If you see any critters remove them right away.

4. After 5 minutes shake the piece vigorously to remove any hitchhikers.

5. Then remove the piece from the container and inspect it with for any nudibranchs, snails, crabs, or other critter you don't want.

6. Re-dip it if you still see things on it.

It's important that the water be at the same temperature and pH as your tank (or close to it).

 

[chris alan]

green zoas i was just wondering if the little feather dusters on them could have the same efect as the nudis and other stuff and also i have three different groups of them that are all doing the same thng and also what about the other little creatures in your tank will they just atack again or do they just live on certain corals

 

[dcantucson]

I would also recommend slowly raising your salinity to 1.025.
I don't think feather dusters would cause them to stay closed.

 

[chris alan]

ya i just did the dip with the instructions above and there was just a bunch of slime left in the cup i have no clue what it is but there were no other little critters in there now what do i look for it is just these zoas and i have others that are not affected

 

[yote]

I'm guessing that the biggets part of the problem,is they just need a tad bit more salt.
Like David said,the salinity for corals and inverts,really needs to be 1.025-026.

 

[Solarfall]

Do you have dinoflagelletes?

I had a breakout that started getting to some of my zoas and they were doing the same exact thing. Then once I got rid of them they were perfectly fine.

 

[chris alan]

no but also i use tap water to fill my tank and it is pretty hard water could that have the same effect i mean i have had this tank up for about 2-3 months and it just started happening is there away to soften tap water by boiling or something like that

 

[Bifferwine]

Have you been dechlorinating the tap water before adding it to the tank? You really shouldn't be using tap water. It has all sorts of bad stuff in it :(

You should use RODI water. You can buy an RODI unit to make your own at home, or you can buy RODI water at Walmart, the fish store or the grocery store.

 

[coolhandgoose]

Okay dumb question, how do you make freshwater with a PH of 8.2?

 

[Solarfall]

Freshwater?

You could use a buffer, or add tons of crushed coral to it. There's a few different things that cichlid keepers do to raise the PH, but not usually that high, so it might be tough.

 

[project5k]

this is the second place where i've seen that sg needs to be 1.025 ish rather than the 1.023 that i have mine at now... hmmm me thinks me needs more salt...

 

[yote]

this is the second place where i've seen that sg needs to be 1.025 ish rather than the 1.023 that i have mine at now... hmmm me thinks me needs more salt...

I've noticed that all my stuff does better when the salinity is closer to 1.026,which is where I keep my tank.

 

[project5k]

yea, mine's headed in that direction.. mines been at 1.023 cause thats where i thought it was supposed to be, but now i know better, and i'm working to correct it...

ok, the freshwater dip, i have some buffer, and i have rodi water, and a heater, so i can get that done easy... but, 5 min? really? that long? and it wont kill my zoas?

 

[project5k]

alrighty, the freshwater dip is done, and wow, there were lots of little swimming critters abandoning that rock... so, now the zoas are back in the tank where they were, now i guess its wait and see what happens over the next few weeks...

i hope they open up soon i'm worried...

 

[yote]

How about an update on your zoo's Project.

 

[dcantucson]

He's (p5k) suspended them from fishing line to keep his Hermit from getting to them. Zoos on a swing if you will. :)

 

[bjohanson1234]

Oh and I thought he was just trying to execute them for rustling his cattle:mrgreen: