zoanthids slowly closing up. help

romsoccer12 · 11/16/2009, 04:20 PM

started opening a lot first couple days i got them, now they always have there tentacles curled up, i fear its getting worse, any helps? biocube, nova extreme lights, normal params except nitrates-.5, i dont dose calcium or alk anymore because my tester broke. any suggestions?

shereth · 11/16/2009, 04:29 PM

I had a similar issue with some of my zoas starting to close up. My wife wanted to ditch them but I wasn't ready to give up and dipped them in freshwater and sure enough a bunch of nudis fell off, nasty little buggers. Some folks advocate dipping in other solutions so you may want to research the topic of dipping corals first, but the freshwater dip worked to get rid of the nudis. I've been treating them again as the dip won't kill eggs. I've also heard certain wrasses are good at controlling nudis. Not sure that's your issue but you might want to look in to the possibility you've got zoa-munching nudibranchs.

bertoni · 11/16/2009, 05:30 PM

Looking for nudibranchs is a good idea. Depending on the exact problem, maybe some carbon or water changes might help. The nitrate level is not a problem.

Does the system have a skimmer?

romsoccer12 · 11/16/2009, 08:27 PM

no skimmer, all rock filtration. i FW dipped them before i got them, no problems with nudis or anything and ive checked a lot at night and i dont think thats the problem. they open up, its just there tentacles on the sides never come out. i just recently fed them a couple days ago a LOT of phyto, could this be why? i really dont think its pests

bertoni · 11/16/2009, 10:23 PM

I don't think the phyto would cause a problem directly, but it might have overloaded the filtration.

potterjon · 11/16/2009, 10:30 PM

You need to look for nudies and/or sundial snails and also zoo spiders. All three are known pests.

Slayer311sGirl · 11/17/2009, 12:13 AM

First things first, do a good sized water change, like 30% and see if that makes a differance, could be a prob with water. If no luck there, try running some fresh carbon etc..

fooseball08 · 11/17/2009, 01:47 AM

zoa eating nudis are hard to spot because they change color with which ever zoa they are eating... i would go ahead and dip them all again and if nothing comes off then look for thos blasted sundial snails

11/16/2009, 04:20 PM	#1
romsoccer12 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: ohio Posts: 2,625	zoanthids slowly closing up. help started opening a lot first couple days i got them, now they always have there tentacles curled up, i fear its getting worse, any helps? biocube, nova extreme lights, normal params except nitrates-.5, i dont dose calcium or alk anymore because my tester broke. any suggestions? __________________ Colin R Current Tank Info: 3rd tank working fine!(29gal oceanic biocube) 5-6months old

11/16/2009, 05:30 PM	#3
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Looking for nudibranchs is a good idea. Depending on the exact problem, maybe some carbon or water changes might help. The nitrate level is not a problem. Does the system have a skimmer? __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

11/16/2009, 08:27 PM	#4
romsoccer12 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: ohio Posts: 2,625	no skimmer, all rock filtration. i FW dipped them before i got them, no problems with nudis or anything and ive checked a lot at night and i dont think thats the problem. they open up, its just there tentacles on the sides never come out. i just recently fed them a couple days ago a LOT of phyto, could this be why? i really dont think its pests __________________ Colin R Current Tank Info: 3rd tank working fine!(29gal oceanic biocube) 5-6months old

11/16/2009, 10:23 PM	#5
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I don't think the phyto would cause a problem directly, but it might have overloaded the filtration. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

11/16/2009, 04:29 PM	#2
shereth Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Laveen, AZ Posts: 73	I had a similar issue with some of my zoas starting to close up. My wife wanted to ditch them but I wasn't ready to give up and dipped them in freshwater and sure enough a bunch of nudis fell off, nasty little buggers. Some folks advocate dipping in other solutions so you may want to research the topic of dipping corals first, but the freshwater dip worked to get rid of the nudis. I've been treating them again as the dip won't kill eggs. I've also heard certain wrasses are good at controlling nudis. Not sure that's your issue but you might want to look in to the possibility you've got zoa-munching nudibranchs.

11/16/2009, 10:30 PM	#6
potterjon Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Asheville,NC Posts: 933	You need to look for nudies and/or sundial snails and also zoo spiders. All three are known pests.

11/17/2009, 12:13 AM	#7
Slayer311sGirl Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 15	First things first, do a good sized water change, like 30% and see if that makes a differance, could be a prob with water. If no luck there, try running some fresh carbon etc..

11/17/2009, 01:47 AM	#8
fooseball08 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 56	zoa eating nudis are hard to spot because they change color with which ever zoa they are eating... i would go ahead and dip them all again and if nothing comes off then look for thos blasted sundial snails