Zooanthid melting....help please

[FallChinook]

I recently bought a nice large rock with 4 different kinds of zoas on it from a reputable LFS. I have a RSM 130, has been set up since Dec. 2008. I set the rock on top of my existing rocks, and everything looked great, except the reverse gorilla nipple zoas (they were awesome in the store!), which never opened back up and are now melting. They are the only ones doing this--any ideas? They are all in the same placement (lights, water flow, etc).... Water quality is good (no ammonia, N02, N03, Phosphorus). Calcium was low (370) a few days ago because we did a large water change and didn't add the 2-part solution, but I've been working on this. Magnesium was also 1170 two days ago, 1270 yesterday, and I've been dosing it for two days now.
Are reverse gorilla nipple zoas more 'fragile' than others? Any ideas??
Thanks!
Monica
Also--should I scrape the remaining melting zoas off so they don't create a bad effect on their neighbors?

 

[ReefLady]

Are reverse gorilla nipple zoas more 'fragile' than others?

Never heard of them. I think these zo's are typically named by hobbyists for coloration, but are not scientific names, so we're not able to apply care requirements to these common names. IME, some zo's grow more slowly than others, but all have relatively the same care requirements.

What is your salinity and temp? How did you acclimate? What do you mean by "melting" - do you have any pics?

 

[cbrownfish]

RGN's are not particularly sensitive IME. Did the rock get banged up in transport (dropped during placement, rolling around in the bucket/bag/container)? Did you dip this specimen before adding it to your tank? Did you inspect it for pests like Nudibranchs, Sundial Snails, Zoa Spiders, etc? Potential causes --

1. Pests feeding on Zoas as mentioned above.

2. Zoas banged up during transport.

3. Bacterial condition (possibly secondary to the cause).


If the deterioration does not stop, I would definitely cut away the decaying area and cut a polyp or two deep into the healthy polyps. Follow with a brief bath in tank water and iodine (few drops in 1/2 gallon of tank water).

 

[FallChinook]

ReefLady-SG is 1.025, we always use RO/DI water, and our temp runs 78-79 degrees.

cbrownfish-We did not do an initial dip, but did one yesterday and one small starfish, 6 bristleworms, and other small 'bugs' came off. The sick zoas are still closed and their polyps are very skinny. The rock didn't sustain any damage on the way home from the LFS, and all other 3 zoa types are great. It is just odd that the one section of orange/brown zoas (about 1 inch by 2 inches wide) never did open up and are now shriveling and melting into brown ooze.....

 

[cbrownfish]

Some zoanthid predators are very particular about the ones they munch. It is not uncommon for a pest to target on type of polyp and leave another patch right next to it alone. Did any of the "bugs" look like any of these?

Zoanthid Predators, Irritators, & Diseases

 

[pjtomo]

My experience has been that every captive raised zoa frag I have has thrived but the wild zoas I get do marginal at best. I had a cool rock that had several colors of zoas. A few weeks later some super bright yellow polyps started emerging. I couldn't leave well enough alone and decided to frag the yellow ones so they could grow on their own. The zoas have slowly started closing up and melting away. I have one wild colony that is doing awesome.

To help with your problem do a search on dosing with vitamin C. I have not done it but some say it works wonders.

 

[greene394]

My gorillas did the same thing when we placed them in our tank. It took them at least a month to finally come out. They kind of looked like they we melting away as well. They balled up and it looked like the skin was comming off of them, brown looking stuff, not slimy. I took them back to the fish store to let the guy look at them to see if they were still alive, and he told me that as long as they have color and are not turning white, they were fine and would come back out. He was right. They eventually came out. It has took them 6 months to reach full size and start reproducing. I would give it some time.
Did they look anything like these????

Good luck!

 

[BigJay]

greene those look like green button polyps.

 

[greene394]

Ok I am wrong then. I was told they were gorilla polyps. My bad.

 

[BigJay]

like reeflady said the names are arbritrary and honestly you could call them whatever you want. There are some standards for certain zoos with certain looks but even thats not consitant. So gorilla polyps maybe a common name locally to where your at for those. Sometimes LFS will just give a polyp a name to help sell it.
Gorilla nipples however get there name for the protruding mouth that looks just like a gorilla(as in ape) nipple and a reverse nipple is the opposite.

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