zoa is sick

[susan2626]

hi - very healthy 1 year old huge colony has been doing great - all of a sudden 2 days ago, some polyps turning brown and closed up - see photo (not great but you can see the sick buttons near to the top of the photo) - not the pox I don't think. Water is good - just changed and tested. Should I leave them or try to cut them off? thanks

(PS those of you who haven't seen it, please take a look at my "featured" tank on Manhattan Reefs mag. Its looking much fuller now almost 6 months after J Hale took the swell photos. My anemone is now the size of a large dinner plate!)

 

[NYreefNoob]

cut them out, had it happen a few times and mine spread. better to lose a few then alot

 

[susan2626]

just take a straight edge razor and chop near base?

 

[mmike1992]

check my thread right above this

 

[susan2626]

mike - if the spiders are there, then will just cutting the sick ones off do the the trick or do I have to dip and if so, what? lugols?

 

[NYreefNoob]

i would pull the piece out of tank abd scrape dead stuff off and then dip it in the lugol's. it's some type of bacteria. i had tried everything to no avail

 

[susan2626]

Did what you recommended NYReefNoob - will see what happens! thanks for the advice

 

[DevIouS]

I think cutting them off is pretty drastic.
Zoas are unpredicatable & can act funny for no reason.

When I get those symptoms I hold them in front of a power-head to blast of the "gunk" & place them in a higher flow area.
As long as the polyp is still there & not withering away, they usually bounce back after a few days (sometimes longer).

 

[tosiek]

I agree with dev, ive had it happen a few times. some sort of bacteria or something. Either blow them off and wait or do a dip. They should bounce back as long as there are no pests eating them like nudi's or those ugly spiders.

 

[Solace Aquatics LLC]

Worse case scenario, pull the zoas and do a freshwater dip. Be sure to buffer the water and have it up to temp.

We do it with ALL zoas we import to ensure all pests and bacteria are killed off before they hit our main holding system

 

[KathyC]

Susan..do keep up updated.
As Devious & Tony mention above..you should always dip zoas in Lugols when you get them to remove any pests. Also looking for Nudi eggs is a good idea.
Zoas can be frustrating as they do odd things for no apparent reason..frequently.
If they've been in my tank for a while..I also hold them in front of a power head to blow off the gunk. If it's on there too hard I brush them off with a soft but stiff small paint brush (new of course! )
Usually within a day or so they begin to reopen..if the flow is right....(medium-ish).

If they don't reopen & start to mysteriously vanish..then you want to be looking further for pests like nudi's , the spiders (though I've never run across one of those), sundial snails and those blasted little starfish. There are other things that irritate zoas like spaghetti worms and then you have other corals that might reach out and touch them when they are feeding..some of those can be from a surprising distance away!.

The very last thing I'd do is cut the ployps off..after all they are living animals