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follow3
03/03/2007, 08:25 PM
Hello All,

I am relatively new to keeping Zoos. I have a 10 gal. quaranteen tank set up to keep frags in that I have ordered online.

I have had about 4 frags die in the last 2 weeks and it looks like I have a couple more that are sick now. They start with a polyp or two that don't open, then they turn white looking. After a day or two, the whiteness starts to spread and the whole frag turns white and a little fuzzy/slimy. That's when I am assuming they are dead. I took one out of the tank after it had turned all white, and it stunk bad.

The tank is 10 gal.
The light is a dual T5 (one 10K one actinic)
The temp is 80
The amonia is 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates .03
Sg .024-.025
PH 8.4

The frags are on egg crate racks. The amount of light or flow doesn't seem to matter.

PLEASE HELP!!! I don't want to lose any more and I have invested some cash in a 40 gal. breeder that I plan to raise even more frags in (if I can get the hang of keeping them alive)

Thanks in advance,
Steve

FZ1Rider
03/03/2007, 09:30 PM
I'm new to this as well but mine has been doing good (even suffering through a tank change over and fluctuating temp, salinity, etc.

What are you feeding them?

Peter

FZ1Rider
03/03/2007, 09:30 PM
I'm new to this as well but mine has been doing good (even suffering through a tank change over and fluctuating temp, salinity, etc.

What are you feeding them?

BTW, where in Virginia?

Peter

follow3
03/03/2007, 09:41 PM
I haven't been feeding them. I read that they didn't need food.

I'm in Hampton....You?

FZ1Rider
03/03/2007, 09:45 PM
That might be your problem. I'm not expert (maybe a real one can chime in) but I'm 90% sure they need to be target fed. I use a turkey baster and target feed them cyclopeeze (do it slowly and account for drifting, it's not to hard)

Alexandria here. Way up nortth.

Peter

harrisagogetter
03/03/2007, 09:45 PM
are you doing regualr water changes. How many watts per gallon are you using. have you done any phosphate checks, alk, magniesium(sp) all of these things help.

jer77
03/03/2007, 09:58 PM
They don't need to be fed. They do sometimes accept zooplankton like in cyclop-eeze though its not necessary.

Is this the only coral you have? Do any other corals look this way?

I sounds like you might have a zoanthid predator, like a sea spider or a sundial snail.

GreenPuffers
03/03/2007, 10:03 PM
Where did you order them from?

jer77
03/03/2007, 10:21 PM
It might also be something called 'zoa pox'. Its characterized by white or yellow spots that spread all over the colony and quickly turn the whole colony white. It is very hard to erradicate and most dips and medicines don't work. Heres a link to what it looks like and a suspected cure.http://www.zoaid.com/articles004.php

ionredline0260
03/03/2007, 10:31 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9387482#post9387482 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FZ1Rider
That might be your problem. I'm not expert (maybe a real one can chime in) but I'm 90% sure they need to be target fed. I use a turkey baster and target feed them cyclopeeze (do it slowly and account for drifting, it's not to hard)

Alexandria here. Way up nortth.

Peter

Never fed any of my zoo's and they have spread all over my rocks. if you have to feed for them to live them then mine would be dead:eek:

jer77
03/03/2007, 10:40 PM
It could be a lot of things actually. Probably more commonly fungus grows on newly received colonies and spreads fairly quickly. To solve this problem first cut away the effected area outside of the tank. Then to dip the colony in Lugol's Iodine and freshwater, just take a gallon or so of RO/DI water and make sure the pH and temp are good and add 1-2 drops of Lugol's to it. Now dip it in the freshwater/iodine for about 5 minutes.

lat0403
03/03/2007, 10:57 PM
Did you just forget the 1 in your SG or is it really .024?

Steve 926
03/04/2007, 12:17 AM
Check out RC member ' MUCHO'
Here is a dip solution that he & others have used with great success for Zoas.

He has increased the formula to 5 drops per gallon since this copy

Hope this helps

Zoo Dip
I take no credit for this, it's really no big deal to do. All of the items used are most likely underneath your cabinet already. I have performed this for years on hundreds, yes, hundreds of zoos and it has worked every single time. No I'm not being cocky or anything like that, this really and truly works as many RC members have PM'd me directly saying so. No I'm not looking for a that-a-boy or anything, I just see that a lot of reefers have ask about it so I thought I would post it in its own thread.

Each and every zoo that goes into my tank, healthy or not, gets a dip. This dip has worked for most every ailments my zoos have had. Some will require a bit of surgery and in some rare cases where I have received a colony with a very nasty fungus, I have deviated slighlty and placed several drops of Lugols Iodine directly onto the infected colony after a bit of surgery. I see that a lot of people are dealing with the whitish, opaque to yellowish fungus or some sort on your colonies. For some reason this happens alot during shipment and I'm sure a lot of you will concur. The key to saving a colony with this issue is to act immediately. You must remove all of the fungus with tweezers outside of your tank. Now using a very sharp razor blade, cut down and around the entire area that was affected. If you have a large rock and you want to be sure that you have irradicated the problem, remove 2 or 3 rows of good zoos around the area that was infected. Rinse the colony well with tank water using a turkey baster or the like, still outside of your reef, now perform the dip with the dipping brew below. I sent it to someone last week so i just copied and pasted it below.

"Here's the dipping brew that I have used and most people on RC are using it now as well. If it is performed as soon as you see the signs in the proper manner, success is always attained.

1. Using a 5 gallon white bucket, add 3 gallons of RO water.
2. Now add 1 or 2 drops of Lugol's Iodine per gallon of RO water.
3. Set your PH to 8.2
4. Set your water temp. at 78 degrees
5. If you have some Flatworm exit made my Saliferts, add
2 drops per gallon to the RO water to kill any Flatworms

Place the colony in the white bucket right side up. Leaving it there for about 5 minutes. Then grab the rock and invert it and place it in the water 3 inches below the water surface. Now twist the rock as fast as you can in a clockwise and counterclockwise motion for at least a minute. While the rock was sitting still in the RO water, it was killing off all bristle worms, Nudibranchs, flatworms and parasites. It will not kill off any Nudibranch eggs so you will have to inspect the rock for what looks like a tiny white 1/8 of and inch curly white piece of thread. They won't detach from the rock as the sack is very sticky. Inside this egg sack is up to 40 or so eggs just waiting to hatch. If you see one, just remove it with tweezers before placing the rock back into your reef. By the way, once you have finished twisting the rock in the water for a full minute, pull it out the water and dunk it back into the water a few times, splashing and swooshing is good, it dislodges anything that didn't fall off in the twisting motion. You are going to kill off a few copepds as well, but this is ok, as you have tons more already in your reef tank and your sump/fug. The dip will not kill your zoos, trust me, if you do exactly as stated above, you will be fine. If your colony is in declined and has been for some time, it may be too late to save them, but if you always do a dip on the first or second day of the problem, I have had a 99 % success rate at saving my own. I don't care what anyone else says, I know what has and will always work for the above issues. Zoos are all I know and I truly like to help out if and when I can.

Oh, I forgot, once you place the colony back into your reef, make sure they receive some current as they will be a little stressed and might slim a little, but that's ok, they will be fine. Your zoos will open in minutes.Always, ....always run your actinics only for the rest of that day. Actinics will encourage them to open. Try not to introduce any food into the system as well until the following day. On the following day, go back to your normal photoperiod. As I said, the zoos will be a little stressed and your 10 or 12k lighting will only try to encourage them to fully expand when they really don't want to right now because of what they have just experienced. I believe the bright lighting after a dip has and will discourage them from opening as soon. Trust me, you will not kill them my friend."


It would be great if any of you who have tried this would post your results below. I know of several who have emailed or Pm'd me, but I prefer that you mention your experience with the above dip.

Safe reefing everyone

Mucho

PS, I chose Lugols for its medicinal/antiseptic properties. Please remember to wear reef safe gloves. The white bucket will allow you to see everything that you have just killed off. Two drops of Lugols will not hurt or harm the zoos. I use two drops most of the time myself. Best of luck to all of you.

zma21
03/04/2007, 12:56 AM
Yea, i was gonna say...

Always be safe and dip your zoo's. My LFS guy dipped my Zoo's for me. :)