Zoanthid Dip?

[fattyratrat]

Can you dip zooanthids in fresh water (obviously RO)? If so, for how long?

thanks

[phenom5]

I've always given my zoa frags a dip in FW.

I get some RO water that is close to the same temp & pH as the tank, add a couple of drops of Lugols, and dip the frags ~5 minutes. Then they go straight into the tank. Killed many a zoa-eating nudis.

HTH. :thumbsup:

[harryk]

NO, you can't dip zoas in FW. you will most likely hurt them and worse case kill them. why do you want to dip them?? if your that concerned, dip them in SW with lugols solution and flatworm exit added.

[phenom5]

NO, you can't dip zoas in FW. you will most likely hurt them and worse case kill them.

Well, I disagree with this...obviously. I've dipped dozens of zoa frags, and none where any worse for the wear. In fact, when I first read about giving zoas FW dips, I read about a guy that forgot about a couple of frags he was dipping...he left them in FW for over an hour, and none of them died. Not that I'd recommend leaving them in FW that long, but...

why do you want to dip them??

Too kill off any zoa-eating hitchhikers...nudibranch, seaspiders, etc.

[harryk]

I meant why do you want to dip them in FW. you can kill the same hitchhikers in SW with the lugols and flatworm exit, that's how i dip them. The freshwater will only add unnecessary stress to the Zoas. JMO, any time you can minimize stress on an animal i'm all for it and i'm sure most people will agree with me.. And the guy who had the zoas in FW for an hour is lucky they didn't die.

[IceWish]

Its sometimes funny to hear everyones opinion on zoas and freshwater dip. I for can say that its perfectly okay. I live in the tropics and whenever the tide is low alot of the live rock are left uncovered , the zoas are obviously closed and are in direct sunlight , which is very hot. When it rains , the zoas all get a fw dip from nature. The rain can last from 5 mins to 1/2 hr before the tide goes back up....and guess what, all the zoas are fine after, they dont die.. so obviously they can handle a little fresh water . Zoas by nature are equiped to handle fresh water , no water and extream heat from the sun..I have seen this.

[kware]

Icewish what is your opinion of zoas and nitrate. I can't seem to get mine below 20 ppm. Ammonia and nitrite are always zero. Also do you think they can live and thrive in moderite light?

[harryk]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11622803#post11622803 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by IceWish
Its sometimes funny to hear everyones opinion on zoas and freshwater dip. I for can say that its perfectly okay. I live in the tropics and whenever the tide is low alot of the live rock are left uncovered , the zoas are obviously closed and are in direct sunlight , which is very hot. When it rains , the zoas all get a fw dip from nature. The rain can last from 5 mins to 1/2 hr before the tide goes back up....and guess what, all the zoas are fine after, they dont die.. so obviously they can handle a little fresh water . Zoas by nature are equiped to handle fresh water , no water and extream heat from the sun..I have seen this.


You are correct in what you say. But you are stating facts that occur naturally in nature and the zoas have no choice but to be acclimated to the conditions or perish. Now dipping captive bred zoas (which most are) is something different. they aren't used to such behavior because it isn't natural. I'm not saying it's wrong to dip them in FW. All i mean is that it's not necessary and it just adds stress for no reason to the Zoa when the same can be accomplished with SW and the same additives (lugol's and FWE)

thanks
Harry