Zoanthid Scleroderma

[ataller]

Ok, so I know they don't actually have scleroderma, but none the less it seamed the best way to explain what is going on.

I have a frag of zoas that still open up daily, but they don't open up "loosely" They are all tight and barely open. This happened slowly, say over a month or two. I thought maybe they were getting too much light and or flow so I moved them and that didn't help.

Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate 0, Phosphate Undectable, calcium 420, alk 9, mag 1400.

Anyone have any idea what these zoas are missing that is making them unhappy? Interesting thing is that they budded off two babies all while appearing less and less healthy....

Here is a before and after. (Yes I realize one is spewing its Zoaxanthellae, it started to do that because I moved them last night).

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3049/3112081246_e977fb77a5.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3311/3342811822_da0f6ecf0a.jpg

Adam

[uglyamericanV1]

biopsy results?
esr and other lab values?

they look like gonners....
its called the zoa do what the f they want to when they want to...........

look at your mag, sometimes that can be low, or shifts in ph, flow, temp, or salinity. those can do it too.

i have had multiple colonies do that, those that are not attached will live, those that are attached to the sick colony will die. you can do a dip but..............

it doesnt spread via water thank god, nor does it jump to healthy colonies. you will note that critters like narssissus snails will hop on those sick colonies with pods and eat them, but they are just eating rotting tissue (this is when they are really gone)

good luck

[Pufferpunk]

Have you looked into Vitamin C? It couldn't hurt & has been known to bring back zoas in worse shape than yours.

Dosing Vitamin C Chart

Here you go:
Use this product:
http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=-7152293197697039798
$5 0ff coupon code: LUL789 (good for first purchase).

To figure out how much to use, decide if you want to simply improve coral growth, spread, and color. If so, then you should dose around 5 ppm twice daily. If you are having problems with coral or fish health, dose up to around 30 ppm twice daily.

Calculate the total net number of gallons in your tank (minus rocks, sand, etc). Enter that number here ______.

You will now need to do a little math. The amounts below are for 100 gallons of water so if you have 50 net gallons, cut the amounts shown below in half etc.

Dosing amounts using Iherb product:
1/4 tsp=1112 mg.

For every 100 gallons:

5 ppm ----- 1892 mg VC
10 ppm ---- 3785 mg VC
15 ppm ---- 5677 mg VC
20 ppm ---- 7570 mg VC
25 ppm ---- 9462 mg VC
30 ppm ---- 11355 mg VC

After you have figured out how much you want to dose at each dosing, enter that number here _____. This is your dose to be used twice a day.



Notes:
*Be sure your pH and alk are within normal reef limits before starting. Adjust if needed. Monitor weekly.
*Shoot for a ppm of around 5 if only dosing for improved coral growth, coloration, and spread. Shoot for higher amounts up to 30 ppm if you are having melting zoas or closed zoas and look for the causes of your problems as you dose. Check for high nitrates, pests, zoa pox, predators, and unstable water conditions.
*Dose low amounts and increase the amount slowly over the course of a few days to a couple weeks.
* If you notice an algae bloom or increased skim on your glass then cut back by half until it disappears.
* Watch your skimmer, it will start to skim more.
* Dose the amount twice a day in a fast moving area of your sump or overflow. You may dilute the vitamin c in ro/di water for a minute then pour into my overflow. If adding to sump, try and add the vitamin c after filtration such as skimmers and reactors.
* If you have a question, ask here. I check VC threads daily.
* The instructions in this guide and throughout this thread are based on using pure Sodium Ascorbate, not vitamin c pills and other non-buffered forms of vitamin c.

Be sure to take some "before" pics!