closed zoanthids?!?

[greg1786]

i bought a zoas frag pack about two months ago now and nine of the ten different polyp colonies have opened and even began multiplying. except one of the frag colonies has yet to open...not one little polyp! anyone ever had a similar experience and is there anything i can do for it? when if ever could i expect it to open


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[trinidiver]

Ive had that same thing happen to me more than once. Ive had zoas stay closed for over a mth after i've glued them to a rock. They didnt start to die so i left them and when they did open, they spread like wildfire. Zoas are weird corals to me. Ive had colonies as large as 50 polyps dwindle down to less than 5 and pick back up. I dont know what happened, but it wasnt lights or water parameters. Wait it out and see

[tyler1012]

I just bought a zoa frag and ive suspected its closed polyps to be a symptom of light shock. I guess if you move your zoas to differntly lit parts of your tank, they can get a little freaked out.

[greg1786]

i have moved them to every possible area in the tank and nothing! and i agree with you trini they are very weird corals. despite their weirdness i do love them and all the amazing color combos out there. thanks for advice guys any more greatly appreciated


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[greg1786]

late last night i was inspecting the corals and noticed the zoanthids that have been closed had a tiny creature with claws biting it. i took it out of the tank and ended up pulling about 5 of these little creatures off. the zoanthids didn't look so good afterwards the stems receded into almost nothing so im hoping they will come back and maybe now open ridden of their little pests. anyone ever have this happen? they looked like microscopic lobsters


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[650-IS350]

http://www.coralpedia.com/index.php?module=Gallery2&g2_itemId=384

[greg1786]

thanks that's a cool link...it was def those zoanthids eating spiders....are they harmful to any other inverts I have Rbta royal star pincushion urchin n margarita snails. also how can I get rid of them in the future? should I just continue to monitor my zoas and pick them out manually with tweezers?


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[650-IS350]

yep, dip, remove egg masses, use tweezers to pull them little bastards off.

[goldenfiji]

It is not uncommon, that means they are not adapting to your tank. When they are weak or dying, the pods will start consuming them :(

[greg1786]

ok thanks. do you freshwater dip them or use iodine?