Zoanthids won't open and have brown and clear mucus covering them?

Aikachinatsu · 12/30/2014, 05:38 PM

I ordered some zoanthids about a week ago and kept them in a QT for a few days. Within a few hours a couple of polyps had opened nicely and the colony only had a small amount of mucus from shipping. They were doing well so I transferred them to the DT, and they didn't open for a few days. Eventually they opened a little, then closed up. The parameters check out nicely, And the lighting is a T8 blue light 17 watt flourescent (20G nano) There appears to be more clearish mucus around some of the polyps, and theres some brown mucus around the bottom of them. The polyps seem to be really loose. I tried gently blowing some of the mucus off with a power head, the current wasn't strong at all and some polyps came detached. Because they are so fragile I took some special clippers and was able to remove some mucus without damaging the polyps. What should I do? Should I do a dip? Never kept zoas before.

ReyR · 12/31/2014, 08:17 PM

Same exact thing for me. Mine just arrived today. Any suggestions to get mucus off. I have mine currently directly in front of PH. It Definitely seems to be loosening the mucus, but should I be doing anything else?

Aikachinatsu · 12/31/2014, 11:11 PM

There are a few options, the power head helps but it definitely doesn't completely remove it. I had some luck with taking a long pair of tweezers and peeling or clipping some of the mucus away, but some of the really fragile polyps didn't appreciate it and disintegrated, so I'd be careful about which polyps you reove mucus from. I heard a 50/50 hydrogen peroxide bath can help as well, but my polyps are way too sensitive for that at the moment IMO

12/30/2014, 05:38 PM	#1
Aikachinatsu Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 27	Zoanthids won't open and have brown and clear mucus covering them? I ordered some zoanthids about a week ago and kept them in a QT for a few days. Within a few hours a couple of polyps had opened nicely and the colony only had a small amount of mucus from shipping. They were doing well so I transferred them to the DT, and they didn't open for a few days. Eventually they opened a little, then closed up. The parameters check out nicely, And the lighting is a T8 blue light 17 watt flourescent (20G nano) There appears to be more clearish mucus around some of the polyps, and theres some brown mucus around the bottom of them. The polyps seem to be really loose. I tried gently blowing some of the mucus off with a power head, the current wasn't strong at all and some polyps came detached. Because they are so fragile I took some special clippers and was able to remove some mucus without damaging the polyps. What should I do? Should I do a dip? Never kept zoas before.

12/31/2014, 08:17 PM	#2
ReyR Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Wilmington, DE Posts: 124	Same exact thing for me. Mine just arrived today. Any suggestions to get mucus off. I have mine currently directly in front of PH. It Definitely seems to be loosening the mucus, but should I be doing anything else?

12/31/2014, 11:11 PM	#3
Aikachinatsu Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 27	There are a few options, the power head helps but it definitely doesn't completely remove it. I had some luck with taking a long pair of tweezers and peeling or clipping some of the mucus away, but some of the really fragile polyps didn't appreciate it and disintegrated, so I'd be careful about which polyps you reove mucus from. I heard a 50/50 hydrogen peroxide bath can help as well, but my polyps are way too sensitive for that at the moment IMO