# my zoa's dead, what to do now



## lybrian1 (Aug 10, 2010)

hey i got this piece of rock with zoas on it from BA and it was my very first coral. i really liked it but unfortunately it seems to be rotting now. i think it was due to the fact that i did not feed it any phytoplankton since i did not know they needed it at the time. anyhow is there any way of saving it? do i need to take it out of the tank and can i atleast reuse the live rock its on?


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

For now, put it in a place of a bit more flow and check parameters. The candycane coral doesn't look all that great either, IMHO. 

How long have you had it?


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## lybrian1 (Aug 10, 2010)

that green thing next to it is a candy cane?
it came with my liverock


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

SCORE...LOL!

Probably has't seen light or been in a good environment in awhile. In a 4+ months you'll get nice tight clustering of heads.


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## lybrian1 (Aug 10, 2010)

oh cool i didnt even notice


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## lybrian1 (Aug 10, 2010)

i have also moved the zoa to more flow but what happens if it still doesnt open?


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## Kerohime (Jan 10, 2011)

Was that from the LR you got from me? Cuz one of those pieces was an exoskeleton from a trumpet coral I used to have, maybe some of it was still alive and is growing in better conditions in your tank now. =)


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## lybrian1 (Aug 10, 2010)

yupp it was


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

lybrian1 said:


> i have also moved the zoa to more flow but what happens if it still doesnt open?


It's just a waiting game from here on in. Check params and we'll go from there.


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## lybrian1 (Aug 10, 2010)

well im sure water is fine. i just did a test yesterday and ammonia and nitrite was 0. i forgot What the nitrate reading was but it was really low. i am planning to order a reef test kit from mops soon.

the thing is i had it in a different tank for a while where the zoa thrived but then it started to rot after a week. i just assumed it was because i didnt add any phytoplankton.

when it was really bad i moved it to my newly set up biocube and it still remain like this for over a week. im worried it might affect my water quality.


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

Hmmm...sounds like somethings definitely "off" b/w the original system and yours but not enough so that you don't notice an immediate reaction. 

Fingers crossed


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Zoanthids _shouldn't_ need phyto dosing to survive, so I don't think that is the problem.


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

Chris S said:


> Zoanthids _shouldn't_ need phyto dosing to survive, so I don't think that is the problem.


+1

When zoas die it's generally issues with water parameters/ sickness/ predatory fauna of different sorts or a combination of two or all those things.

With zoas, if it likes the water, all you have to do is give it light and it'll generally survive, and eventually thrive. In my experience, zoas from the Caribbean are by far the most fussy with water parameters. Those from the Pacific/ Indian Ocean are more tolerant of imperfect parameters.


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## lybrian1 (Aug 10, 2010)

wat else could it be?


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## lybrian1 (Aug 10, 2010)

ok then i guess the water was the problem but now that it is in a new tank, is it possible to save it?


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## shiver905 (Nov 2, 2010)

Chris S said:


> Zoanthids _shouldn't_ need phyto dosing to survive, so I don't think that is the problem.


+2

Check waters

I know a few ppl who just cant keep zoas.
Everything else does fine except zoas.


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## lybrian1 (Aug 10, 2010)

i actually have 2 other frags of zoas that were dying in the old tank but when i moved them to the new one, one of them started to react positively to the new tank and half its heads are opened now. the one i took the picture of is by far the worst of the bunch and im worried its not going to survive


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## lybrian1 (Aug 10, 2010)

what type of corals do i need to be feeding?


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

They don't look dead to me and you don't have to feed zoas. Sure they probably do better if they're fed, but they should be fine with just light.
They look more like they're shocked and closed in.
Has the rock fell "face" forward? Or has anything in your tank been bugging them? How old are your light bulbs and what are your parameters?

PS: I salvaged a rock with some almost dead zoas, from someones tank that crashed...I actually just wanted to live rock cauz it had lots of coralline and I had no hope that those zoas will survive. They were all closed in and I didn't even know what kind they were. It took them at least 3 weeks to open, but they survived and now they're happily living ever after.


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## GT3 (Nov 24, 2010)

Hey bud zoas you dont need anything but light, not even high flow. If you suddenly change the flow or lighting they will be more stressed. Ive got lots in my tank. They will close up sometimes when I do large water changes. It looks like your zoa is not dying but stressed. I believe your water para is fine. Leave it where it was and some patience it will open back up. Zoas can take weeks to open. When they die you will know cuz they turn snow white, but rarely happens. Your candy cane should die first before the zoa, haha.


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

Theres a lot of detritus on those Zoas. Some moderate flow would help clean them off and encourage them to open. Not strong direct water pressure, but a gentle moderate flow.

Everyones right, no need to feed them, besides, if they are closed up all the time, you CANT feed them anyways. You'll just need to wait it out and hope they start opening.

What type of lighting do you have? what type of lighting did the rock/candy cane/zoas come from?


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

The peeling skin isn't a good sign.

Just a tip for future reference. This may sound strange, but when buying zoas, always, *ALWAYS*, smell them first. If it even remotely smells like rotten eggs, don't buy them, no matter how much you like them. Because that smell is a sign that parts of the colony/ frag has started to rot and most likely the cause, weather its a disease or predatory fauna, has spread around other polyps.


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## lybrian1 (Aug 10, 2010)

thanks for the advice


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## lybrian1 (Aug 10, 2010)

so this thing is pretty much dead now, what should i do?


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## GT3 (Nov 24, 2010)

sorry to hear that unfortunately nothing you can do if its dead, I'll leave it in there use it as a live rock...


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## lloydj (Apr 10, 2009)

Take a turkey baster and gently blow off the crud on the zoas.

I would not be too worried on feeding them phyto.


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## lloydj (Apr 10, 2009)

Also keep an eye on them to make sure they do not have and predators eating them


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## lloydj (Apr 10, 2009)

Cypher said:


> The peeling skin isn't a good sign.
> 
> Just a tip for future reference. This may sound strange, but when buying zoas, always, *ALWAYS*, smell them first. If it even remotely smells like rotten eggs, don't buy them, no matter how much you like them. Because that smell is a sign that parts of the colony/ frag has started to rot and most likely the cause, weather its a disease or predatory fauna, has spread around other polyps.


Umm I am not sure this is a good idea. Perhaps a little research on the toxins of zoanthids and the last thing I would do is put them near my face.

IMO


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## lybrian1 (Aug 10, 2010)

im just going to remove the rock and avoid zoas from now on


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## lloydj (Apr 10, 2009)

I wouldnt go that far.... I would say you just got a bad batch...

I think you are the person that emailed me about the toadstool I have for sale..lol


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