where are the polyps going

lmh11706 · #1 03/02/2006, 07:34 PM

i bought a nice size colored zoo polyp rock that when in the store was covered with open polps- no rock seen.by the time i got it home an hour later,polyps were open-but werent covering anymore and each day since-now day 4 the polyps seem to be dissapearing-not closed-but not on the rock anymore.has this happened to anyone else

SEA-SALTED · #2 03/02/2006, 08:42 PM

what kind of fish are in the tank
have you looked at night with a flash light to see it something thinks its a buffet? i lost quite a few zoas to box snails eating at night. but, i could be wrong.

joshinjosh · #3 03/02/2006, 08:45 PM

ime i've noticed zoanthids shrink when they are deprived of light, but definately not in 4 days. check around to see if there are any unusualy snail or nudibraches.

josh

Alaskan Reefer · #4 03/02/2006, 08:46 PM

Snails, sometimes crabs, sometimes fish, urchins -- something is grubbing on your zoos they don't just disappear. Some on the edges of the colony could detach if you move from LFS flow to the powerful flow found in some tanks, but it sounds more like you are providing expensive food.

And I'm sorry to hear that. I have the zoo bug bad and love them.

lmh11706 · #5 03/02/2006, 10:57 PM

it may be my snails-part of the cleaning crew-turbo snails-day and night their moving across the patch-their big snails too.no other explanation

Anemonebuff · #6 03/02/2006, 11:01 PM

Look for Heliacus snails. They can wipe out zoos fast.

NCreefwannabe · #7 03/03/2006, 01:44 AM

you could have something in there you dont know about... try checking at night when all lights are off. hitem with the flashlight.

sabodish · #8 03/03/2006, 07:48 AM

i agree..i just pulled a 4 or 5" crab out of my tank that has eaten approximately 400 zoos and 15 rics over the last year. watch the tank at night. put a red lens over a flashlight and enjoy the show. i let my crab get out in the open and then just netted him out no problem.

Alaskan Reefer · #9 03/03/2006, 04:21 PM

sabodish -- I had a 5" emerald crab in my old 75, and he never touched zoos -- but did some damage to other soft polyps. And of course snails. He's gone now.

sabodish · #10 03/03/2006, 07:52 PM

mine was not an emerald crab at all..i still have in a tuberware in the sump. i have to take some pics. hes kinda gray/green/blue camoflauge with black tip claws...noone has been able to identify him yet.