Help, pink zoo's not opening after 2 weeks

[lvreefer]

Hey guys and gals,

I bought a nice rock of zoo's (about 6"x8") containing half gold and half pink. All of the gold zoo's are open but most of my pink are closed. I have had the colony for about 2 weeks now. They are about half way up the tank (12" from light) and under 108w PC's. The mixture of PC is 36w of actinic and 72w of 50/50. All of the bulbs are Realux and less than 3 weeks old. I do not add anything to the water except for B-Ionic when calcium is low. Water changes are done weekly at about 10% - 15% along with daily top off. Temp is from 78 - 79 degrees.

So what's up with these pink zoo's? Should I give them a dip? If so, plain water or with iodine. Should I move them lower / Higher?

Thanks for the help!

[BrokkenTWolf]

I don't think you're doing anything wrong. Since they don't appear to be melting or withering, methinks it's just a matter of time before they open. Patience.

My Dragon Eyes didn't open for a month and a half.

[MinibowMatt]

I had some green stardust PE that didnt open for a month as well I wouldnt worry yet.

[MUCHO REEF]

I copied and pasted this from the thread started by Napperville Reef entilted, "NEED SOME ZOO HELP" which is just below this thread. Hope it puts you a bit at ease.

"Yes, it's very true, Eric B. speaks of it in his book Aquarium Corals. I seem to always have one or two at a time in my tank that will do the same from time to time. It is a means of cleaning themselves externally. The key is to simply not move them. Just allow them to do what the do in the ocean. If anything, do as you did, just keep them clean by using a powerhead or turkey baster. As always and with any zoo colony, make sure they are receiving random strong to moderate current. A lot of zoo keepers panic when their zoos won't open. As long as there is no decay, serious shrinking, foul smell, polyps detaching, flaking off of tissue, ( for the lack of a better word) , a serious darkening or the sight of a BI or fungus, they will come around in time. Of course predators could also cause polyp retraction, so investigating the root cause is always just as important."

Hope this helps.

Mooch

Mucho

[slave-of-rock]

Originally posted by MinibowMatt
I had some green stardust PE that didnt open for a month as well I wouldnt worry yet.

are the green stardust PEs a paly? I have some regular zoas that look exactly the same... Sorry for the off topic post...
-Kyle

[MinibowMatt]

Originally posted by slave-of-rock
are the green stardust PEs a paly? I have some regular zoas that look exactly the same... Sorry for the off topic post...
-Kyle

I will take a pic asap. Im pretty sure they are Protopalythoas though.. I like them 10$ for like 20 polyps.

[MinibowMatt]

Ok so I have no life and took a pic for ya:
Here are my Green Stardust PE. They have a dark red/maroon skirt, purple rim, green center and white stardust spatter in the center... Pic is under 14K with my crappy camera White Balance set for flourescents. Sorry, i dont have much macro ability with my camera...

[slave-of-rock]

Beautiful palys! Mine look like a little different, ill try and take a picture soon, but there smaller.

[jjmg]

I have many zoa's and I've found for some reason that I have problems with pinks. I bought one frag that has thrived, but I've lost several. I wish I could tell you what they want, but I haven't found it.

The ones that have done good like high and low light as well as high and low water flow. The ones I lost didn't like anything I could come up with.

Good luck and post your results.

[slave-of-rock]

I have 3 diff shades of pink, they are in medium flow, and about 10" down from the top of the water. I am running 2 175w 14k hailides, they are 6" from the water level. They are growing slow, but thats why i think they are harder to find. Did you do the Muchos dip on them at all or no?

[doodoobrown]

zoas are funny things. i have a 75 with about 30 diff colors and every once in a while one little section will close for a week and then the next week they are good as new. zoas next to them will be open but they will be closed. its the same group that does it off and on for over a year now. they spread and grow and the new ones do the same thing. i now this isnt very helpfull but know it does happen. im sure it is more common than you think. its actually the ones that are on my avatar that do it. the colony is about 4 times that size now too. go figure

[doodoobrown]

i take that back after looking at my avatar again they are atleast 6-8 times larger

[MinibowMatt]

My pinks are thriving about 12 inches down from my 70W 14K MH. thats about 8 inches under water. They are in an area of Med-High flow. They are doing great... not growing really fast, but i do see polyps every couple weeks.!

[lvreefer]

Thanks everyone!! I feel better. I'll keep an eye on them and let you know how it turns out. I'll post a pick when they open.