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  #1  
Old 12/23/2007, 10:03 PM
Agu Agu is offline
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Is there a Zoanthid forum curse ?

I've had zoanthids for seven or eight years, They've been the easiest corals I've ever had. Here's a recent pic,



I've since fragged back the leather and nepthea and removed the fungia.

But back to the point. I've only been posting on this forum a couple of weeks, During that time my Zoas seem to have gone down hill. Some colonies don't open as much and my blues appear to have white spots. At first I wrote it off to greater awareness. That was until today when there in the middle of the front glass was a Zoa eating nudi. Two weeks ago I had never heard of or seen a zoa eating nudi.

So, does reading the Zoa forum cause a curse on my tank ?
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  #2  
Old 12/23/2007, 10:10 PM
nalbar nalbar is offline
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Of all the curses, I consider the zoo eating nudi the most insignificant. Thank your stars, it could be a lot worse.


nalbar
  #3  
Old 12/23/2007, 10:43 PM
geoxman geoxman is offline
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what did you add? did you dip and check for eggs? BOL it is very easy to beat. Good looking nano! I like those on the top right middle-kind of blue-silver
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  #4  
Old 12/23/2007, 11:14 PM
killingseed killingseed is offline
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Re: Is there a Zoanthid forum curse ?

Quote:
Originally posted by Agu
So, does reading the Zoa forum cause a curse on my tank ?
i think reading threads and gaining more knowledge, allows us you pay more attention to are tanks and what’s in then and we are more likely to notice a problem or something that doesn’t look right.
  #5  
Old 12/23/2007, 11:17 PM
Agu Agu is offline
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Top middle when it was new,



Pic doesn't do it justice..............
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  #6  
Old 12/24/2007, 08:20 AM
MUCHO REEF MUCHO REEF is offline
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Wow, so sorry to hear that. I guess the one good thing about this , if there is one, is that you have a smaller more manageable system that will greatly benefit you in eradicating those nudis.

I'm with Geo, have you isolated what it was that you purchased recently? It doesn't have to be coral either. A nudi can hitch a ride on live rock alone with no corals at all.

Hang tough, you'll defeat them.

Mucho Reef
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  #7  
Old 12/24/2007, 01:13 PM
Pufferpunk Pufferpunk is offline
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We try to REMOVE zoa-curses here!
  #8  
Old 12/24/2007, 10:30 PM
Agu Agu is offline
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AARRGGHH ....... Sucked out two more nudis just doing random siphoning of closed up colonies. Guess it's a tear down and dip situation. Hate to do it as the tank has been up 5 years with minimal minor changes. The DSB will have to go, the mini brittle stars (not asterinia) probably not survive. My clownfish will not be happy, but maybe the stress will finally result in spawning. (Gotta look for the silver lining )

So can somebody give me a link or set by step for dipping zoas to eradicate the nudis ?
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  #9  
Old 12/24/2007, 10:51 PM
geoxman geoxman is offline
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I would just FW dip the corals in tap as it has a higher PH, or RODI and adjust the PH to your tank. I use tincture but if you have some luglos that is fine. I would do at least 10 drops per gl. for about 5 min. Shake the crap out of them after the dip and look for egg sacs. They look like this except white/clear @.
Mucho has a sticky at the top of this forum as well. Good luck and have fun dipping corals on Christmas day!
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  #10  
Old 12/24/2007, 10:59 PM
delsol650 delsol650 is offline
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Time to get a guard... yellow coris
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  #11  
Old 12/24/2007, 11:10 PM
Agu Agu is offline
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This is a ten gallon with a pair of clowns (black ocellaris) no room for another fish.

For giggles I tried something. Kept lowering the SG of the water the nudis are in. At 1.010 they appeared to curl up and die. Rather than go full fresh (which is hard to adjust pH) I wonder if extreme hyposalinity will accomplish the same thing ?

I've seen pics of the egg sacs. Already checked out all the stickies, doesn't everybody ?

Mixing water as we speak ..............
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  #12  
Old 12/24/2007, 11:21 PM
nalbar nalbar is offline
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There is no need to tear down your tank. There is no need for a FW dip. IMO all of that will cause more stress than the nudis.

I have had nudis about 4 times over the years, no outbreak lasting more than about 3 weeks. My last outbreak (two months ago) lasted 10 days. I can honestly say I have never lost a polyp to a nudi. I have had them tear up a few, but they recover quickly. Quite simply, they are not a serious occurance in a reef tank, unless the tank is a BIG one.

They are REALLY stupid. They do not have the sense to stay out of sight. Just syphon when you see one. When the nudi gets on a poylp, it closes, making the nudi REALLY easy to see. Syphon, syphon, syphon.

It is really as simple as that.


nalbar
  #13  
Old 12/24/2007, 11:24 PM
Agu Agu is offline
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Quote:
Good luck and have fun dipping corals on Christmas day!
I was planning on going to the beach .
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  #14  
Old 12/24/2007, 11:28 PM
Agu Agu is offline
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Quote:
They are REALLY stupid. They do not have the sense to stay out of sight. Just syphon when you see one. When the nudi gets on a poylp, it closes, making the nudi REALLY easy to see. Syphon, syphon, syphon.
I could live with that ...........
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  #15  
Old 12/24/2007, 11:37 PM
nalbar nalbar is offline
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I use a long piece of that stiff, clear plastic tubing they sell at LFS's. I think it's quater inch but it might be 3 eighths inch. I hold my finger over the dry end and lower it over the nudi, let off my finger, causing a suction in the tube. The nudi gets sucked up the tube, then I put my finger back over the tube and lift the nudi out. Then I experiment on him.



I do it this way so I am not removing a lot of water for a single nudi.



nalbar
  #16  
Old 12/25/2007, 01:05 AM
RevHtree RevHtree is offline
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Hey Agu here is the original Zoa dip thread.....

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=451720

Sorry to hear about your nudi's, but you can beat it!
  #17  
Old 12/25/2007, 06:37 PM
bohannbj bohannbj is offline
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Nitrate curse prob.
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  #18  
Old 12/25/2007, 09:55 PM
Agu Agu is offline
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I have a plan.

Went by my LFS late afternoon and the owner was there feeding and checking the livestock. Picked up a new 10 gallon and spray painted the back black. The current tank has several scratches, a deep sand bed that's got to go, and the back is covered with zoas. It's going to be too much mess emptying the tank ,cleaning it, and putting it back in place when a new one was $12.

The leathers, nepthea, and shrooms will be freshwater dipped and moved to a frag tank that's already set up and cycled. Is it safe to assume any nudis that survive are obligate zoa feeders and will starve in the Q tank ?

Then the zoas will be dipped with a freshwater lugols solution and transferred to a tub with flow and heat. I have to remove every piece of live rock because there isn't a rock without zoas in the tank. The clownfish and cleanup crew also goes into the tub. Should I salt water rinse be given the dipped rock to avoid getting Lugols in the holding tub?

Then the tanks get swapped out, all equipment gets thoroughly cleaned (after 5 years it's due), and the new tank is put in place with new substrate (shallow this time). The next hour is spent picking worms and pods out of the old tank to seed the new tank .

I'll let the new tank run for a day or two with the sand seeded and live rock rubble in the aquaclear just to stabilize the tank (and to make sure everything is working properly).

After a couple of days everything is redipped and rinsed in saltwater and returned to the tank. Special attention of course to any colony that doesn't look 100% .
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Last edited by Agu; 12/25/2007 at 10:06 PM.
  #19  
Old 12/26/2007, 12:26 AM
otiso777 otiso777 is offline
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Watch out for nudi eggs on the zoanthids. The dip won't kill these. You'll have to pick them off by hand or they will hatch and re infest the tank.
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  #20  
Old 12/26/2007, 01:16 AM
Kigs Kigs is offline
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have you tried magnesium dip for those nudis? it works pretty well.

it's weird that they popped out all of a sudden, did you add anything new recently?
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  #21  
Old 12/26/2007, 09:02 PM
Agu Agu is offline
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It's my own fault. I swapped some euphyllia frags for what appeared to be pink palys at my LFS about a month ago. First of all they turned light brown . Secondly they're the only zoas/paly in my tank that aren't captive propagated. Didn't realize that until I tried to figure out how I got the infestation in the first place


Removed every coral that wasn't encrusted to the rock structure and dipped them tonight. They're in the Q tank now. Tomorrow the rest of the rock gets dipped and moved to a tupperware tub while I replace the tank and clean the equipment.
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  #22  
Old 12/26/2007, 09:52 PM
geoxman geoxman is offline
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Quote:
First of all they turned light brown
Pinks like uber light IMHO and that might be why they faded out on you. Can you post a pic of them and do you know their origin?

good luck with the dipping it usually goes pretty smooth and you should be all nudi free before you know it. good luck
PL
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  #23  
Old 12/27/2007, 09:49 PM
Agu Agu is offline
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Dipped the rest of the rock and it wasn't pretty. Saved 5 mini brittle stars but most if the micro fauna didn't make it. The dip tub was filled with dead pods . The DSB smelled pretty bad, glad I decided to replace it after 5 years. All the rock and the clowns are in a tupperware tub while the new tank clears. Tomorrow morning with morning sun coming in the east window eack rock gets checked for eggs and I get to put the tank back together.

I'm already mixing more saltwater. It's safe to assume the tank will have some cycle.

Geoxman, They're from Bali according to the LFS. Obviously I can't get a pic right now. Also it's been my experience Zoas can lose their color until they're fully acclimated. Have some blues that turned olive drab and stayed that way for months before the blue returned.
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  #24  
Old 12/27/2007, 10:32 PM
geoxman geoxman is offline
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Since you replaced the DSB you will more than likely get a cycle. It is too late to try and explain zoanthid origin and aquarium light source vs color-as I have had WAY too much turkey pie tonight- and I don't want to derail your thread. I will PM you on the light issue. BOL of luck with the nano! Why did you mess with the DSB??? You should be OK though?? but you also killed a lot of bacteria in the LR/coral FW dipping

Do you have some fresh LR that you can put in there to cut down on the spike?? good luck
PL
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  #25  
Old 12/27/2007, 11:07 PM
Agu Agu is offline
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Quote:
Why did you mess with the DSB??? You should be OK though?? but you also killed a lot of bacteria in the LR/coral FW dipping
The rock was on the bottom of the tank, no way to remove the rock without disturbing the sand. From personal experience and reading on the board once any old sandbed is disturbed it needs to be removed. There's just too much crud released and nuisance algae is lurking around the corner.

Have a large piece of cured rock in the new tank, clean cured rubble in the aquaclear 300, and a large chunk of chaeto floating in the tank. I also scooped a bunch of worms and pods from the surface of the old sandbed to seed the new bed. After about 5 hours the tank water is clear.
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