Zoas melting away.

[jennm]

If water made at the LFS was "bad", dozens of people and the store itself would be experiencing problems.

Post your parameters - "good" is a subjective thing.

Do you test the specific gravity of the saltwater you buy, before you use it, and do you make sure your tank and the new water you are using are somewhat close?

The most curious thing I encounter is that people who buy water don't bother to test the SG for themselves.

Chances are, if only one or two colonies fizzled and everything else in the tank was fine, is that it had more to do with the affected frags/colonies than the water, but testing parameters is the first step to ruling things in or out.

Jenn

 

[jc_k]

Ok, I'll try and post them tonight. Ive been moving all morning.

 

[dball711]

Hey Jacob, keep an eye posted for potential pests like Nudis or zoa eating snails. Check the tank at night after lights out and pay special attention to closed polyps...sometimes a pest is hidden within a colony. Once upon a time long ago I was losing zoas and couldn’t figure it out until I found sundial snails in a colony that I removed to frag. Are you coming tot he next frag swap in Sept...I'll have some zoas and palys you might be interested in to help restock.

 

[jc_k]

dball711;979433 wrote: Hey Jacob, keep an eye posted for potential pests like Nudis or zoa eating snails. Check the tank at night after lights out and pay special attention to closed polyps...sometimes a pest is hidden within a colony. Once upon a time long ago I was losing zoas and couldn’t figure it out until I found sundial snails in a colony that I removed to frag. Are you coming tot he next frag swap in Sept...I'll have some zoas and palys you might be interested in to help restock.

I saw some very small snail like the size of a needletip but their on like very rock of the tank. Do astria starfish eat zoas? And yes I'm going to the meeting/swap. Hopefully I'll have some money.

 

[dball711]

I have not known those starfish to really bother anything but I have heard some folks calim they were sitting on top of zoa colonies (maybe eating?).

 

[marquiseo]

JennM;979321 wrote: If water made at the LFS was "bad", dozens of people and the store itself would be experiencing problems.

Post your parameters - "good" is a subjective thing.

Do you test the specific gravity of the saltwater you buy, before you use it, and do you make sure your tank and the new water you are using are somewhat close?

The most curious thing I encounter is that people who buy water don't bother to test the SG for themselves.

Chances are, if only one or two colonies fizzled and everything else in the tank was fine, is that it had more to do with the affected frags/colonies than the water, but testing parameters is the first step to ruling things in or out.

Jenn

Not entirely true. Every system is different. Some may not have inhabitants that depend on the same parameter as his. If the LFS is selling saltwater with low calcium and he has softies, then it will never be reported. Also, hobbyists that rarely test may never know that the calcium is low until they test which by then they will assume that its due to consumption and dose or re-top off.

 

[marquiseo]

JC_k;979434 wrote: I saw some very small snail like the size of a needletip but their on like very rock of the tank. Do astria starfish eat zoas? And yes I'm going to the meeting/swap. Hopefully I'll have some money.

Asterina starfish eat coraline algae. I would still dip those zoas in either coral rx or bayer insecticide. I personally prefer bayer because I have had great results with it and no losses, plus, i get a lot for my monies worth.

 

[jc_k]

MarquiseO;979464 wrote: Asterina starfish eat coraline algae. I would still dip those zoas in either coral rx or bayer insecticide. I personally prefer bayer because I have had great results with it and no losses, plus, i get a lot for my monies worth.

I have some kind of dip , it's from a seachem, it seems to work good.

 

[marquiseo]

JC_k;979473 wrote: I have some kind of dip , it's from a seachem, it seems to work good.

I've used it (Seachem's Coral dip). It doesn't work as well as CoralRx or Bayer.

 

[jc_k]

Ok, I'll have to pick up some coral rx at my lfs, well if they have it. So far The zoa seems to be doing good,bit has gotten a little smaller.

 

[tonymission]

I would go the Bayer route personally

 

[bulkrate]

CoralRX or Lugol's iodine (Kents or Brightwell, I think) - I've never had ReefDip work well enough to merit choosing it.

 

[jennm]

MarquiseO;979462 wrote: Not entirely true. Every system is different. Some may not have inhabitants that depend on the same parameter as his. If the LFS is selling saltwater with low calcium and he has softies, then it will never be reported. Also, hobbyists that rarely test may never know that the calcium is low until they test which by then they will assume that its due to consumption and dose or re-top off.

My point was, if there was something foul/wrong with LFS-made/sold saltwater, more than one individual would experience a problem. There's a difference between the store selling a substandard product, and a hobbyist not performing his/her routine maintenance/testing.

Regarding Asterina stars - most are harmless, but there are some that can and will eat corals and zoanthids, so that is a possibility, so are nudibranchs, sundial snails and zoa pox.

Pictures would be helpful.

Jenn