Zoanthid issue..

It looks to me like the rock they are on was covered in sponge and the sponge is dieing off and taking the zoas with it.... I have had this happen a lot lately. I am not sure if this is the only way to handle it but once it starts I usually razor blade the zoas off the rock and glue them to a new one....

Mark Peterson wrote: That causes me to ask what the Zoanthids were dipped in? Was it freshwater or an Iodine dip?

Ok guys this is getting too overwhelming for me. I will have Troy post tonight or tomorrow when he gets a chance as he is the one that knows more. He is out of town all week.
 Arthur that is so nice of you thank you! I think we will take you up on that offer .
 
 Tresa you might be right because that is what we noticed was there was a substance on the base of the Zoanthids and that was my concern it was something coming from the bottom. I think I will try and get those fragged and put on its own tiles.

 Mark, we thought after we did the toothbrush think it would help and we wouldn't have any other issues. Guess not.
That causes me to ask what the Zoanthids were dipped in? Was it freshwater or an Iodine dip? *Iodine*
Also, how long have you had these 2 colonies and where did they come from? *Individual on the board.
Did they have any problems on the way to your tank, like being left in the bag for 3+ hours.  *Less then 1 hour*
Another thought is that they have been sunburned. Going into a brighter lighted tank can burn them. * I don't believe so because they are in our sand bed and the lighting was the same.

 We did frag some off when we first got them as they were loose on the rock and those ones are doing great so I am wondering if Tresa is spot on.






Edited by ptronsp - December 06 2010 at 3:37pm

you guys are talking about bugs i was looking at some of my polyps that had being closed and i noticed a brown sponge like growing around them it looks kind of like the dirt when the ants build their nest i used a tooth brush to brush it of like mark said and the rock looks clean and the polyps didnt get damaged, so pam you should check if you have this "sponge" looking thing

I agree with doing an iodine dip. It seems to work more than anything else. A couple quick questions about your dosing schedule: Do you dose Iodine/Iodide in your tank? Actual numbers on your parameters would help us to help you more. It also sounds like these polyps have been through a lot of stress with the various treatments. Sometimes it takes them a week or two to recover from being brushed, dipped, moved, etc. Feel free to call me if you need any help with anything 435-830-8855 P.S. I still have TONS of macro for you and I should be around all day Saturday and Sunday this weekend, or if you like I can bring it out to you.

Please don't wait for your husband. You can do this, and the sooner the better. Next thing we need is a full tank pic please.

That second pic makes me think it's invasive sponge, not dieing but growing. It's good to have sponge growing, but we don't like it when the battle results in the death of the loser.
Brushing it off in the sink and then rinsing it under the tap may be my suggested treatment, but only after seeing the entire tank.

That's a relief, but it might be temporary. That 2nd pic really looks like an invasive sponge problem that could be brushed off.

Funny, I just watched an episode of Star Trek - Enterprise where the alien organism looked almost exactly like that kind of sponge.
http://www.allstepisodes.com/googlevideodatabase.php?n=5122

I'm not a Trekkie/Trekker but I love space sci-fi. For the past few months I've been going back and watching episodes of Star Trek online. This one just happened to be next in line. 
My wife teases(complains) that I'm addicted to this, along with a few other things, like this MB.