Star Polyps and Zoas not happy? I don't know why?

Discussion in 'Soft Corals' started by HollyG, Aug 11, 2011.

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  1. HollyG

    HollyG Teardrop Maxima Clam

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    So, it was time for a water change today and I did it the exact same as I do every other time. I syphoned the sand and changed about 10% of the water, and made sure my corals were detritus and algae free which they were! I only have a few coral. Small frag of star polyps, small frag of eagle eye zoas, small grab of green mushrooms, and a small frag of button polyps. The buttons and mushrooms are perfectly fine. The stars and zoas were fine right after the water change. It was 2 hours later than I noticed that every single head of zoa was completely closed shut and the stars are only half out, some aren't out at all. I have had the stars for close to 2 months and my zoas I have had for only 2 weeks, but have never acted like this unless the lights go out. My lighting fixture is a Hagen Glo 2x39watt T5 HO bulbs. My tank is 33 gallons. I thought that maybe my paramenters are a little out of whack because I just yesterday treated some pesky aptasia nems with some shots of boiling water with a turkey baster which killed parts of my live rock, so I thought that maybe my ammonia was high, so I checked. My parameters are perfectly fine! Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 0ppm, Ph 8.2, my Nitrate is even at 0ppm!! Usually it huddles around 10ppm, that is the only thing that isn't "normal" for my tank. So, I don't understand why my stars and zoas are so unhappy right now. I'm more worried about my zoas because they aren't even the slightest open. Has anyone had this problem? Will they be fine? I know they are a hardy coral so I'm not too worried I'm just trying to understand what's happening.
     
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  3. HollyG

    HollyG Teardrop Maxima Clam

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    Oh, and my S.G. is at 1.025!
     
  4. 2in10

    2in10 Super Moderator

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    I wouldn't worry about them, they will do that at times. They will come out in a day o so.
     
  5. Ryland1

    Ryland1 Astrea Snail

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    My zoas and star polyps "hide" from time to time. I have had them for about 6 months now and they always seem to come back out and be fine.
     
  6. Reefers1

    Reefers1 Astrea Snail

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    Your water condition must be bad that's why. But sometimes GSP takes awhile to open. Maybe due to lighting quality or water.
     
  7. Thatgrimguy

    Thatgrimguy Flying Squid

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    You're most likely just fine. They get agitated sometimes and will close up for a day or two (sometimes even longer) Don't make any other changes to the tank and watch for a few days and they will open up.
     
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  9. melonz

    melonz Astrea Snail

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    where was the aptasia? was it anywhere close to the gsp or zoas? if so, it was probably effected by the boiling water? hrmm..
     
  10. sticksmith23

    sticksmith23 Giant Squid

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    As you stated your prams are fine, so you really have nothing to worry about.

    My GSP decided to hide from me for about 2 weeks. They were growing and everything where I had them, and then I decided to redo my rock work. I moved them to the top of my rock work, and now they are fully opened and as far as I can tell starting to grow again.

    As far as your zoas, I have a rock where about 1/4 of them hide most of the time while the rest act like nothing is wrong at all.
     
  11. HollyG

    HollyG Teardrop Maxima Clam

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    I found out why this was happening. When I did my water change I for got to put the water conditioner in the bucket of new water before putting it in the tank! So, i freaked out and put a full dose of conditioner in the tank itself last night, hoping that it wasn`t too late and turned off the lights. This morning everything was fine. the zoas conpletely opened and the stars are fully open. Last night I noticed that my buttons were starting to look droopy, that is when I realized what had happened. But everything is fine now. Thanks everyone.
     
  12. Pastey

    Pastey Ritteri Anemone

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    Are you using tap water for changes?