Zoanthid colony not opening

hey everyone at 3reef i was wondering if you could help me out with this...I have hada zoa colony for about 2 weeks now and only half of the polyps are open and the other half doesent open... i have it in low flow about half way up the tank in 150watts of PC lighting i have looked for the nudibranch but no signs and the zoa pox ive never seen them if you guys have any suggestion that owuld be awsome!!

 

Look for any snails.Some times they will have sundial nails hiding in them.They will eat the zoas.

 

Probably a good idea to give it a dip. I'd suggest trying a new product called CoralRX. I've dipped all of my recently purchased colonies in it and all sorts of stuff falls off. I also dipped a couple of my older zoos that have always seemed to struggle and they have really turned around. RODI dips can do the same thing, but never tried it.

 

Yep, most likely something is disturbing them.
But they do close temporarily from time to time.
how long have you had the colony?

 

ive had it for like 2 weeks and only a ffew of them open do you think i should pull it out at look at it closer for snails and how do you a dip??

 

There is a lot of info out there on zoo diseases. Mainly zoa pox, but all seem to be related. Some zoos can be touchy, some not so much.

CoralRX comes with directions on the back. If its only been a couple weeks, give it some more time. A lot of people have several die until they finally heal up and start opening are populating. I have problems with not gluing new zoo frags down and the constant moving from flow and vibration makes them slowly wither away. Get the frag settled in a med flow spot and med light. Let it chill, do not move it after it has been added. If some start obviously melting and there are some obviously ok zoos, frag them off and move them to a different spot and glue them and don't touch them. They seem to like stable places in my experience.

 

Something is making them close. When I've had half a colony open, half closed it's usually an animal. Could be a fish nipping, cleaner shrimp digging for food, Asterina stars looking for food between the polyps. The most likely is nudis. They are very hard to see because they take on the color of the zoo they are eating and blend in. Then they will burrow when the lights come on.

I love the Coral RX for dipping but it's pricey. We have a regiment of dipping colonies and the Coral RX would not be cost effective. We use Lugol's with saltwater and if really bad Lugol's with PH corrected RODI.

Good Luck!