Purple Heart Zoanthids

So i just bought my first coral. I wanted to test it out and give it a try. Nothing special something cheap cuz I don't know very much about them.

Bought what is in the title.

It doesn't seem to look good, it's kind of splitting up at its base almost like it is splitting in two. At the base it also is starting to turn white (i would describe it as white lint almost)

My water params a perfect (just got it tested at the LFS when I picked up RO/DI water today)

My friend who has corals gave me Liquid Life (Marine Plankton w/ Cyclopeeze, Bio Plankton, and Coral Plankton) but I am unsure which one to use or what the difference is between them.

My lighting is T5 2x54 and the coral is placed about half way down the 55 tank on a rock. All pulps are open during the day.

If you could just give me a brief overview which Liquid Life to use, basically feeding and placement I would be much obliged.

 

Zoanthus are very resilient, and can adapt to a wide variety of lighting conditions and flow. One thing that scares me, is that you are not testing your water by yourself. If you want to keep a reef, testing your own water with quality test kits(not strips) is an absolute must. Did they tell you what your calcium, alk, pH, and magnesium is? Those are primary parameters to test, including SG(specific gravity). How did you acclimate them? Just dropping them into the tank can shock them. Some corals can get light shocked by being put into too much light or too little. They all vary, but you just have to do your research before you choose which one is right for your tanks conditions. What size tank is it? What type of flow/filtration are you usuing?

 

Im sorry, I do have a test kit and I keep a spreadsheet on my computer. I was just being lazy today and had them do it. let me pull up the last test I did and get the numbers:

6/5/10:
Temp: 82
SG: 1.023
Ammonia/Nitrite: 0
Nitrates: 10
dKH: 8
Phos: .25
Calcium: 420
Mag: as of now I do not own this test, would you recommend buying this one?

I used standard drip method for about 90mins

It's a 55 gallon tank.
Filter = Emporer 400
Skimmer = Aqua C Remora
Flow = Koralia #4 and #2
In tank Fuge full of Chaeto and scypholia

And light shock, how am I supposed to know what lighting they are used to?

 

wherever you got them from you can usually ask what lighting they are under. i love zoanthids and have bought them numerous times. since i have power compact lighting right now i really dont have to be careful with where i place them; however, if i sell them to someone else they really need to know that any other lighting may have some initial effects on them if they are not properly acclimated to the lighting. this can be done several ways; however, if it were me i would start day one with the lights off(which is good to reduce stress for both corals and fish anyway) and also keep them on the sand bed, then day two can put the lights on for a few hours, day three a few more, and so forth til full lighting is resumed. after the first week you could move the zoas up a shelf level if you are trying to move them up. not sure if this is your problem or not, but this is definitely something to keep in mind for purchasing corals.

 

and it also would be helpful if you could take a pic to help diagnose the problem =)

 

A pic, I know. I don't have my camera on me, it's at work right now. It just seems to be breaking apart and is turning kind of white and fuzzy at the base, maybe this is normal. like i said its my first one so I dont really know

 

The white substance at the base of your zoas, isn't a sign of a healthy frag. Zoas are inherently resilient, but they do have issues and each species requires different care. It could be a fungus or zoa pox and there are different treatments. My zoas range from high flow and high light all the way to moderate flow and in my sandbed. Pics will definitely help..

I also noticed that your showing some phosphates and your alk looks a little low. The food your friend gave you could be causing your water to fowl up faster. I wouldn't worry about feeding your corals yet, since you only have a single frag of zoas. Zoas are predominately photosynthetic, but will eat a little. Bump your Alk up to 9-10 and try to get your phosphates down to zero... I'd just do water changes and test your saltmixes Alk and adjust from there. Good luck

Keep us posted...