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Disappearing Zoos - Help?

S

Sorcha

I've recently expanded our Zoo collection, but have hit some bad luck. I saw Candi's post about hers on here, but mine are just disappearing. For example, got some Caribbeans from Steve (pnoyreefer) a couple of months ago and they were doing great. All of a sudden there are only a couple of them left, less than half of what we had.

Also got a frag pack from someone on RC recently and most of them never opened or did and then disappeared too. They were shipped and packed well, and no one else that bought them from the same guy had trouble with theirs. The trouble with the ones I've had longer began after that, so I'm concerned I've picked up a pest with one of the frags I'd gotten.

Any ideas?

Can't give you the exact parameters, just know that we've run the standard tests and everything seems fine. I can bug hubby for the specs if it will help.

:'(
 
M

mott768

It could be you have a fish that likes them, I have a hippo tang that was fine for awhile with zoo's then all of a sudden they stated disappearing, I went threw the obvious checked water looked for parasites. one day I noticed the tang picking at a rock that was once full of zoo's so I started to watch him and sure enough he went over to a few frags I had in the tank and he started picking at them, I put the zoo's in another tank and after a couple of day's they were fine. If all your water tests are fine check to see if fish or crabs are eating them.
 
S

Sorcha

We have a Deussemieri (sp?) Tang for a few months now and he's a voracious eater. Haven't seen him at them...but I'll watch more closely. That will tick me off in a big way if that's the case!

How would I go about checking for parasites or Zoo Pox? Other than just the naked eye...
 
S

Sorchasotherhalf

Sorcha said:
I've recently expanded our Zoo collection, but have hit some bad luck. I saw Candi's post about hers on here, but mine are just disappearing. For example, got some Caribbeans from Steve (pnoyreefer) a couple of months ago and they were doing great. All of a sudden there are only a couple of them left, less than half of what we had.

Also got a frag pack from someone on RC recently and most of them never opened or did and then disappeared too. They were shipped and packed well, and no one else that bought them from the same guy had trouble with theirs. The trouble with the ones I've had longer began after that, so I'm concerned I've picked up a pest with one of the frags I'd gotten.

Any ideas?

Can't give you the exact parameters, just know that we've run the standard tests and everything seems fine. I can bug hubby for the specs if it will help.

:'(
Click to expand...

Water parameters are 8.4PH, 0,0,0, Ca 420, Alk 3.2 and did a 30% water change on Sunday.
 
J

jazzsam

mott768 said:
It could be you have a fish that likes them, I have a hippo tang that was fine for awhile with zoo's then all of a sudden they stated disappearing, I went threw the obvious checked water looked for parasites. one day I noticed the tang picking at a rock that was once full of zoo's so I started to watch him and sure enough he went over to a few frags I had in the tank and he started picking at them, I put the zoo's in another tank and after a couple of day's they were fine. If all your water tests are fine check to see if fish or crabs are eating them.
Click to expand...

I heard that a tang will clean up any dead zoo for you once it is past saving.
 
S

Sorcha

Well I suppose I won't fault him for cleaning up what's already going/gone.

BUT...what's making them dissolve in the first place? :-\

Thankfully, none of the ones I've lost are very high end. But that doesn't mean I didn't want to keep them!

And it's not across the board either, some of them are just great. MikeM gave me some baby Orange Bam Bams that are growing out nicely. I bought some Safecrackers from Ed months ago that were doing great and then suddenly they're dying. Older colonies we've had for a while seem fine.
 
P

pnoyreefer

Sorry to hear about your zoas? Sometimes when they get bothered either by fraggin or fish they tend to close up and they will never open up and melt.. I've lost some zoas which sometimes there is no explanation. I have all my zoas open up and there is one or more that tends to melt on me. I've checked for pest but I figure If I have one I will all my zoas withing my 6 months period. Note: never buy a colony from a fish store or online store cuz sometimes thats were you get the pest from. Buy frags and right before putting em in do lugols dip or freshwater dip...If you need I can frag maybe 5 polyps of the carribean.. its on me :)
 
M

mott768

Rich, mine were healthy and full, he was eating them for sure, I know that cause my frag tank is on the same system and when I moved them there they fully recovered and grew.
 
Edwardw771

Edwardw771

NJRC Member
If the ones I sold you don't make I'll give you another frag. Once you find out whats causing it that is. I can give you some bam bams too.

Sorcha said:
Well I suppose I won't fault him for cleaning up what's already going/gone.

BUT...what's making them dissolve in the first place? :-\

Thankfully, none of the ones I've lost are very high end. But that doesn't mean I didn't want to keep them!

And it's not across the board either, some of them are just great. MikeM gave me some baby Orange Bam Bams that are growing out nicely. I bought some Safecrackers from Ed months ago that were doing great and then suddenly they're dying. Older colonies we've had for a while seem fine.
Click to expand...
 
S

Sorcha

Aw, thanks guys. But I didn't put this up to make anyone feel bad. What I've gotten from anyone in the Club has been healthy, it's definitely not that they weren't to begin with.

I'll have to see if Scott can pick up some Lugol's in the city today. Down to 1 Caribbean last night, but the Safecrackers actually looked a little better.

Oh yeah, and this will be the 3rd time I'm loosing Radioactive Dragon Eyes. :mad: Has anyone noticed if different types of zoos seem more hardy than others?
 
M

momof6kids

NJRC Member
I understand exactly what you are talking about. All my zoas would grow fine but, after a while they too would just disappear. I could never find out what was causing this. I now have a zoa free tank. :'(
 
S

Sorcha

momof6kids said:
I understand exactly what you are talking about. All my zoas would grow fine but, after a while they too would just disappear. I could never find out what was causing this. I now have a zoa free tank. :'(
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NOOO!!!!! :'(

I LOVE Zoos...have to fix this.
 
J

JRodrig692

Same thing happened to me. One day there the next day gone. I am going to have to sell of my wife's Bam Bams because they have not opened, now leaving me with three colonies out of 15 that I had.

As Ed said the Zoas love dirty water and I think that my water is becoming so sterile to make the SPS happy that I pay the price and lose the Zoas. Have never seen anything picking or eating them, they just disappear. Oh one of the great mysteries of a home reef.

Good luck on finding out the problem, but I think as was mentioned, the way to go may be Zoa free.
 
S

Sorcha

Edward771 said:
just have two tanks.
Click to expand...

Oh sure...you've never seen our house! Though we set up a nano for the kids and I was thinking of moving them into that. Lower lighting and it's sure not to be cleaned as often as the main. But that gave Scott a headache thinking of having to keep checking levels in it. May have to keep working on him...

Any chance Bristle Worms are the cause? Seemed to me that the ones on the sand were doing worse than those on the rocks. When I picked them up to move them there were bristle worms all over the undersides. Same with our clam. The Tang managed to catch and eat a couple of them before they got back into the sand...but there must be a ton of them.

Think the general consensus is to leave the bristle worms. But if they're eating the zoos then they're toast.

Zoo Free is not an option at the moment. They're my favs these days. :'(
 
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