Zoas Disappearing?????

P

pwee_1

Ya so I have had this rock with "blues clues" (Zoas) on it and for the first I would say three weeks - month they weren't really opening up. Then lately they look to be doing much better actually opening and looking good. Then I notice lots are missing.... then couple days more missing...... now I can't tell if I still loosing couple a day or it's stopped.

I noticed my chocolate tip starfish on them about twice now and have pulled him off and moved him the zoa's at that time were still there.

Do starfish, Green searpent star, or pincushions eat corals???
 
maybe
1. chocolate tip starfish
2. nudibranch
3. parasitic amphipods that eat zoa's

tough to say, could dip them in iodine/freshwater/flatworm exit dip for 2/3... for 1, remove the starfish

might be a 4 or 5, i'm not "in the know" on zoa's =/
 
I dipped it in the fist two weeks or so because they weren't opening....The only thing I got from it was some bristle stars.

So your saying that YES? the starfish will eat them?

how about the green serpant star
 
bristle or serpent? both "should" be fune... though some green bristles have been known to kill fish... i doubt the'd eat a zoa... but who knows
 
Dude,

Chocalate Chip Starfish are not considered "reef safe". They will eat a variety of soft corals among other thing's. I would suggest re-dipping the zoa's, if there were critters on them, then they most likely laid eggs that could have hatched since then. Dip them every 7-10 day's for a few weeks and that will rid them of residual's. :D

Cheers,
 
Dont forget about zoo spiders those things are kindof hard to spot and a zoo killers. As well as sundial snails those things will eliminate zoos at a pretty good rate also.
 
Starfish for sure...would do it. Pin cushion might scrape them off in search of algae too though.

As far as predators of the zoas themselves....

Totally disappearing... fish or worm or some other animal such as crowies, asterinas, predatory startfish like the Choc or red ones etc. Emeralds or crabs will typically eat the skirts first, then move to the polyps. This looks like a flower missing its petals.

White, sickly, closed then wasting away.. nudi's, sundial snails, spiders. The damage looks different for each of these... nudis will eat/suck the polyp, it will close and get tight looking first.. then discolor and eventually be gone. Sundials suck the juice out, so you'll see transparency first then they will dissolve. Spiders will tear apart the polyps tops first, then eat the base.

Zoas that close up for a period of days etc can be a sign of predation or irritation due to little bristle stars in the colony, speghetti worms, worms that spread webs, downwind from softies like shrooms etc. These would be indicated by otherwise healthy looking polyps.

Sickly looking or disfigured, stretched, pinched or bloated polyps or discolored ones could be fungus, bacteria etc....

Any polyps with white or brown/beige spots would be zoapox.

Everything above has a different treatment or way to resolve, some are similar or using the same products etc but you have to identify the problem first.
 
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