Zoos Disappearing...

[Sherri]

All of a sudden, I have disappearing zoos...I bought 5 rocks from FA's earlier this week, bought some Kent Lugol's Solution to dip them in...the next morning, 2 of the larger rocks had not one zoo left on it and the 3 smaller rocks are OK...but I'm noticing my beautiful green's with orange centers are disappearing now along with some of my other colors...there are bare spots on the rock they are on. I have tried to find the Seachem Reef Dip, but can't. This Lugol's was suggested...

Any suggestions or imput?

Thanks...I've never had a prob with my zoos before. :(

[MikeyBoy]

Funny you mention, I will be tagging along....I noticed one single rock that used to have quite a few zoos and not its almost baren.
I too took the rock out and dipped it in Tech D and Lugols.

All other zoo rocks seem fine.....

MP

[CD]

You wouldn't happen to have a rabbitfish, would you? I caught ours dining on zoas before (ripping them off the rock with intense enjoyment). Initially, it was just one rock of neon greens...now I think he's gotten a taste for my prized firecracker zoas. <_<

W.

[::pete::]

Aquatic warehouse and Alamo has SeaChem.

I have never used Lugols and dont have a problem with Zoos disappearing!!

[jaded]

I figured out my problem with missing zoos after I lost roughly 50% from a very large colony. Mine were jumping because the colony had outgrown the rock. I now have 6 or 7 small colonies starting from low flow areas. I found several polyps floating around that I put in the fuge... they are also establishing well

Might not be the same thing, but it's one theory.

[::pete::]

Might not be the same thing, but it's one theory.


They are probably in the skimmer!!! :P

[Sherri]

Wendy, no I don't have a Rabbitfish...

Pete....thanks, I'll be going tomorrow to get some. I have never dipped :blush my zoos in 3 yrs and never had a prob till now. The first time I do & they've disappeared from the rock I dipped. Directions on the Lugol's said 40 drops to a gallon of tank water in a separate bucket for 10-15 minutes. Next morning they were gone on the 2 bigger rocks, yet the 3 smaller rocks are fine??!?! My green & orange I've had for at least a yr and was covered...Now there are bare spots in the middle of the rock. Dunno....

Weird, but zoos are something I've never had a prob with....

[::pete::]

Both are iodine ... yes?


Zoo Dip
I take no credit for this, it's really no big deal to do. All of the items used are most likely underneath your cabinet already. I have performed this for years on hundreds, yes, hundreds of zoos and it has worked every single time. No I'm not being cocky or anything like that, this really and truly works as many RC members have PM'd me directly saying so. No I'm not looking for a that-a-boy or anything, I just see that a lot of reefers have ask about it so I thought I would post it in its own thread.

Each and every zoo that goes into my tank, healthy or not, gets a dip. This dip has worked for most every ailments my zoos have had. Some will require a bit of surgery and in some rare cases where I have received a colony with a very nasty fungus, I have deviated slighlty and placed several drops of Lugols Iodine directly onto the infected colony after a bit of surgery. I see that a lot of people are dealing with the whitish, opaque to yellowish fungus or some sort on your colonies. For some reason this happens alot during shipment and I'm sure a lot of you will concur. The key to saving a colony with this issue is to act immediately. You must remove all of the fungus with tweezers outside of your tank. Now using a very sharp razor blade, cut down and around the entire area that was affected. If you have a large rock and you want to be sure that you have irradicated the problem, remove 2 or 3 rows of good zoos around the area that was infected. Rinse the colony well with tank water using a turkey baster or the like, still outside of your reef, now perform the dip with the dipping brew below. I sent it to someone last week so i just copied and pasted it below.

"Here's the dipping brew that I have used and most people on RC are using it now as well. If it is performed as soon as you see the signs in the proper manner, success is always attained.

1. Using a 5 gallon white bucket, add 3 gallons of RO water.
2. Now add 1 or 2 drops of Lugol's Iodine per gallon of RO water.( In a later post he said that he now uses 5 drops per gallon )
3. Set your PH to 8.2
4. Set your water temp. at 78 degrees
5. If you have some Flatworm exit made my Saliferts, add
2 drops per gallon to the RO water to kill any Flatworms

Place the colony in the white bucket right side up. Leaving it there for about 5 minutes. Then grab the rock and invert it and place it in the water 3 inches below the water surface. Now twist the rock as fast as you can in a clockwise and counterclockwise motion for at least a minute. While the rock was sitting still in the RO water, it was killing off all bristle worms, Nudibranchs, flatworms and parasites. It will not kill off any Nudibranch eggs so you will have to inspect the rock for what looks like a tiny white 1/8 of and inch curly white piece of thread. They won't detach from the rock as the sack is very sticky. Inside this egg sack is up to 40 or so eggs just waiting to hatch. If you see one, just remove it with tweezers before placing the rock back into your reef. By the way, once you have finished twisting the rock in the water for a full minute, pull it out the water and dunk it back into the water a few times, splashing and swooshing is good, it dislodges anything that didn't fall off in the twisting motion. You are going to kill off a few copepds as well, but this is ok, as you have tons more already in your reef tank and your sump/fug. The dip will not kill your zoos, trust me, if you do exactly as stated above, you will be fine. If your colony is in declined and has been for some time, it may be too late to save them, but if you always do a dip on the first or second day of the problem, I have had a 99 % success rate at saving my own. I don't care what anyone else says, I know what has and will always work for the above issues. Zoos are all I know and I truly like to help out if and when I can.

Oh, I forgot, once you place the colony back into your reef, make sure they receive some current as they will be a little stressed and might slim a little, but that's ok, they will be fine. Your zoos will open in minutes.Always, ....always run your actinics only for the rest of that day. Actinics will encourage them to open. Try not to introduce any food into the system as well until the following day. On the following day, go back to your normal photoperiod. As I said, the zoos will be a little stressed and your 10 or 12k lighting will only try to encourage them to fully expand when they really don't want to right now because of what they have just experienced. I believe the bright lighting after a dip has and will discourage them from opening as soon. Trust me, you will not kill them my friend."


It would be great if any of you who have tried this would post your results below. I know of several who have emailed or Pm'd me, but I prefer that you mention your experience with the above dip.

Safe reefing everyone

Mucho

PS, I chose Lugols for its medicinal/antiseptic properties. Please remember to wear reef safe gloves. The white bucket will allow you to see everything that you have just killed off. Two drops of Lugols will not hurt or harm the zoos. I use two drops most of the time myself. Best of luck to all of you.

[Sherri]

Wow...Pete - I must have missed thst post. Well, I have the Lugol's already, so I will use it. My only prob, is one of my rocks has a large Monti cap attached to the side of the rock.

Thanks soooo much Pete....I'm gonna print it and keep it! :)

[::pete::]

Wow...Pete - I must have missed thst post.


It was on RC ;)

[Sherri]

Will post my results.... :) thanks again.

[demodiki]

I have been having some troubles (troubles...bad troubles) with everyone of my zoo colonies. I have done the iodine dips without effect....freshwater dips you say?

[Sherri]

Did my dips last night right before lights out...we'll see...the bucket had a lot of nasties in it. The lights are just really coming on this morning, but so far, so good. About mid day, we'll see if they all reopen. It's about 25% now.

I have s medium size rock that is wedged (growth wise) with a Monti Cap up against the back of it that has some beautiful hot pinks zoos left on the outside of the rock...took all that was in the center. I can't get the rock out & I can tell these are still affected. Any suggestions?

[aquadoc]

It is amazing what you find in the bottom of the bucket when you dip corals. Alot of crazy stuff.

[Sherri]

UPDATE: All zoos are fine and mostly open...all small rocks are open - large rock with orange & green zoos that were disappearing & partly closed are about 3/4 open & doing great. It was the first rock I dipped & got a bunch of debris off it...I know I've had it over a year.

Thanks again Pete...I would recommend that recipe to anyone. Lost nothing & everything looks happy or getting there... Lesson learned...dip everything going in. :)