Should I dip?

[tebstan]

A polyp on my magician zoas started looking a little odd. There aren't many on the frag so I was pretty concerned. I pulled it out and looked it over pretty good, but found no evidence of parasites.
I put it back in, and a day later it looks worse. :mad:

It looked swollen, and wouldn't close, even when I poked at it. Today it still looks swollen, but the skirt seems to be disappearing and the other polyps have their skirts folded down.

The other zoas near it aren't showing any problems. I have some pricey ones nearby so I want to be proactive and act quickly.

Should I dip? Furan 2 or FW?

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Zoanthids/PossibleZoaPoxB06-03-11.jpg

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Zoanthids/PossibleZoaPoxA06-03-11.jpg

[tebstan]

I went ahead and dipped the magicians, and the two frags closest to it just in case. The others look good, but the one fuzzy magician polyp looks worse.

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Zoanthids/PossiblePoxZoasafterdipA06-04-11.jpg

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Zoanthids/PossiblePoxZoasafterdipB06-04-11.jpg

[Europhyllia]

yikes. that turning white definitely doesn't look good :(

[tebstan]

I'll probably be lopping off the affected polyp tonight :(

[Kristy]

Darn Zoas can be so fickle, sometimes it's just impossible to say what makes them happy or unhappy. Hope they turn around for you soon!

[FireWater]

What did you dip with? I have used the furan2 before and sometimes it would take multiple dips to relieve the problem.

[tebstan]

I used the furan2. I thought about doing additional dips, but I'm not sure how frequently would be safe. Does every 48 hours sound like too much, or too little?

[FireWater]

When I did mine I dipped everyday.

I followed this routine - http://www.zoaid.com/articles004.php

That article is where I learned about Furan2 as well.

[tebstan]

I didn't do the furan2 as concentrated as that article recommended. The instructions on the page still reference capsules... API meds haven't come in capsule form in years, and I don't recall what the old packaging was like. These new powder packets seem to have too much powder in it to be equal to one little pill, so I did one packet in a quart of water. It's pretty green, like nice phyto.

[FireWater]

I really don't remember how much water I used. I used a full packet in a medium sized tupperware container and it was really green. I wasn't real scientific about it but, it did work.
From the pics there looks to be some loose or "shedding" skin as well. Have you tried the peroxide dip as well?

[tebstan]

Have you tried the peroxide dip as well?

I've been afraid to do too much. I have a the bad habit of trying too many 'cures' at once in a panic to fix something. When it gets better, I don't know what fixed it, and if it gets worse I wonder if overkill was the fault.

[FireWater]

I can understand that. I say do the furan2 a couple more times and see if you notice a difference.

I am going to try the peroxide dip on some of my palys in my tank that I am having some algae issues with.

[tebstan]

I did the peroxide thing on some new zoas I got that were covered in weird algae. I didn't want to risk introducing some unknown potentially nuisance algae. One zoa frag responded fine, one zoa frag didn't fare so well. I'm not sure what caused the difference.

Some forms of algae are relatively easy to remove, and some seem to root deeply. If the algae is rooted on with some ferocity, would the peroxide dip do damage?

[FireWater]

I can't help you on that one.

[stoneroller]

Magicians are people eater types. I have had many PEs and eventually all of them have had the same fate as yours. I think there must be a PE syndrome so I have given up on those -- and the pink ones! I wish I knew how to correct the skirt shrinking, head pinching issue. More light, less light, more flow, iodine injection.... Oh well. At first sign of trouble, I always take a turkey baster and blast away to make sure no detritus/algae/irritant is building up.

[tebstan]

Hmm. Interesting. I've had these for a short while, they've been doing good an growing until this suddenly happens. Some polyps look totally unaffected though, so I'm not sure what to think.

The first PE polyps I had, I ended up giving away because they just never seemed happy in my tank. The skirts were always folded down and looked a little nasty. I tried moving them all around for light and flow. I finally gave up after a few months, and they were happy as can be in someone else's tank.

Maybe some irritant from another coral in the tank? I recently added yet another leather...

[stoneroller]

I've always had a leather or two and wondered about that too.

[tebstan]

It still looks awful, but at least there is improvement.

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss9/TebstansTank/Zoanthids/PossibleZoaPox06-13-11.jpg

The skirt is actually regrowing. I'm glad I didn't lop off that whole polyp.