Green Star Zoa's mat fading?

T

trybry5

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Oct 15, 2003
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Hi All,

It's been awhile.

I've purchased several frags last week and had a question for the group.

My Green Star Zoa's have a white-ish blue fade, in an area where the Polyps have not opened yet. The fade was not there when I received the frag.

This frag has 20 to 30 open polyps and about 10 to 15 that have not opened yet.

Is this some sort of disease or is that a section that is dying?

I am including a pic with the healthy side, the not so healthy side and the day 1 photo of the frag.

Thanks

green star polyps fade crop.jpg Newbie Green Star Polyps IMG_0465.jpg
 
Fixed the title for you... :)

Can you describe the whitish-blue patch a little... Is it kind of furry looking? It could be a type of sponge, but it's hard to tell from the pic.

Green star polyps are tough, and can go many days without opening and be fine. You may want to increase the flow a little where they are, or relocate them to an area with a little more flow. If you think the whitish-blue patch is causing them to stay closed, you can use a soft bristle toothbrush and very gently try to clean off that patch. I'd suggest doing so outside the tank, in a small container with some tank water in it.

The bumblebee snail moving across them will encourage them to stay closed as well, but that should only be a temporary cause for them to be closed.

FWIW, green star polyps are technically not a type of zoa. They belong to a separate genus. No worries, there's so many corals and so many names... We'll all mislabel our share by the time we're done with this hobby.
 
Thanks,

Yes it is spongy, but more like a bleach stain with an ultra violet whitish blue hue. The foam or fuzz is very low almost like it part of the Mat.

I also noticed today. 2 very fine purple strands going across the whitish blue area too.

I originally placed them, in a spot with too much flow. Only 2 or 3 opened and where bent over a bit. So I moved them to a low flow area.

Mr. Bumble Bee (shrimp and snail) have long since gone. I have close to 30 open polyps, with only 10 to 15 closed. It's like half of the frag opened and the other half did not.

Some of the Mat is crumbling off, but has maintained it's purple hue. but some of the polyps in that off colored area stolons are shriveling from the bottom up too.

So you say, toothbrush the area?

Sorry I could not get a better pic, my camera is too complicated for it's owner.

Hi flow Green Stars IMG_0460.jpg
 
Mine actually acquired something similar years ago. It starts a puffy white deposits and eventually kills portions of the colony. The white may be some sort of bacteria, fungus, or protozoan that is infecting the colony. To be honest, I lost a good portion until finally it just went away on its own. I did continually blast it away and gently scrub it with a soft bristled toothbrush. Sometimes, the white doesn't appear, but you just get a general failure to thrive, while the mat crumbles and dies. Not really sure what causes any of it, honestly, but I've seen it enough times to recognize it.
 
So,

No dipping?
I don't have lu's or Iodine, dipping solutions.
How about High Calc, Mag or Freshwater dipping the affected area.

I saw a new spot in the heart of the colony.
So that may be the end.

But, I would welcome suggestions, on what to dip it in? Since, it's a East (25 polyps open) West (0 polyps open). clean split situation.

They weren't my 1st pick, so might not replace them. if I lose this battle with an unknown enemy.

But I do hate losing any aquatic life.

Thanks
 
Sorry :(. I do wish I knew a bit more about the condition to recommend something better. Hopefully someone else who has experienced the situation will be able to suggest a cure. You could use a dip, but be careful with some of the iodine/ide/ate based dips. Maybe one of the newer ones, like Revive, etc. may be more tolerable.
 
Ok,

The toothbrush awaits. til a better solution is found.

I won't gently scrub the new center of the East Polyps spot, just the closed West spotted area.

Hopefully it won't continue to spread

Thanks
 
Have you tested for nitrates/trites and ammonia? I've only been doing this a little over a year, but I've got a buttload of easy coral. The only time I ever had anything not do well was when my water chemistry was off. Also, what's your salinity?
 
Thanks,

Yes weekly,

Ammonia - 0.00
Both Nitr's, - 0.00 for over a month now.
Calcium - 400 to 420
Sal - 1.22 steady
Ph - 8.2
Phos - 0.00
KH - 80 to 120 (closer to the high side)

Alk good depending on how you measure (so many ways)

My Radioactive and Dragon Eye Zoa's aren't suffering.

No other tank mates stressed, snail eggs everywhere and new larva bloom last night.

It's a well established tank with just a clean-up crew. waiting for a Gold Watchman Goby and maybe a Matted Filefish.

No algae blooms, plenty of Copedpods and Amiphpods reproducing regularly.
Nit's so low for so long, Macro Algae has slow grow rate too.

The spot has stopped growing and the rest of the Green Stars Polyps are doing fine.
Just the spot were the Polyps have never opened.
 
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