coral in trouble

[Shipley18]

hey i have a rock with some green zooanthids on it and i just did a partial water change today and now they are all curled up like they are gonna die....could this be from sand getting on them? or what else is it i dont have all the testing kits soi am clueless

 

[KahluaZzZ]

zoanthids can close when they are new in a system, so don't panic.
You should get a decent ph test, alkalinity, nitrite, nitrate, ammonia and calcium tests kits. Those are the most common params to check with temp and salinity.

 

[KahluaZzZ]

you know zoanthids are closed during the night too

 

[Shipley18]

ya i do but its not night its day fo rthem

 

[Shipley18]

they are big white things in the center of them like sand grain pushed together

 

[jammerz]

did you mix yer salt well?

 

[Shipley18]

i thought i did but there was some sand in the bottom of the bucket so i couldn't tell too well...coudl that be it?

 

[jammerz]

I've heard that if you dont mix yer salt well, and grains of salt land on corals that it can burn/fry them. If it is i dont know what to do? But that was just the first thing that came to mind when you said water change , white grain in yer zoos, and they were shrivling up......good luck

*BOUNCINGS *BOUNCINGS

 

[1979camaro]

usually when i do a water change my zoanthids and other corals close up...i wouldn't be too worried about it

 

[Shipley18]

but I love them lol and they look like they are in pain!

 

[aresgod]

its pretty normal for everything to close up during water changes...everything in my tank does it

 

[KahluaZzZ]

i think i can say we all do feel your pain.
Yep, better mix your salt well before. Could be a burn. If it is, you can use a turkey baster or seringe to spray gently over the zoanthids.

 

[Shipley18]

Ahhh what does burning do to the coral?

 

[KahluaZzZ]

well..burns. Try to remove the salt with a spray of water. Zoanthids are hardy. Had some very wounded when i bought them..fine right now

 

[1979camaro]

yah, zoos are about the third most difficult thing to kill behind xenia and mushrooms so i wouldn't be too concerned about it. like kahluazzz said, you might try using a turkey baster to blow the whit stuff off

 

[Shipley18]

well sad to say i dotn have a turkey baster but i used my hand to "blow" the salt stuff off and they still look crummy....but i will give them time.

 

[KahluaZzZ]

if you see a dollar store..can find baster there. Useful when you wanna feed too

 

[Shipley18]

well they are still all scrunched up.,..any tiem frame on when they wont be?

 

[1979camaro]

not really...all you can do is wait it out. could take a week or more. they are very tough little guys so even if it takes them a good long time to open up they will likely be just fine

 

[Shipley18]

well one opened up today and looked alittle limp