Zoa Path Dis F

FAQs about Zoanthid Pathogenic Disease (Infectious, Parasitic, Viral)

FAQs on Zoanthid Disease: Zoanthid Health, Pests, Predator 1, Zoanthid Health, Pests Predators 2, Zoanthid Health, Pests, Predators 3, Zoanthid Hlth., Pests, Pred.s 4, Zoanthid Hlth., Pests, Pred.s 5, Zoanthid Hlth., Pests, Pred.s 6, Zoanthid Hlth., Pests, Pred.s 7,
FAQs on Zoanthid Disease by Category: Diagnosis, Environmental,
(Pollution/Poisoning, Lighting...), Nutritional, Social (Allelopathy), Trauma, Predatory/Pest, Treatments
& Zoanthid Reproduction/Propagation,

Related Articles: Zoanthids, Sea Mat: An Ocean Of Color For The Aquarium by Blane Perun,

Is there a Zoa/Coral Expert in the House?/Zoanthid Hlth., Compatibility 3/17/2011
<Hello Victor>
I suspect there is someone with extensive experience and knowledge of Zoanthid diseases and pests who can help me... and I need help! I have what appears to be some sort of fungal or bacterial ailment affecting several species of Zoanthids in my tank. I've done everything I can to iron out the well-known, well-documented diseases and pests. So far I have zero signs of spiders, Zoa pox (large distinct raised white spots), Nudibranchs after months of looking for them.
The behavior I have seen has spread between colonies, usually adjacent (but not always). Some Zoas across the tank or even on the same rock are open and happy, while others are miserable and haven't opened in weeks or have shrunk to be almost invisible. It is almost always the same set of symptoms.
These are:
- Bulging center disc/mouth
- Discoloration/matte/yellowish coloration
- Shrinking in size over time (some of mine have shrunk from normal size to just a few millimeters wide and are very pale/colorless, but have survived in that state for many months)
- Staying closed most of the time, rarely opening
- Recently I have also seen a couple of odd things, such as some filamentous-looking material (fuzz-like, but not cotton-like) on some ailing polyps
- Odd, long red strands, do not appear to be algae, coming off of/growing around Zoas, and even coming out of the mouth a couple times - Infrequently on affected Zoas (noticeable when closed) what almost looks like the Zoas skin sloughing off in a few places, flapping in the current
My tank has been up and running for about a year and a half. I take the stewardship of the tank very seriously and all my water chemistry is stable and within range, with 15% PWC weekly. These are not being stung by anything that I know of. I've ruled out every commonly identified ailment and am at a loss here.
If it is something that can be fought back with dips, what would you suggest? These Zoas are all attached firmly to and grown all over a medium sized rock so I would have to remove the entire piece from the tank and (ensuring that there are no snails or other critters hiding inside) dip the whole thing at once in matched pH/temp freshwater, possibly with iodine.
Would this help? Would it kill off enough animals in the rockwork to spike ammonia or otherwise cause issue in the tank? If I do dip the whole rock, is iodine a bad idea (since it will likely get stuck in the rock and brought into the tank? If it looks like a bacterial issue, shall I try dipping with Furazolidone?
I know that's a lot of information and I probably sound like an aquarium hypochondriac, but this is extremely frustrating and I don't want the animals to suffer. Attached are a few photos that sort of illustrate what I'm seeing.
<Victor, please provide us a list of other corals you have in this system.
I have a strong feeling that allelopathy may be playing a role here. James (Salty Dog)>

Re Is there a Zoa/Coral Expert in the House?/Zoanthid Compatibility 3/17/2011 - 3/18/2011
Hi James, thanks for the reply.
<You're welcome.>
The other corals in the tank include...
Zoanthus sp (Various)
Cyphastrea japonica
Cyphastrea occelina
Seriatopora guttatus
Seriatopora hystrix
Pocillopora sp (green)
Pocillopora sp (pink)
Acropora sp (green, wild)
Acropora millepora "Palmer's"
Acropora sp "Lokani 20k"
Acropora sp (blue Staghorn)
Acropora sp (red planet)
Montipora capricornis (red)
Montipora capricornis (green, purple edges)
Montipora palawanensis (apple berry)
Montipora danae (Sunset)
Montipora danae (Superman)
Favia sp (Christmas)
Dendrophyllia sp
Clavularia sp (Papaya)
Clavularia sp (tiny purplish cloves)
Clavularia viridis
Sarcophyton ehrenbergi (neon green toadstool)
Duncanopsammia axifuga
Acanthastrea sp (two types)
Lobophyllia sp
Ricordea florida
Actinodiscus sp "superman"
Euphyllia divisa
<Likely your worst customer here. Euphyllias can form long and very powerful sweeper tentacles and very few corals survive an attack by members of this genus.>
Blastomussa merleti
(Boy that's a lot now that I had to list them out)
<Is quite a few.>
Honestly I would rule out allelopathic causes. The reasoning is that I'm using a small amount of carbon,
<Carbon is not a complete cure all for allelopathy. I know of a couple of instances where aquarists who use Chemipure on a regular basis and have introduced Mushroom Anemones into their system which eventually wiped out their entire Zoanthid colonies and Torch Corals within a matter of weeks.
Coral compatibility is just as important as compatibility among fish.>
and the Sarcophyton is only the size of a quarter. Furthermore it has been in the tank for over a year and this is a more recent development. The Actinodiscus specimen is new, the size of a dime, and all of these issues predate the introduction of it into the tank.
<Like most Corallimorphs, the Actinodiscus have developed effective chemical defense systems and can cause significant passive destruction to nearby corals. Most corals will not be able to settle in/live near these corals regardless of their size.>
A bit more information that may or may not help. I've experienced a recent Bryozoan bloom in the nooks and crannies of my rock work; small root-like organisms that seem to be flourishing. But more significant than that is an apparent mat of fungus, bacteria, chrysophytes, or a saprophytic alga.
It's a thin translucent colorless fuzzy film over much of the rockwork that does not look anything like green hair algae, red slime, etc, and is also found on and around the affected polyps (but not on any of my other corals). I am very confused!
<I suggest reading here and related files found in the headers.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/corldisart.html
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/zoanthidcompfaqs.htm
I'd also like to suggest getting yourself a copy of Aquarium Corals by Eric Borneman, likely one of the best references on coral care, health, and disease that I have come across.>
I forgot one coral, an Acropora yongei (green slimer).
In the pictures from my first email you can see the aforementioned film/fuzz in a few places, but I didn't photograph it specifically. I'll see if I can get some shots tonight.
<Won't be necessary. Since you mention nothing of your tank size, lighting, filtration methods, etc,
I will assume you are using an efficient protein skimmer which can help reduce allelopathic compounds
along with using more than "a small amount" of carbon and/or chemical media such as Chemipure.
I also suggest dosing iodine/dide. I feel much of your problem is a combination of stress related necrosis and allelopathy. Do concentrate on improving water quality, good test results are not necessarily indicative of good water quality. I will ask Bob for his input here as well. James (Salty Dog)><<Nada mas>>

Fungus on Palythoa... Dipping madness 4/16/10
Hi
My pink Palythoa colony has fungus on it,
<Really? Unusual>
I bought it 3 weeks ago dipped it in Lugol's then FW rinse.
<Straight Lugol's?!>
They opened up after a day or so. They were quite healthy till I found fungus growing over polyp, <Actually fungus here is exceedingly rare...>
other polyps were open. I did a 10% H2O2 dip in DT water for 5 minutes. The colony opened up in like 2-3 hours & fungus was gone. After a day I noticed a larger breakout of fungus(on 3-4 polyps) this time I did a 15 % H2O2 dip for 5 minutes. Now I still see some strands of fungus on some polyps, other polyps've opened. Should I repeat the dip again ?For how long ? & What concentration?
Parameters are
NH3=0
NO2=0
NO3=5ppm
Temp=85C
Sg=1.256
<No>
No other inhabitant.20G with 35 lbs LR 5 month old tank.2x20 W CFL & 2x20 W T4 Actinic. I tried changing position of colony from lower to higher flow.
<Where are the spaces between your sentences? I would stop dipping here and start looking into root cause/s... water quality, allelopathy... read here re: http://wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompppt.htm
and the linked files above in this ppt. series... Oh and do send along some well-resolved images when you can. Bob Fenner>

Zoanthus infection? Hello all. The help I have received from your site goes without saying. I have been keeping reef tanks for 3.5 years and my system now comprises ~250 gallons in a 90g, 2x110g stock tubs, and a frag tank, all plumbed inline. The 90g has 2x250w 10k halides, and each shallow tub has one 250w halide at least 2ft from the water. After much trial, this year I have finally succeeded in growing Acroporids, utilizing nightly Kalk drips and various phyto and zooplankton. Just as an aside, I acquired a small cuttlefish a week ago and he is probably the coolest thing ever. Anyway, I am trying to keep my cool, but I am afraid I will lose it if I cannot remedy the situation plaguing my Zoanthids. My coral collection has always relied heavily on zoos, and I have over 50 different colors, with some that are quite exquisite. About three weeks ago, one of my oldest colonies (a 6x5" rock covered in solid emerald, with a white commensal sponge covering the base of the polyps) <Perhaps not quite so commensal> began to close up at the edge of the rock. In less than a day the closed polyps were shriveled and discolored, and if touched released a mushy brown substance. <Not good...> At first I assumed the polyps had grown under a shaded area of the rock and become necrotic. However, after removing all of the dead ones and even some of the yet healthy ones from the borderline, the rest of the colony still succumbed. Interestingly, a small group of differently colored polyps on the same rock was all that survived. And so it has gone in this fashion; A particular color on a particular rock will close overnight and each polyp literally becomes a small sack of crap. I have already lost 5 or 6 full colonies in the past week. I have experienced white cheese beggiatoa infections upon receipt of mail order shipments, but even these often leave at least some of the colony alive if iodine dipped and kept well circulated. With what I have, the colony can be at any position in any tank and once one polyp closes, the disease quickly overtakes any polyps attached by basal filaments (same color situation). For ~1-2 months prior to the first occurrence, the tank was somewhat under skimmed and inadequately supplemented with iodine (because I am lazy and also I had been putting off the purchase of a $20 bottle of Lugol's from the LFS, this is where you smack me). I have already totally cleaned and reworked the skimmer and I have began dropping iodine again, although I have yet to see any improvement. Perhaps related is that two small maxima clams that I have had for some months are doing very lame, they barely extend their mantle at all. Granted they have been this way for weeks and seem otherwise healthy (or should I say not dead). I believe the second clam I purchased introduced some sort of disease, as the first clam was healthy prior to the second clam's intro. This seems like an obvious lack of quarantine, but I don't believe I can say the same for the zoos, as the first sign of disease was in a 2 year old thriving colony. I simply don't know what to do now short of turning most of my colonies into lovely pieces of plain live rock with a razor blade. This really peeves me because I am building a greenhouse next year and I intended to focus mainly on zoo propagation. Sure I can always do it, but to lose all these colors I have would crush me. Anthony's book has been invaluable, and I hope to eventually be one of Texas' aquaculture leaders. That's right, Texas :) One last question, when moving my halide lit corals to a naturally lit facility, what sort of acclimation procedures do I need to follow? <I would add some suspended light for the first few weeks> I have only seen literature pertaining to the reverse of this situation. Thanks again, hopefully all is not lost. Hunter Leber, Austin TX <Can't tell what the root cause/s is/are here, but definitely know what I would do... move a good many of your Zoanthid colonies to another system, running them through a diluted seawater and iodine/ide bath enroute... whatever the problem here... infectious or parasitic disease, water quality, nutrient imbalance, allelopathy... it can best be dealt with by "dividing and conquering" and not losing your stock. Do set up separate system/s... and move your healthy cnidarians with as little of the rock in the present system/s as practical. Bob Fenner>

Zoanthus infection? <<Anthony's input>> 4/27/05 Hello all. The help I have received from your site goes without saying. I have been keeping reef tanks for 3.5 years and my system now comprises ~250 gallons in a 90g, 2x110g stock tubs, and a frag tank, all plumbed inline. The 90g has 2x250w 10k halides, and each shallow tub has one 250w halide at least 2ft from the water. After much trial, this year I have finally succeeded in growing Acroporids, utilizing nightly Kalk drips and various phyto and zooplankton. Just as an aside, I acquired a small cuttlefish a week ago and he is probably the coolest thing ever. <<yikes! Its a fab creature but wholly worthy if not in need of a species tank. I do hope this creature has not been thrown in a community tank ;)>> Anyway, I am trying to keep my cool, but I am afraid I will lose it if I cannot remedy the situation plaguing my Zoanthids. My coral collection has always relied heavily on zoos, and I have over 50 different colors, with some that are quite exquisite. About three weeks ago, one of my oldest colonies (a 6x5" rock covered in solid emerald, with a white commensal sponge covering the base of the polyps) <Perhaps not quite so commensal> <<Agreed... so often they can be parasitic, and even when not so: they are often more noxious than many corals. Winners in a fight (chemical)>> began to close up at the edge of the rock. In less than a day the closed polyps were shriveled and discolored, and if touched released a mushy brown substance. <Not good...> At first I assumed the polyps had grown under a shaded area of the rock and become necrotic. <<This is not ever really likely... more than a few reasons>> However, after removing all of the dead ones and even some of the yet healthy ones from the borderline, the rest of the colony still succumbed. Interestingly, a small group of differently colored polyps on the same rock was all that survived. And so it has gone in this fashion; A particular color on a particular rock will close overnight and each polyp literally becomes a small sack of crap. I have already lost 5 or 6 full colonies in the past week. I have experienced white cheese beggiatoa infections upon receipt of mail order shipments, but even these often leave at least some of the colony alive if iodine dipped and kept well circulated. <<I'm guessing/hoping you QT all new specimens for several weeks (4+ ideally) before adding them to your display? To reduce the chance of infections, pests, predators>> With what I have, the colony can be at any position in any tank and once one polyp closes, the disease quickly overtakes any polyps attached by basal filaments (same color situation). For ~1-2 months prior to the first occurrence, the tank was somewhat under skimmed and inadequately supplemented with iodine (because I am lazy and also I had been putting off the purchase of a $20 bottle of Lugol's from the LFS, this is where you smack me). I have already totally cleaned and reworked the skimmer and I have began dropping iodine again, although I have yet to see any improvement. <Iodine is mildly helpful at best in such cases. I use and recommend it in general... but not as a medicant>> Perhaps related is that two small maxima clams that I have had for some months are doing very lame, they barely extend their mantle at all. <<I would not say because of the clams, but rather that there may be a pervasive problem in the tank affecting all. When in doubt, do a water change. Especially if/since your skimming has been weak. I'm hoping you compensated instead with larger water changes (weekly instead of monthly ideally)>> Granted they have been this way for weeks and seem otherwise healthy (or should I say not dead). I believe the second clam I purchased introduced some sort of disease, as the first clam was healthy prior to the second clam's intro. This seems like an obvious lack of quarantine, <Ughhhh... you may be learning a very hard and expensive lesson at the expense of other animals lives here>> but I don't believe I can say the same for the zoos, as the first sign of disease was in a 2 year old thriving colony. <<Actually... anything else added to the tank (snails, fish, LR... anything wet) could simply have brought the infection in for having been kept in merchant's central systems and then bypassing a proper home QT>> I simply don't know what to do now short of turning most of my colonies into lovely pieces of plain live rock with a razor blade. This really peeves me because I am building a greenhouse next year and I intended to focus mainly on zoo propagation. <<If you neglect QT you will almost certainly suffer challenges and excessive losses my friend. PLEASE do not underestimate the need to QT everything(!) for 4-8 weeks without exception>> Sure I can always do it, but to lose all these colors I have would crush me. Anthony's book has been invaluable, and I hope to eventually be one of Texas' aquaculture leaders. That's right, Texas :) One last question, when moving my halide lit corals to a naturally lit facility, what sort of acclimation procedures do I need to follow? <I would add some suspended light for the first few weeks> <<And do learn to use and obey a PAR meter. If you need a suggestion, do look into Apogee brand PAR meters (Google search)>> I have only seen literature pertaining to the reverse of this situation. Thanks again, hopefully all is not lost. Hunter Leber, Austin TX <Can't tell what the root cause/s is/are here, but definitely know what I would do... move a good many of your Zoanthid colonies to another system, running them through a diluted seawater and iodine/ide bath enroute... whatever the problem here... infectious or parasitic disease, water quality, nutrient imbalance, allelopathy... it can best be dealt with by "dividing and conquering" and not losing your stock. Do set up separate system/s... and move your healthy cnidarians with as little of the rock in the present system/s as practical. Bob Fenner> <<Agreed again/of course. Remove the afflicted to an isolation tank and do frequent/large water changes. Maintain high water quality (yes... iodine will indirectly help here, boosting RedOx). And exactly as Bob has said/suggested... "divide and conquer". Cut out small amounts of good tissue and separate/sacrifice (if needed0 the rest. Best of luck! Anthony>>

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