Corals - I am ready to throw in the towel!!!

[daniella3d]

There goes the myth about zoanthids being poisoned with palytoxine! lol!

That fish would be dead by now if they were poison.

Maybe you should exile your zoanthids to another tank, build a small frag tank and maybe with time this habbit of eating zoanthids will pass?

Only other thing I could think of is to try to cover the zoanthids with come mesh or protect them with some egg crate cage or something. Not very pretty though.

I would leave nori sheet each day all day.

[Delphinus]

Originally Posted by globaldesigns

Great advice Tony, but I also thought of that. I even took some coral to Red Coral to investigate that maybe I have bugs, critters, crabs, fish that may be eating things. But under the magnifyer, there are no signs of any of the above.

With the SPS issues, you have to be here to see it. When things died it wasn't over a longer period of time. For example a SPS coral I had for over 2 years, just suddenly started losing flesh. I took it to Red Coral, we investigated and fragged what was left. By the time I got home, the frag lost half or more of the remaining flesh, and within an hour in the tank, the rest was gone. This isn't from any fish or critter.

Rick your coral losses are due to RTN, but RTN is a symptom and not a disease in itself, there are many potential causes. It's like saying you have a broken arm, there are an infinite list of potential causes for that, but the end result is the same: your arm hurts.

RTN can most assuredly be caused by stress induced by predation.

When you eliminate the impossible, of whatever remains, regardless of how implausible, the explanation is in there. You think it's implausible that the fish are to blame, for the longest time I held the same view in my tank .. but realistically it cannot be eliminated in either of our tanks. Things don't die for no reason, there is a reason. I'm sorry if you don't like to hear this but I'm calling it like I see it: for the longest time you've had inexplicable losses, now we're getting a glimpse of something that could explain other things that previously thought to have no explanation.

Other SPS, same thing... They start dieing, I would break them off and lightly move them in the water and sheets of flesh would just peal right off. So this is nothing to do with anything eating them.

I still disagree. Once RTN starts it is it's own little beast.

If Dori, only eats the zoas, then I can live without them, as there is no way of catching her, and I won't destroy my tank to do it. I just hope see doesn't develop the taste for the SPS.

You can always a catch a fish, it comes down to techniques you employ if the need is there.

This hobby just SUCKS sometimes!

Yes it does!

Originally Posted by daniella3d

There goes the myth about zoanthids being poisoned with palytoxine! lol!

That fish would be dead by now if they were poison.

What's toxic to one kind of critter (mammals) might not be for another (fish). Fish have evolved alongside zoannthid for millenia, it's entirely possible they have built up immunity or resistance to the palytoxins that other critters might not have.

[daniella3d]

It is entirely possible although just speculation as zoanthids have never been proved to contain palytoxin to date, at least according to Coral Magasine.

The fact that fish eat it and don,t die is another step in that direction, that's all. If palytoxine is that toxic, eating it should not be very good for the fish and I seriously doubt that so many species of fish have adapted to it, especialy that blue hippo are not exactly coral eater in nature. Mine don't toutch any of my coral. Amphipods also eat zoanthids as well as many other fish like the filefish and many angelfish....

Originally Posted by Delphinus

What's toxic to one kind of critter (mammals) might not be for another (fish). Fish have evolved alongside zoannthid for millenia, it's entirely possible they have built up immunity or resistance to the palytoxins that other critters might not have.

[globaldesigns]

Tony, I do have to agree. don't like to, but have to. I guess I can't really say what has caused any of my problems. If it was that easy, then myself with the others wouldn't of had these issues this summer.

Funny thing is that the hippo was sniffing around the zoas yesterday, but wasn't munching on them. He basically ate what he wanted, but doesn't seem to like the others. Maybe he got a tummy ache!

Tony, you still taking the 2 bar? Just keep me posted.

[The Grizz]

I don't think there is an easy answer for many of our issues with our home set-ups. I some times have to use the old saying ' if it's not broken........' but with coral issues we can never be sure what the problem / culprit is. I have a beautiful pick face wrasse that Kien gave me but it is causing issues as well and sadly will be going to a new home in the next week when I catch him. It is just to active and likes to knock things around and cause a rodeo with all the other fish.