Clean algae from zoa frag

lastlight · #1 12-29-2011, 09:47 PM

I've had two blue polyps clinging to a small piece of rubble for many months now. What started as a colony of 8-10 polyps was over-run with a thinly branching algae that weaves in between the polyps and chokes them over time.

I had the rubble sitting on the sand bed for a few weeks and it was too close to another small colony of 40-50 zoas. That colony now has a few thin green tendrils winding through it!

I have plucked nearly all of it off and it slowly comes back. Is there anything I can dip the rubble in that will kill this algae and not harm the remaining polyps? Thanks!

reefwars · #2 12-29-2011, 09:51 PM

peroxide as far as i know not ure what the ratio is

lastlight · #3 12-29-2011, 09:59 PM

Thanks for the lead. I wouldn't likely try this on anything but zoas. Luckilly only 2 zoa colonies require my attention!

http://www.frozenocean.org/t1710-hai...rogen-peroxide

That guy tried 4:1 saltwater to 3% h. peroxide which is what I'm going to do.

reefwars · #4 12-29-2011, 10:58 PM

i havent tried it yet but i hear good things, i had the same problem in my zoa tank def gets frustrating and pulling it doenst quite work. leave your zoas in the peroxide dip untill the algae fizzess then it should be gone

for good i dont know

Hiab422 · #5 01-01-2012, 11:21 AM

I just dipped 2 of my rocks one with zoa,s and the other with GSP in a solution of 4 parts saltwater to 1 part peroxide for 5 min each zoas opened as soon as they were put back in and the GSP opened back up the next day all the HA gone.I was really amazed at how well it worked.

gregzz4 · #6 01-01-2012, 11:56 AM

Isn't it amazing ...
It's New Years, and we have nothing better to do than play with our critters

Either you're old like my Wife and I, or you are just plain Nuts

Hiab422 · #7 01-01-2012, 12:54 PM

Ya kind of funny isn,t it but if you had no hobby life would be to bloody boring.

Probably old as you haha.

lastlight · #8 01-01-2012, 04:07 PM

I did the 5 min dips on two pieces. Both opened up a few hours after but the algae still appeared healthy. Was lots of fizzing in the dip though. 24 hrs later the algae on one is 100% gone and the broader leafy bits on the other appear semi transparent/dead so will wait another day before I decide to double dip. Will be dipping a larger third colony as well now seems to work great.

With one colony retracted i found a small aiptasia. Dip did nothing to it of course.

2pts · #9 01-01-2012, 07:39 PM

I did this 3 days ago on three pieces with zoas / polyps. I also did some smaller pieces of live rock that was branch like cause I was losing the battle on those 3 rocks due to their shapes being too difficult to trim.

From my exerience here (and I actually knew this going in), it will kill pretty much all on the rocks. I was amazed how many amphipods, bristle worms, and asterina stars were on / within the rocks, it killed them all. It also killed all coraline algae, but I didnt mind as I know my tank will regrow the coraline algae quickly.

I didnt have any aptasia on the rocks to begin with. I don't know what they are called but I did have some of those tiny white tubed feather duster like things on the rocks, it killed them.

1 of the rocks I did, had a small mushroom on it that I didnt notice was there until after the dip. It survived, and is open today.

The zoas / polyps are looking way better now than before I dipped.

All the hair algae either fell off when I rinsed it, or withered to a white hue and died.

Nano · #10 01-01-2012, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefwars

peroxide as far as i know not ure what the ratio is

I used a 1 part peroxide to 3 parts water for when I dipped to revive mine, worked like a charm! I probably only had to dip for 1 1/2 minutes or so