Zoas not opening and covered with algae

[blueworm]

Hey,
i have some zoas that have been very healthy untill this point. Only this colony is affected the rest are fine and doing well. My zoas are covered with redish brownb algae and all of them are no longer opening.

what should i do?

tahnks

[ScubaSteve]

Check to see if anyone nearby is stinging them as that's kind of what it sounds like to me. Is the reddish-brown algae kinda gooey (like cyano)? Keep blasting the "algae" off with a turkey baster or a powerhead and try to remove any nearby stressors. If it persists I have found vitamin C to help recover from this but DO NOT use this until you really understand what you're doing.

PM ZoaElite and see what he has to say.

[dsaundry]

If its red slime{cyano}, you can get red slime algae remover at your lfs,its reef safe. just be sure that is what it is...

[Wayne]

Originally Posted by dsaundry

If its red slime{cyano}, you can get red slime algae remover at your lfs,its reef safe. just be sure that is what it is...

Cool I did not know that! The way that I deal with cyano is by directing flow at the bacteria as already suggested, You also need to get rid of the source, start with water. Do you rinse your frozen foods? Whats your lighting schedual like?

[reefwars]

just take your finger and wipe across the heads you wont get brown algae off with a baster, problem is they have closed and either now have algae on the face or closed and know algae is on the heads.if it was cyano you could blast it off but brown algae is basically the film algae on your glass and youll need to wipe it away gently.problem could be many but i would guess phosphates and direct light which is prime breeding grounds for algae.if your zoas are still small and not grown in or on you can move them to somewhere where light isnt as intense.either way you wont be rid of it untill you control your phosphates and thats also assuming your nitrates are very low or nil.

its a problem alot of people face with zoas and the answer is not getting the algae off its keeping it off the more you ignore the phosphates the more it grows back once it stops they will open again in no time.if they were dead the mat would quickly melt away or they would float off and melt.

[blueworm]

ok so ihave added phosguard to my tank and wiped off the algae i hope for a quick and effortless recovery

thanks

[fishytime]

ooooo.......phosguard bad......it contains aluminum which can irritate a lot of corals.....a GFO based phosphate media is a much better choice.....I would also steer you away from the red slime remover......you need to think about whats causing the issue, not band-aid it with a chemical....