My first zoa rock is a bit lessened

[smaug]

This is the first colony rock I got to start things off reefwise. It was a downhill slide for the zoas on this rock from day one. At first it was due to poor lighting and beginner mistakes,later it was due to I dont know what. The zoas would do ok for awhile then melt away and eventually it all grew to this one small hunk on the point of the rock. It has an encrusting coral hitchhiker of some sort that I like and about a dozen zoas left out of the 50 or more that were on it when we bought it. I decided to remove the last bastion and save it then let the other part of the rock die.Its a shame but the remaining zoas deserve a chance.

[sheamurai]

The Vit C dosing hasn't helped?

[smaug]

Helped keep them alive possibly! on this rock anyway. The other zoas I have are doing awesome.
Here is my other colored zoa colony. They have grown leaps and bounds since the vit c.
zoafrag7.JPG

[sheamurai]

oh! good stuff. I thought you had mentioned in Cliffs post that you were noticing some improvement too, so I was confused for a moment when I read this one...

[smaug]

My palys are doing better with the vits as well.

[Cliff]

Are they getting different lighting than the others ?

By that I'm asking if they are placed higher or lower in the tank than the other zoas or maybe different flow from the others ???

Just a just tho. Up until now my zoas never seamed to do well so I'm the last guy that should be offering advice on them

[smaug]

They are on the same level as the thriving colony. The thing is that they would sprout babys but in a matter of a week they would just close up and stay that way. I think it has something to do with the red mat algae that grows just on this rock. Whatever the case,the barren part of the rock is now outside freezing to death.
This is what it looked like when I got it.
zoa04.JPG
Note that all the visible polyps were healthy and opened on a daily basis at first.

[Cliff]

Well, just another wild guess, but could any of your fish be nipping at the zoas ?

I have read info that some fish, like certain dwarf angles and some tangs, love the taste of the slime coating on the zoas. Through picking off the coating, they stress out the coral to the point of deing.

But like I said, this is just a wild guess on my part

[smaug]

My only culprit would be the emerald crabs but not because they are nipping the poly but simply because of all the time they spend on that rock picking the red algae off. I don't really suspect that. I suspect the rock itself cause all my other polyps are fine