Zoas folding over

[Austin1110]

Hey guys. I’m new to reef aquariums. I’ve had freshwater aquariums since I was a kid. I got my first zoa frag and I’ve noticed that one of my polyps has folder over itself. Is this a sign of something that is causing it discomfort? My chemistry seems to be fine and my salinity is perfect. My water temp is 76-78 degrees. I’ve noticed that they open during the day and close at night. I assume this is normal behavior. Only one of my polyps is doing this. The rest seem perfectly happy. Thanks for any advice.

 

[Ron Reefman]

First, welcome to R2R!

I don't think you have anything to worry about. But a photo of the frag with the folded zoa might help.
Corals are like people, they come in all sizes and shapes and they can suffer some of the same 'issues'. It could be that one polyp is injured or has had some kind of trauma before you got it. And IMHO it's likely to recover in time. Just leave it alone and keep an eye on it if you want. A key rule in this hobby is: Nothing good happens quickly in a reef aquarium!

Zoas are quite hardy corals. I glued up a small frag the other day and set it in a holder to dry for a minute. I forgot about it until my wife asked me about it about 90 minutes later! I put it in the tank and the next morning they opened up like nothing ever happened!

 

[Austin1110]

Thank you for your help Ron. It was just concerning since he seemed happy before. My lights aren’t fancy, just white LEDs that came in the tank hood. I thought maybe I bleached him? As far as I can tell the other polyps seem happy.
Also I plan to upgrade my lighting. I notice my zoas aren’t as pretty under white.

 

[Austin1110]

I’m hoping that they will propagate over my rocks in time. I’m planning to add another zoa frag or maybe a favia. I’m just trying to take it slow and let my zoas flourish in the mean time.

 

[Terry Mattson]

Let's learn more about your tank set up and chemistry. Temperature 78 to 79 would be better.

What are your parameters?
Specific Gravity
Calcium
DKH
Phosphate
Magnesium
PH

Size of tank, filtration, socks, skimmer, etc.

 

[Fishy212]

Those look like palys !

 

[Terry Mattson]

 

[Ron Reefman]

They do look like palys and they probably are not happy with just white light. The zooxanthellae (algae) that lives inside the coral and does photosynthesis that feeds the coral, does so with mostly blue spectrum light. There is some blue in the white, but probably far less that they would like.