As some of you know zoas/palys are my favorite coral to keep. I thought I would do a little write up on how I do a furan 2 dip. When I notice a zoa or paly not looking good I closely examine it. Sometimes the zoa could be melting, or it has zoa pox, or it is just simply not happy. I have found that furan 2 dipping zoas will completely kill zoa pox, and it has even helped me stop a zoa frag from melting. Even when I think a zoa is not looking its best I will throw it in a furan 2 dip to perk it up. From my experience zoas and palys do not have any negative side effects from furan 2 dipping.
Here is a list of things you will need: 2 containers that hold at least a cup (8oz) of water, a packet of furan 2, and a turkey baster (optional)
Step 1: Fill one of the containers with a cup of water from your tank. Side note: Some people use new saltwater but I think that old tank water works best since the temp and salinity will be the same.
Step 2: Pour one packet of furan 2 into the container that is filled with one cup of tank water. Make sure the furan 2 is completely dissolved, I use a turkey baster to swirl the water because it helps mix the furan 2 solution.
Step 3: Place the zoa/paly that you want to dip into the container that is filled with the furan 2 solution. Let the zoa soak in the solution for 10-15 minutes. I like to use the turkey baster to create some flow in the solution every 2-3 minutes just to make sure the furan 2 covers all areas of the zoa.
Step 4: Once the zoa has soaked in the furan 2 solution for at least 10-15 minutes, place the zoa back into your tank in an area of moderate to high flow. Side note: You can fill another container with a cup of tank water and you can rinse the zoa after it has soaked in the furan 2 solution. I have never observed any harmful effects from not rinsing the zoa.
If the zoa has a bad infection of zoa pox or if it looks really bad, then repeat this dip for 3 straight days and then give the zoa 5 days of rest and then repeat the dip for 3 more consecutive days. If the zoa has a light zoa pox infection then you can repeat the dip every other day and after the 3rd dip then let the zoa rest for 5-7 days and then repeat the process if the infection has not cleared up. It usually takes 2 rounds of furan 2 dipping to rid zoa pox. In some cases it has taken me 4 rounds.
Side note: the zoa will have a yellowish color to it for a few days because the furan 2 is yellow. This is not permanent and the zoa will lose this yellowish color. On one occasion I did have a zoa that lost some color but it colored back up within a month.
After the zoa has healed, think about why it got sick. Did you change the lights? Did you increase/decrease flow in the tank? Did you get a new fish or coral recently? I have noticed the zoas will get zoa pox due to temperature and salinity fluctuations. Zoa pox is contagious so once you diagnose it act swiftly. In my experience zoa pox usually does not kill a zoa unless the lesions from the zoa pox prevent the zoa from opening. I like to think of it like ich on a fish. The fish usually can live just fine with ich with the infection coming and going. But in the extreme cases ich will kill the fish. Zoa pox is the same, the zoa will most likely live with zoa pox, but in the really bad cases the zoa can die from zoa pox. I have also never seen paly get zoa pox. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask me! I will try to get pics of the furan 2 dipping process next time I do it.
Here is a list of things you will need: 2 containers that hold at least a cup (8oz) of water, a packet of furan 2, and a turkey baster (optional)
Step 1: Fill one of the containers with a cup of water from your tank. Side note: Some people use new saltwater but I think that old tank water works best since the temp and salinity will be the same.
Step 2: Pour one packet of furan 2 into the container that is filled with one cup of tank water. Make sure the furan 2 is completely dissolved, I use a turkey baster to swirl the water because it helps mix the furan 2 solution.
Step 3: Place the zoa/paly that you want to dip into the container that is filled with the furan 2 solution. Let the zoa soak in the solution for 10-15 minutes. I like to use the turkey baster to create some flow in the solution every 2-3 minutes just to make sure the furan 2 covers all areas of the zoa.
Step 4: Once the zoa has soaked in the furan 2 solution for at least 10-15 minutes, place the zoa back into your tank in an area of moderate to high flow. Side note: You can fill another container with a cup of tank water and you can rinse the zoa after it has soaked in the furan 2 solution. I have never observed any harmful effects from not rinsing the zoa.
If the zoa has a bad infection of zoa pox or if it looks really bad, then repeat this dip for 3 straight days and then give the zoa 5 days of rest and then repeat the dip for 3 more consecutive days. If the zoa has a light zoa pox infection then you can repeat the dip every other day and after the 3rd dip then let the zoa rest for 5-7 days and then repeat the process if the infection has not cleared up. It usually takes 2 rounds of furan 2 dipping to rid zoa pox. In some cases it has taken me 4 rounds.
Side note: the zoa will have a yellowish color to it for a few days because the furan 2 is yellow. This is not permanent and the zoa will lose this yellowish color. On one occasion I did have a zoa that lost some color but it colored back up within a month.
After the zoa has healed, think about why it got sick. Did you change the lights? Did you increase/decrease flow in the tank? Did you get a new fish or coral recently? I have noticed the zoas will get zoa pox due to temperature and salinity fluctuations. Zoa pox is contagious so once you diagnose it act swiftly. In my experience zoa pox usually does not kill a zoa unless the lesions from the zoa pox prevent the zoa from opening. I like to think of it like ich on a fish. The fish usually can live just fine with ich with the infection coming and going. But in the extreme cases ich will kill the fish. Zoa pox is the same, the zoa will most likely live with zoa pox, but in the really bad cases the zoa can die from zoa pox. I have also never seen paly get zoa pox. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask me! I will try to get pics of the furan 2 dipping process next time I do it.
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Good job!
