dead paly back to life?

[alexmir]

I got 3 palys from a guy on here a while back, and attached to the group was a shriveled up dead paly. I dont know how long it had been dead in the guys tank, but it has been in mine for around 4 months mabye, and the past few weeks the dead paly has started opening. Before it was closed up real tight, and now has began opening during the day, and closes up slowly after its been agravated. It is also getting a little bit of color back on the backside of the head.
IS it possible for the dead head to come back to life? ITs acting like thats what it is doing.

 

[flricordia]

Originally Posted by alexmir
http:///forum/post/2765384
I got 3 palys from a guy on here a while back, and attached to the group was a shriveled up dead paly. I dont know how long it had been dead in the guys tank, but it has been in mine for around 4 months mabye, and the past few weeks the dead paly has started opening. Before it was closed up real tight, and now has began opening during the day, and closes up slowly after its been agravated. It is also getting a little bit of color back on the backside of the head.
IS it possible for the dead head to come back to life? ITs acting like thats what it is doing.
Was more than likely never dead, just in a regressed state. Happens often. As long as your water quality is good zoanthidea can stay closed for a long time and not die off completely. They can even loose most of their symbiotic algae and come back to regrow it within their tissues. Zoanthidea are not true corals but related closer to the anemones and can act much the same. We know that an anemone can loose most of its algae and still come back from the brinks of death, the zoanthideas also.

 

[alexmir]

Thanks flric., hopefully that is what happened, its just weird for it to "hibernate" for months, i think around 6-8, and then come back. I was always unsure if it was completely dead, because it never lost any flesh, just stayed close. I will keep monitoring it, and will continue to leave it alone.