treesprite November 23, 2015 Share November 23, 2015 (edited) I don't know where they came from, but I found 3 zoa-eating nudibranch in my tanks. I have been dipping corals, so I am wondering if they hitch-hiked on snails. I saw some bright green tentacle things sticking out from under an edge of encrusted orange monti, and was like, how the h3ll did a majano get in my tank ? I disturbed it to see what it really was, and the tentacle did not retract. Then it looked like it was moving and majanos don't move that way. That one was big enough to see details of it without any eye strain, at least 1/4". Then a little while ago, I looked in the tank when just actinic lights were on, and saw a speck of bright green, so I plucked it out with the grabber pinch stick thing and looked at it in a little plastic container. It was only half the size of the first one, took strain to look at it. Then there was a moving thing that was so very tiny that I could only identify it by its motion pattern after putting it in the container and watching it. I thought it might just be a piece of detritus getting disturbed in the flow, but I was wrong. I didn't see any others, nor any signs of eggs, but I'm guessing the problem is not limited to the three nudibranchs already found. I think I understand the options for dealing with these creatures. I don't want to risk everything else in the tank just to keep zoathids, so I'm probably not going to put FE in the tank. I don't want a wrasse. If I can't solve the problem by dipping individual pieces outside of the tank, I will just have to not put zoa in the tank for a while. I would like to know what can be done to keep snail-back riding pests from getting in our tanks? I've already got a bazillion trillion bad type zoa-sucking asteria stars in my tank making zoas hard to keep, so this new issue is very disconcerting. Edited November 23, 2015 by treesprite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squishie89 November 23, 2015 Share November 23, 2015 It is possible eggs were laid on the zoaa before you got them and hatched later on. Dips do not kill the eggs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 November 23, 2015 Share November 23, 2015 It is possible eggs were laid on the zoaa before you got them and hatched later on. Dips do not kill the eggs.I agree! They are typically on their food source and don't really care to play around on snails. A buddy of mine had one come in from a local store and saw it fall off during initial dip. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime November 23, 2015 Share November 23, 2015 What is your dipping process like? As mentioned, It would be unlikely it came in on a snail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Puckstable November 23, 2015 Share November 23, 2015 That thing looks pretty cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite November 23, 2015 Author Share November 23, 2015 (edited) I can't remember what the dip I have is called - I think it says something-disinfectant. I'm going to freshwater dip them. Wondering if it will kill the zoa which are already in bad shape. Should dip other things that are not attached to rock. I guess it could have been eggs. But I would still like to know about snails and crabs; this is the first time I ever gave thought to the risk. The bigger one was very cool looking, so it's unfortunate that I had to kill it. But apparently this species takes on the color of what it's eating. I learned a very cool thing about these creatures researching. They take nematocysts from their prey and put then in the tips of the appendages, which is what makes them toxic to touch. (I also learned that the appendages serve respiratory function). I guess these toxic tipped creatures are why I lost some healthy frags from the base up, starting same time as zoa issues, and some corals that have lived through reef tank apocalypse a few times also have bare areas around the base. The first nudibranch I found was not on zoa, it was on the rock sneaking out from under a monti. The two small ones were on zoanthids. Edited November 23, 2015 by treesprite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime November 23, 2015 Share November 23, 2015 I can't remember what the dip I have is called - I think it says something-disinfectant. I'm going to freshwater dip them. Wondering if it will kill the zoa which are already in bad shape. Should dip other things that are not attached to rock. I guess it could have been eggs. But I would still like to know about snails and crabs; this is the first time I ever gave thought to the risk. The bigger one was very cool looking, so it's unfortunate that I had to kill it. But apparently this species takes on the color of what it's eating. I learned a very cool thing about these creatures researching. They take nematocysts from their prey and put then in the tips of the appendages, which is what makes them to is to touch. (I also learned that the appendages serve respiratory function). I guess these toxic tipped creatures are why I lost some healthy frags from the base up, starting same time as zoa issues, and some corals that have lived through reef tank apocalypse a few times also have bare areas around the base. The first nudibranch I found was not on zoa, it was on the rock sneaking out from under a monti. The two small ones were on zoanthids. Personaly, I use a bayer mix, but I know lots of people that like to use Coral RX. A freshwater dip is always an option, but as you mentioned, your stressed zoanthids will probably not hold up well. If they are indeed zoa eating nudis, the best best is to isolate them, which will be a huge pain I'm sure. I would not contribute them coming in on a snail or crab, although I guess nothing is impossible. Depending on what your dipping protocol is, I would venture to say they came in on zoanthids. The process is going to be similar to that of AEFW. It's easier to set up a QT outside of your DT, and put all your zoanthids in there. Dip weekly, inspect for eggs or nudis. Complete until eradicated. Alternativly, you could get a wrasse of some sort, and it would most likely alleviate, but not solve your problem. Or, you could just let them eat all your zoanthids, wait for them to die, and then start restocking. They can be very pretty though (these are not specific to zoanthid eating nudis:) Nat Geo Scuba Diving Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite November 24, 2015 Author Share November 24, 2015 (edited) I'm worried a wrasse would kill my serpent stars. I have a couple really nice ones from Dr Macs, one is reddish purple color, the other a green and white harlequin. I have thousands of micro brittle stars it might kill off also (though they reproduce at an alarming rate, especially since I started adding phytoplankton). Note that I have not researched this, just read a single statement somewhere yesterday. I definately do not want to risk the serpents. Edited November 24, 2015 by treesprite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime November 24, 2015 Share November 24, 2015 I'm worried a wrasse would kill my serpent stars. I have a couple really nice ones from Dr Macs, one is reddish purple color, the other a green and white harlequin. I have thousands of micro brittle stars it might kill off also (though they reproduce at an alarming rate, especially since I started adding phytoplankton). Note that I have not researched this, just read a single statement somewhere yesterday. I definately do not want to risk the serpents. Again, I do not suggest a wrasse for the sole purpose of ridding yourself of nudis. It will never eradicate them, maybe alleviate the problem, but never fully solve it. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite November 24, 2015 Author Share November 24, 2015 Thanks for all the advice. This is really the first time I've had a pest like this, and I'm trying not to over react to the point of doing more harm than good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite November 25, 2015 Author Share November 25, 2015 (edited) Bare is the insecticide thing, isn't it? I can't remember the details of how to use it. I keep examining, but so far haven't seen any that are visible to the naked eye. Some zoa that have been closed for a week have started to open a little. If there are more, they are to tiny to see and not big enough to irritate the zoas Edited November 25, 2015 by treesprite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squishie89 November 25, 2015 Share November 25, 2015 (edited) Bare is the insecticide thing, isn't it? I can't remember the details of how to use it. I keep examining, but so far haven't seen any that are visible to the naked eye. Some zoa that have been closed for a week have started to open a little. If there are more, they are to tiny to see and not big enough to irritate the zoas Yup, Bayer is an insecticide. http://www.cherrycorals.com/news/coraldips/ http://www.reef2reef.com/threads/bayer-dip-which-kind-and-how-much.201633/ It seems everyone has a different ratio they use. I personally do about 5-7ml to 4 ounces of water, I have not had a coral die from it yet. I have never had ZEN (zoa eating nudibranch) but you might need to be dipping every few days so you get the ones who may have just hatched. And I would squirt bayer water very thoroughly over the zoas to try and blast them off. The dip might only just stun them, but the blasting should get them off. I would also suggest looking at photos online of how the eggs look so you are familiar with it when searching for them. Here is some more things to possibly read- https://www.bluezooaquatics.com/resources.asp?show=15 They suggest to dip every 4 days. http://www.pacificeastaquaculture.com/reef-pest-control.asp has a great photo of eggs Edited November 25, 2015 by Squishie89 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef November 25, 2015 Share November 25, 2015 I had these evil things a few years ago... I dipped every single zoa, took a toothbrush to every shop it could find that possible had eggs... But ended up doing a full tank treatment to get rid of them, because they had started to hid in my live rock... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef November 25, 2015 Share November 25, 2015 Flatworm exit in a double dose, then 5 days later another dose and then I did a huge water change the next day... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilRams November 25, 2015 Share November 25, 2015 I found one once a long time ago that must have made it through the dip as an egg. Luckily it was in my frag tank so it was easy to pull all my zoas to dip them. I did not want to take any chances. I did bayer dip every 5 days. I think I did a total of 3-4 treatments before I felt confident anything that may have hatched was dead. haven't spotted any since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda November 25, 2015 Share November 25, 2015 I suppose it means I should get psychological help, but my first thought was "Mmmm, pretty. I wonder if the palys in my tank could sustain them." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite November 27, 2015 Author Share November 27, 2015 Fortuneately I never replaced all the zoanthids I lost with most of the rest of my coral a long while back. If I had what I did back then, there would be a lot of munching ground all over the tank. I have one small patch of zoas that are growing right on the rock, but the rest are just growing on discs or plugs easy to take out of the tank. Maybe that's why I'm not seeing a lot more of these things... not enough for them to really populate. Thanks for the links and advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now