Help! What is this worm!

[rdh_19901]

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

That’s a Dermatobranchus sp. nudibranch - they reportedly feed on octocorals (softies, gorgonians, those green star polyps that it’s climbing on in the photo, etc.), so you probably want to remove it and check your octocorals for more nudibranchs/eggs.

Edit: Oh, and welcome to Reef2Reef - sorry for the unfortunate news on your first post!

 

[rdh_19901]

That’s a Dermatobranchus sp. nudibranch - they reportedly feed on octocorals (softies, gorgonians, those green star polyps that it’s climbing on in the photo, etc.), so you probably want to remove it and check your octocorals for more nudibranchs/eggs.

Edit: Oh, and welcome to Reef2Reef - sorry for the unfortunate news on your first post!

Thank you for the info. Yeah it’s a shame but I suppose that’s the nature of the hobby! Any advice on how to remove them? Are there any fish that eat them?

 

[kevgib67]

I see a whelk snail next to it looks just like the snail eating one that I removed from my tank.

 

[rdh_19901]

I bought a handful of those snails and now I have dozens and dozens of babies!

 

[kevgib67]

I bought a handful of those snails and now I have dozens and dozens of babies!

Mine came as a hitchhiker. I began seeing empty bumblebee shells and then caught it red handed eating a bumble bee snail. Many types of whelks, nassarius snails for instance, not all are snail eat snails. Although yours looks very similar, it might not be the same. I would just keep an for a plummeting snail population.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Any advice on how to remove them? Are there any fish that eat them?

Manual removal of both the slugs and any eggs would be my suggestion - these nudibranchs typically integrate chemicals from their prey to use as their own chemical defenses (these chemicals may be either toxic, foul-tasting, or both to predators), so I don't know for sure of anything that would eat them. Wrasses or other invert eaters (reef-safe-with-caution or not reef-safe fish) might eat them, but they definitely wouldn't be a surefire solution.

 

[rdh_19901]

spent the last few days periodically taking off what seems like a never ending amount of eggs and fully grown Nudibranch! Can’t see how they are ever going to go away!

 

[rdh_19901]

spent the last few days periodically taking off what seems like a never ending amount of eggs and fully grown Nudibranch! Can’t see how they are ever going to go away!

They’ve eaten that coral. After multiple coralRX dips and manual removal they have still manage to survive and consume my best GSP. Will they now just die off and will the GSP recover?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Will they now just die off and will the GSP recover?

The GSP would only recover if there's some of kept out of reach of the nudibranchs - if the nudibranchs have another food source they can feed on in the tank, then they'll move on to that, but most nudibranchs can only feed on ~1-4 species. So, unless you happen to have another food source for them in the tank, they'll starve and die out now.

 

[rdh_19901]

The GSP would only recover if there's some of kept out of reach of the nudibranchs - if the nudibranchs have another food source they can feed on in the tank, then they'll move on to that, but most nudibranchs can only feed on ~1-4 species. So, unless you happen to have another food source for them in the tank, they'll starve and die out now.

I have other soft corals. Really disappointed in this whole event. That GSP was the best thing about my tank and all it is now is a blue rug. I assumed it would recover in time. Huge shame.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I have other soft corals.

Yeah, they may or may not go for any of the other soft corals in the tank. If they do, please document which ones for us.