solereef50
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I noticed this thing this morning because these zoos weren't open. It seems to be crawling around the polyps. Is it safe or do I need to remove it?
New critter... What is it?
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bearjohnson
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It's tough to tell from all of the blue in the picture. Does it look like a tiny crab to you?
That would be a Zoanthid eating nudibranch.
Manually remove and look for eggs (spiral formations) remove eggs (with Q-tip) if you can remove the frag. You'll have to remove the adults as you see them.
Manually remove and look for eggs (spiral formations) remove eggs (with Q-tip) if you can remove the frag. You'll have to remove the adults as you see them.
bearjohnson
Active Member
Ah yes +1^
Oh Boy, you might be in trouble, but its not that big of a issue depending on the size of the rock/plug and how accessible the zoas are.
The picture is very blue and hard to tell, but that looks like a Zoa eating Nudibranch.. which are very pesky, but easy enough to get rid of them.
I had purchased some zoas and they came with these hitchhikers and did my dip, however the eggs were not destroyed in during the dip... that's why its beneficial to quarantine the new frags for a period of time to make sure pests don't establish in your tank.
I would take that piece out right away and make sure to get rid of the parasite. Dips work well for the nudis, however you need to inspect every polyp and clean it with a pair of tweezers from any eggs.
Its easy to see which zoas are infected since they will be closed and look pretty ****** off. Please note you might have to do this every day for a week or two in order to make sure all eggs and nudis are eradicated from the zoas.
Also these nudis are pretty nifty, i wish they were not a parasite because id definitely want them in my tank... they look really cool and change color depending on the type of zoas they happen to be on, very cool creature.
The eggs are pretty easy to spot as they are white and very slimy as the zoa is trying to fight the parasite (remember tweezers work well to pull those eggs and nudis off). Also Google "Zoa nudibranch" and have a look at the pics and you will get the idea and don't forget using goggles(this is very important) when working with zoas as you will have to get quite close to the coral and poke it with tweezers... last thing you want is zoa juice in your eye... remember most if not all zoas are poisonous.
The picture is very blue and hard to tell, but that looks like a Zoa eating Nudibranch.. which are very pesky, but easy enough to get rid of them.
I had purchased some zoas and they came with these hitchhikers and did my dip, however the eggs were not destroyed in during the dip... that's why its beneficial to quarantine the new frags for a period of time to make sure pests don't establish in your tank.
I would take that piece out right away and make sure to get rid of the parasite. Dips work well for the nudis, however you need to inspect every polyp and clean it with a pair of tweezers from any eggs.
Its easy to see which zoas are infected since they will be closed and look pretty ****** off. Please note you might have to do this every day for a week or two in order to make sure all eggs and nudis are eradicated from the zoas.
Also these nudis are pretty nifty, i wish they were not a parasite because id definitely want them in my tank... they look really cool and change color depending on the type of zoas they happen to be on, very cool creature.
The eggs are pretty easy to spot as they are white and very slimy as the zoa is trying to fight the parasite (remember tweezers work well to pull those eggs and nudis off). Also Google "Zoa nudibranch" and have a look at the pics and you will get the idea and don't forget using goggles(this is very important) when working with zoas as you will have to get quite close to the coral and poke it with tweezers... last thing you want is zoa juice in your eye... remember most if not all zoas are poisonous.
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solereef50
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Wow! Thanks for the help. The Zoas are still on a plug, should I pull it out remove everything I can see and do another Coral RX dip?
Mike J.
2500 Club Member
Here's a good link. Picture isn't great. Nudibranch or spider?
"Why are my Zoanthids closed?" - Care, Pests, and Troubleshooting
"Why are my Zoanthids closed?" - Care, Pests, and Troubleshooting
Being that the coral is on a plug I say you would be safe to remove it from the tank and dip it in coral RX and shake it nicely... look at the critters that come off the coral and inspect the zoas to make sure you have no eggs on them... if you have larvae eggs use tweezers or q tips to scrub and take the larvae off he coral. I would repeat this procedure every day for a week and monitor all zoas in the tank.
I suggest monitoring all zoas in the tank and if they close, then you know there is something wrong and immediately inspect them under a magnifying glass and make sure there is no larvae present on them and repeat the dipping and scrubbing procedure as needed. Luckily this pest is fairly easy to deal with and can be held under control especially when your zoas are on frag plugs.
Remember to use protecting glasses(a must) and gloves if you will touch the zoas directly with your fingers... if you grab them by the plug then gloves are not 100% required, but protect your eyes under any circumstance.
good one
bearjohnson
Active Member
Great link Mike...Thanks for the read!
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solereef50
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Thanks guys. I pulled the plug out, removed the critter and everything else I could find and put it In an RX dip for A while. Put it back in the tank and polyps are starting to open back up. I will keep an eye on it and do additional dips if needed. I should have taken a better picture of it after for everyone to see but I dumped it like a dummy...
Lockridge49
Active Member
Thank that's a great link
xthunderx
Active Member
Even if it does support it, it's been sitting there for a while and it dies, you'll lose all of your hard work and configs. I guess you can back up the configs, etc., but in the end I'd invest in a wireless bridge device. It's more money upfront, but it protects your investment in time and effort.
xthunderx
Active Member
Sorry wrong thread. Please delete if possible.
