Something ate some of my Palys

John3 · Mar 3, 2018

So this morning I notice a small patch of armor of god palys was looking strange. Upon a closer look it appears that something ate all the lashes and rim off one of the polyps. That polyp can’t even close up now. The other polyps have stayed closed all morning but look weird. Some are closed but are not closed tight. Anyone see this before and what type of critter should I be looking for?

I have some blue and red leg hermits, clowns, an anthias, trochus and turbo snails. Everyone has been in there for a long time now. I haven’t added any cuc crew In prob 4-5 months.

Crabs McJones · Mar 3, 2018

John3 said:
So this morning I notice a small patch of armor of god palys was looking strange. Upon a closer look it appears that something ate all the lashes and rim off one of the polyps. That polyp can’t even close up now. The other polyps have stayed closed all morning but look weird. Some are closed but are not closed tight. Anyone see this before and what type of critter should I be looking for?

I have some blue and red leg hermits, clowns, an anthias, trochus and turbo snails. Everyone has been in there for a long time now. I haven’t added any cuc crew In prob 4-5 months.

When's the last time you added any kind of coral including zoas? And do you dip your corals before adding them to your tank? Usually the eyelashes being eaten off is a sign of Zoa Eating Nudibranch.

Dsnakes · Mar 3, 2018

@DSC reef had asterina stars eating some of his zoas. Have you noticed any of the little asterina stars?

John3 · Mar 3, 2018

It’s been 2 weeks, I added a torch. I do dip in coral rx and sometimes peroxide too if there is algae. No peroxide on the torch.

Funny you mention a asterina because I know I have at least 1. It got through my dip about 2 months back. I saw it, went to wash my hands and then it was gone by the time I got back.

There is also a Florida ricordia right next to these affected Palys. Any chance that could be an issue?

Dsnakes · Mar 3, 2018

John3 said:
It’s been 2 weeks, I added a torch. I do dip in coral rx and sometimes peroxide too if there is algae. No peroxide on the torch.

Funny you mention a asterina because I know I have at least 1. It got through my dip about 2 months back. I saw it, went to wash my hands and then it was gone by the time I got back.

There is also a Florida ricordia right next to these affected Palys. Any chance that could be an issue?

If you've got one, you've got more

Crabs McJones · Mar 3, 2018

Dsnakes said:
If you've got one, you've got more

Aint that the truth! lol

John3 · Mar 3, 2018

Do nudis and asterina do their work at night or anytime?

Crabs McJones · Mar 3, 2018

John3 said:
Do nudis and asterina do their work at night or anytime?

As with most naughty critters, they like to come out at night. Although you may see some during the day.

John3 · Mar 3, 2018

Well this stinks. Just got to the point where I was gonna not add anything and let it all grow out.

Jose Mayo · Mar 3, 2018

There is an asterina in the upper right quadrant of the photo, walking down the other colony of zoas ... it seems to be the "culprits" by the coloring.

Regards

Crabs McJones · Mar 3, 2018

John3 said:
Well this stinks. Just got to the point where I was gonna not add anything and let it all grow out.

Best bet would be to confirm a pest. And the best way to do that is wait until a couple hours after lights out and go to the tank with a flashlight. And start looking around your zoas to see if anything is munching on them.

John3 · Mar 3, 2018

Well I double checked and I don’t see a asterina by it, I think that was coralline in the pic. That would have been awesome if it was that easy. I know at least that one got in and is in there somewhere. Guess I’ll be hunting after lights out. Thanks for the help so far and I’ll report back with any findings.

jayala12 · Mar 3, 2018

Asterina stars were eating my zoas . I would catch one everyday at 5am when I was leaving to work. Lights were off and there they were right on a head and it was all closed up. Got a harlequin shrimp cuz I’ve always wanted one and now all my zoas are doing better then ever... not saying to get a harly at all just saying now that they are being controlled no issues

Cnidoblast · Mar 5, 2018

Do you keep emerald crabs?

sullyman · Mar 5, 2018

I've never had an Asterina do any harm. You need to hunt for a pest after lights out, red light is the best as crabs can't see.
Ease up to the tank too, no vibrations. You could have a nudhi but also could be sundail snail, a crab, or a worm chowing down.
There are also zoa eating spiders, very good at blending in, usually only found in dip water. Good luck.

DSC reef · Mar 5, 2018

Keep an eye out for asterinas, they can and will eat zoas, our utter chaos can prove it. Keep an eye out for other pests as well. Also, it looks like they may be getting out competed buy the other zoas?

Oldsalt01 · Mar 6, 2018

I had an White/Black Asterina attack a Red People Eater head a couple of months ago. It had chewed the tentacles off one side before I managed to pull it off and flush it. The polyp was ticked for about a week, but then started opening again and seems to have regrown most of the lost tentacles. Needless to say, i pull them out when I see them now. I'm not convinced this is your issue, just an anecdote. Sullyman is correct. Use a red light to look for culprit's a couple of hours after lights out. Most marine critters can't "see" it.

Oldsalt01 · Mar 6, 2018

My Asterina don't seem to care if the lights are on or not. They're oot and aboot day and night. So far I believe I've flushed 11 since the zoa issue in Jan, and I still keep finding them. I've put 3 in my QT to clean up a little bit of cyano (they actually seem to like it), and to stay on top of the green "dust" algae on the glass.

John3 · Mar 6, 2018

So far no luck finding the culprit. The good news is that nothing else seems to have been eaten since. Kinda has me scratching my head. That patch of Palys was all open today for the first time since something ate one. No sign of the asterina I saw a few weeks back yet.

I do have some emerald crabs. I did notice s couple very small limpets. I thought I had cleared all of those out but some must have survived.

I don’t think I have anything outcompetingbjust yet. I’m hoping these colonies will at some ping grow into each other. The pic is just on a strange angle that makes it look crowded.