nudi?

[hooterhead]

this little guy has popped up in the last couple of days. it's in my 5 gal reef. i really have no idea where it came from as the last addition to the tank was a sea fan about 2 months ago and this is the first i've seen of him. i'm not concerned about whether or not it's reef-safe but just curious about what it is. the little guy is only 1 or 2 cm.

 

[Woodstock]

Looks like a nudibranch to me.

 

[hooterhead]

yeah but i was hoping to get some sort of an ID. i've seen 2 or 3 now so maybe they are reproducing?

 

[Newt]

Those are zoo eating nudis, eradicate them as soon as you can. I take it you have some zoos or polyps in your tank, check your zoo colonies for little spiral egg strands, and pull them off. If you have any lugols make up a dip for them and dip all of your zoos to kill the nudis. However the dip will not kill the eggs so you will have to pull them by hand.

Good luck fighting them, I've been through it once before, its no fun but you can beat them.

 

[Newt]

Another good point of info is that they will take on the color of the zoos that they are eating, so they can be tough to find. I had to find the zoos when my lights first came on because mine were mostly nocturnal feeders.

 

[Woodstock]

Thanks JKReef!

 

[hooterhead]

yeah thanks!!! i'll get them out ASAP

 

[hooterhead]

any chance that there's something out there that eats them?

 

[Newt]

I have heard that there are certain types of wrasse that eat them, I want to say I've heard that coris wrasse will but don't quote me on it.

 

[hooterhead]

i've found an article on RC that it's a green leaf wrasse or something like that. it's at the top of their zoa forum. i've pulle 4 or 5 out so far. 3 of them have been on my zoa's. i'm searching the tank every chance i get to try and make an impact on them. there's a dip that i might try soon if they don't dissapear. i've also noticed flatworms now. so that's another to contend with. i've got a velvet nudi on the way from my LFS to take care of them though!

 

[Newt]

For flatworms, I know from time to time Psychedelic Mandarins are known to eat them, and occasionally ReeferMadness.us offers them. Good luck in your fight!

 

[Warnberg]

Hooterhead, if there is one there is more, they will reproduce like crazy, dip your zoo's, wait about 4 to 6 weeks and dip them again. After the dip look for the eggs, they will not die from the dip and they will not just come off you will have to pick them off with tweezers, the eggs look like a small white thread...

By the looks of them I bet you have something yellow in your tank that they are eating, they will take on the color of the food they ingest and this makes them very difficult to find....

One last thing, don't smash them, they are toxic...

good luck