Unidentified Pest

[jamielai]

Alright, I have looked online but can't find what I need. I have found 3 pest in one of my zoas and now I see one crawling on my rock. It looks like a worm of some sort, but is covered in thorns?

 

[redsea reefer]

maybe a bristleworm

 

[ReefLady]

Sounds like a bristleworm, but these are not typically bad. Why do you refer to it as a "pest"? Is it causing visible damage to the zo's?

 

[jamielai]

Pest, bug. I didn't know what it was. It doesn't look like the pictures of bristleworms I have seen. It has spikes all over it's body.

 

[BigJay]

might be a type of cucumber.

 

[mettjl03]

Can you post a picture of it?

 

[Surfnut]

I believe he is referring to a Zoa Nudibranch species. If you are seeing signs that these little buggers are irritating or even damaging the zoa's,.. you might want to consider a fresh water dip.

I'm sure other people here can give you better advice in regards to getting these pests out of your tank.

 

[BigJay]

just reread the first post. Was it 3 of them in one single polyp or 3 of them in a colony? Just trying to get an idea of size.

 

[cbrownfish]

I believe he is referring to a Zoa Nudibranch species. If you are seeing signs that these little buggers are irritating or even damaging the zoa's,.. you might want to consider a fresh water dip.

I'm sure other people here can give you better advice in regards to getting these pests out of your tank.

+1 for zoa eating nudibranchs. Like these?

PREDATOR - Nudibranch - Nudis!!

 

[jamielai]

when I noticed the "bug" on my zoa colony I took it and one other colony out and put them in a dip. 3 "bugs" fell off. They are a brownish, purple color. So, that was 3 down. Now I see one on my star polyp. I am thinking it might be that nudibranch. It does look sorta like the picture.

 

[cbrownfish]

If so, there is bad news. The Nudis lay eggs and the FW dip will not kill the egg cluster. Hence, 1-2 weeks from now you may have a new batch. QT'ing the speciman and additional dips are required to defeat this enemy.

 

[jamielai]

Is there something I can put in my tank to kill them? I am finding them on new colonies now. Do they just hide out in my tank? I am finding myself sitting in front of my tank with a pair of tweezers ready to pluck.

 

[jamielai]

Ok, I found the "white curly threads" which I thought was the eggs on one of my zoa's. I went to tweez it off and it was really hard. I couldn't pull it off.

 

[cbrownfish]

QT'ing the speciman and additional dips are required to defeat this enemy.

There is no quick fix for this one unfortunately. The eggs can be anywhere in the colony, including in cracks and crevices. You need to pull all the zoas and QT until you eradicate the pests.