Who munched my Xenia?

[69frogs]

Ok folks Im calling on all brains in the reef! Someone munched my pulsing xenia! I have an 80 gal reef inhabited by 1 blue spotted unicorn tang 1 niger triger 1 perc clown 1 neon goby 2flame goby 1 lawn mower blenny 1 scooter blenny 1 sally light foot 12 hermits 13 snails 1 fox face and 1 chocolate chip star. Ive never had any problems till now. So please tell me WHO ATE MY XENIA?

 

[Phreek]

I have read that chocolate chips will sometimes eat polyps and the like, but never heard of them touching xenia, my guess is the trigger?

edit: sorry didn't mean to put tang, I meant trigger lol

 

[mempho reefer]

chocolate stars and corals don't go together. he's probably your culperate. also the trigger is eventually going to make a nice snack of your gobies, crabs, and snails.

 

[jjohnson3]

The chocolate chip did it. Tangs will VERRRRRY RARELY much at a coral if it is not being fed properly.

 

[kospaintball]

i agree... i took my chocolate chip star out of my tank the second i put in coral...

lucky me i have an extra FOWLR tank to put him in =D

 

[69frogs]

Ok so I got rid of my chocalate chip star..... However after close observation I have noticed my blue spot unicorn picking at my other soft corals... What are the chances that is was him that munched my xenia? these guys are suppose to be tipical swimmers (very active) and reef safe.

 

[jjohnson3]

Unicorn as in Unicorn tang? They gety like 2 feet long! Very interesting looking too! They are very active swimmers, as are all tangs. They are generally reef-safe, but when its starving to death it may turn to coral. Think about it. If you were out of food, and could not get any, and were out out of money, you just might go dumpster diving and eat whatever you find, including cardboard! Lol

 

[Varga]

I hear chocolate ships are not reef safe but I'd keep an eye on the fox face too. my FF eats corals pretty much on regular basis, especially the xenia.

 

[jjohnson3]

Foxfaces are not reef safe? I did not know that...They are poisonus, I do know that from experience. Lol

 

[69frogs]

jjohnson3> yes its a blue spotted unicorn tang he is fed very well. Heck half the time I think My aquarium and whats inside live better than me. I feed him twice sometimes three times a day. Is this not enough?
Varga> the fox face was my next suspect however he/she only picks at the long hair and nothing more. he/she doesnt even like getting next to the corals

 

[jjohnson3]

Well, as long as they are all fed well, no pinched tummys, Id say that the fish are not the problem. Ever watch your tank at night? You just might be surprised to find a gorilla crab or something of the like. The fish you have listed are generally reef-safe.

 

[jjohnson3]

Oh, the tang will outgrow your tank soon also. They get BIG.

 

[69frogs]

Gorilla crab?

 

[jjohnson3]

Yes. Gorilla Crabs. Google it.
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Animals to May Want to Remove

GORILLA AND STONE CRABS

You want to keep a lookout for Gorilla Crabs (xanthid species) and Stone Crabs. These pesky buggers are predators that can cause damage to your reef, eating anemones, clams, and anything else they can get their claws around. They might look cute when they're small, but it's just not worth putting them into the tank. If you really want to keep them, you could put them into your sump/fuge (if you have one).

The sure-fire way to spot one of these is to look for the black tips on their claws. As Gorilla crabs get larger, they become quite "hairy" all over. You can smash these guys pretty easily using a chopstick.

 

[Mya]

You know I been trying to figure out who was nibbling my xenia for a very long time and was hoping to see that you had the same fishes as me.

But.. you dont. My search goes on.