Heliacus areola !

[cheeks69]

There a couple of Zoanthus colonies that I have that haven't been opening up for several weeks and last night I looked in the tank and I appear to have several dozens of these Sundial snails in my tank, they are still tiny and difficult to take pictures of but how do I get rid of them ? Is their a natural predetor ? Would a Yellow Wrasse or a Six line do the trick ? I haven't seen adverse effects on all the Zoa colonies just a couple but I want to get rid of them before the problem gets out of hand.

 

[Gina]

The only thing that I can think of to get rid of them is hand picking.
anyone else have suggestions?

Are they black?

 

[Woodstock]

I looked for info on irradicated them but could not find anything

Of all of the coral predators this may perhaps be the most encountered by the reef aquarist. The Sundial snail (Heliacus Areola) has a very distinct pattern and is fairly easy to distinguish this species from other snails. The pattern almost resembles a checkerboard in some cases. At any rate these snails prey upon Zoanthus colonies and
often tuck themselves away tightly between polyps during the day. Like many of the predators the Heliacus Areola is also a nocturnal feeder and does tend to gorge itself on wiping out the entire colony, instead the consumption pace is a bit more steady. Gone unnoticed you may attribute the losses to natural causes. The snail makes a small hole at the base of the polyp and actually sucks out the contents. The remanding flesh of polyp typically decays and falls off shortly after. This tiny foe is not one pleasant addition if you prize your Zoanthus collection.

An ounce of prevention...

 

[Witfull]

i would do an immediate fresh water dip. let them sit for about 5-8 minutes. then swirl the rocks. then inspect with tweezers. get rid of them,,,they are serious bad news.

 

[cheeks69]

The problem is that the Zoa's that are affected are attached to the rock along with a couple of Acro's :columbo:

 

[Woodstock]

Aggressive siphoning? I don't know how they are attached but maybe you could scrub the zoa colony while siphoning.

 

[cheeks69]

If I could see them during the day I would try to remove them manually but they only come out at night so I don't know what I'm gunna do they move pretty quickly !

 

[Witfull]

first thing in the morning then, its hunting time!

 

[Dakota]

i have a flashlight i use for regular hunting and it has 3 colors of led red ,white and a blue it works great for being able to hunt stuff at night without scaring things off the white led is not very bright but just enough to see things maybe give it a try that way. im sure a small white led flashlight isnt to expensive.

 

[cheeks69]

Well went hunting last night and here's a few I caught :flaming:

 

[ReefDave]

I found one of those bastards in a colony of zoos in a tank I do maintenance on. I picked up a real nice red/orange rock for the guy and over the course of 2 months they just started to diminish. On the 3rd month(I do maintenance once a month) I was talking to him over the phone and he said the zoos are still dying but theres a real pretty little snail that lives in them. Needless to say, there isnt a pretty little snail in them anymore, and for some reason, the colonys doing great and spreading like crazy! :columbo:

 

[jcigars]

Well went hunting last night and here's a few I caught :flaming:

Those are not sundials

 

[cheeks69]

What !!!!:columbo: Can you identify them Jcigars ? Are they Nerite Snails ?

 

[jcigars]

What !!!!:columbo:

hehe....yep you picked all those out for nothing

The genus is Collonista, and they are algae grazers. More information.Here

 

[cheeks69]

Now I feel like such an a$$
Isn't there also a Nudi that feeds on Zoa's ?

 

[jcigars]

Now I feel like such an a$$
Isn't there also a Nudi that also feeds on Zoa's ?

Yes there are nudis and if that's the case there even worse You did the right thing by taking the snails out. IMO if in any doubt take it out :smoking:

 

[Woodstock]

Now I feel like such an a$$

LOL Robert! Don't worry, I am sure you have a few more hundred left hiding in the rocks I have TONS of those little buggers that come out every night.

 

[Woodstock]

Getting medieval on nudis!!

LMAO... Robert, you have to check this video out!!! http://www.fullauto.org/nudi.htm

 

[Tarasco]

Someone must have really hated those nudis.

 

[cheeks69]

Yeah that medievel dude has got some issues...lol