Spiders .. multiply?

[duijver]

Hi guys...

I was taking some pics of my green and purple deaths today and I saw a spider on some of my other random Zoa's. I took out the Zoa and extracted the spider, but I was wondering if they reproduce as quick as regular house spiders? My concern is that the zoa/rock has been in the tank for about 5 months and most of that time they have not opened. So, it all now makes sense.

Thanks guys!

Pics below:

[Hop]

Did you do a dip? and how many fell off? They do reproduce and if you have three or four of them, you will have to do repeated dips since there is little affect on the eggs (I've read). I have not had spiders, so I'm not certain... If you have nudis I could type a lot more

[crvz]

I'm not sure of the rate of their reproduction, but if you're in the 5 month area I'm sure that's plenty of time. Agreed with Hop, you'll want to do multiple treatments as most of the treatments don't handle eggs.

[duijver]

Thanks guys. Nope, I don't dip although I have INCEPTOR (Spelling?) lying around from the dog - so I could use that.

I actually extracted it with a pair of tweezers I looked over the rock the zoas were on and no other signs of spiders. I only noticed it since I built myself a diy frag rack (really DIY.. ha!) and I placed most of the zoa colonies up there. I really have small colonies so they all fit on a 8" frag rack. So, I will just keep a watch on them the next few days and see if I find any others.

I honestly would not have seen it with the naked eye. I only caught it by accident with the 90mm lens, and it was pretty hard grabbing it w/ tweezers.

Thanks again guys!

[YLChik]

I would do a search on them. I am sure they are no good and you will want to figure out how to treat them - where there is one there is sure to be more.

[YLChik]

a little info

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_spider
Reproduction and development

All pycnogonid species have separate sexes except for one species that is hermaphroditic. Females possess a pair of ovaries, while males possess a pair of testes located dorsally in relation to the digestive tract. Scientists are aware that reproduction involves external fertilisation after “a brief courtship”, but very little is known about the secret lives of most pycnogonids. Only males care for laid eggs and young. The larva has a blind gut and the body consist literally of a head and its three pairs of cephalic appendages only: the chelifores, palps and ovigers. The abdomen and the thorax with its thoracic appendages develops later. One theory is that this reflects how a common ancestor of all arthropods evolved; starting its life as a small animal with a pair of appendages used for feeding and two pairs used for locomotion, while new segments and segmental appendages were gradually added as it was growing. At least four types of larvae have been described: the typical protonymphon larva, the encysted larva, the atypical protonymphon larva, and the attaching larva. The typical protonymphon larva is most common, is free living and gradually turns into an adult. The encysted larva is a parasite that hatches from the egg and finds a host in the shape of a polyp colony where it burrows into and turns into a cyst, and will not leave the host before it has turned into a young juvenile. Not much is known about the development of the atypical protonymphon larva. The adults are sexual, while the pee pee and the juveniles are living on or inside temporary hosts such as polychaetes and clams. When the attaching larva hatches it still looks like an embryo, and immediately attaches itself to the big leg legs of the father, where it will stay until it has turned into a small and young juvenile with two or three pairs of walking legs ready for a free-living existence.


zoa dip can be found here


HTH

[duijver]

Amy: Thanks!! It seems like spiders are not a very common pest. Compared to other pests the web hits were almost non-existant.

Thanks!

[nice427]

wow i never knew there were saltwater spiders.........i will have to do a little stairing at my tank..

[duijver]

So, is it worth dipping at this point since they have all been in my tank for quite some time? Also, wouldn't I have to dip ALL of my LR (impossible) or do you think dipping just the LR / plugs containing zoa's would be good enough or just when I introduce in the future?

Also, I think I remember reading that Death's should not be dipped since they are very sensative... plus I would hate to kill them. Not that I would want to kill any of them, but the zoas I found the spider on I spent $5 on..

[crvz]

dipping just the zoa colonies should suffice, but you'll need to do it for multiple rounds.

[aquawolf]

Sorry to see you have these nasty little buggers. Dipping the zoas over time will be the only sure way to get rid of them as srvz has stated. What you are doing is killing the adults and then hoping that when the eggs hatch you are killing the young before they have a chance to reproduce as well.

I wish you the best in getting rid of them.

[Hop]

Originally Posted by duijver

Thanks guys. Nope, I don't dip although I have INCEPTOR (Spelling?) lying around from the dog - so I could use that.

I actually extracted it with a pair of tweezers I looked over the rock the zoas were on and no other signs of spiders. I only noticed it since I built myself a diy frag rack (really DIY.. ha!) and I placed most of the zoa colonies up there. I really have small colonies so they all fit on a 8" frag rack. So, I will just keep a watch on them the next few days and see if I find any others.

I honestly would not have seen it with the naked eye. I only caught it by accident with the 90mm lens, and it was pretty hard grabbing it w/ tweezers.

Thanks again guys!

All corals entering your system should go through some process. In fact, probably the most accepted practice is a thorough quarantine and inspection period. Another practice is dipping and inspection through several levels and/or treatments. Zoa are right now IMO, one of the must dips/inspects and quarantine as there seems to be some massive pests including spiders and nudis going around at an even higher rate than normal...

Originally Posted by duijver

So, is it worth dipping at this point since they have all been in my tank for quite some time? Also, wouldn't I have to dip ALL of my LR (impossible) or do you think dipping just the LR / plugs containing zoa's would be good enough or just when I introduce in the future?

Also, I think I remember reading that Death's should not be dipped since they are very sensative... plus I would hate to kill them. Not that I would want to kill any of them, but the zoas I found the spider on I spent $5 on..

[Archon]

omg i just shivered like 20 times and almost gagged. i hate spiders. i pray to god they never show up in my tank. Good luck

[YeeHawReefer]

WOW, this is the FIRST time I have seen these in somebodys tank, i am sorry I can not offer any more help than that has already been offered. Scary stuff!

[duijver]

Originally Posted by Hop

All corals entering your system should go through some process. In fact, probably the most accepted practice is a thorough quarantine and inspection period. Another practice is dipping and inspection through several levels and/or treatments. Zoa are right now IMO, one of the must dips/inspects and quarantine as there seems to be some massive pests including spiders and nudis going around at an even higher rate than normal...

Yeah, I guess I really need to be more careful. I never purchase any corals online - they all come from local reefer's tanks that have gigantic 100+ gallon tanks that all look beautiful and healthy. Are you seeing more pests, in general, on store/online selling?

I just dropped in several new pieces of LR with frags on them I am hoping that it was a single hitchhiker spider. But, I will need to keep even a better eye out since I have been seeing a lot of "new" species floating around as of late. I'm actually very detail orented, but that spider was almost impossible to catch by eye due to the color combination.

Since I could find almost no real informaton on these guys I was wondering if anyone has actually seen their pods/eggs/sacs etc? I'm curious if it is something I could visually see under a good lens/magnifying glass?

I'm also picking up another 25-50lbs of tonga branch later this week, so I guess I will definitely need to read up on the dip and take the necessary steps to insure that those LR and SPS's (on the LR) are not hosting anything.

Thanks again guys!