Zoanthid Varmints

[Aquazoa]

Some of you may already be familiar with these pests but I wanted to tell everyone about them so people can know what to do if they see losses of their prize zoanthid colonies.
A nefarious zoanthus eating nudibranch recently infested our colonies at my store so last week I removed all the colonies, freshwater dipped them for about 2 min. and then blew all the slugs off with a turkey baster. They also lay tiny white coiled egg masses that need to be removed as well. Superficially they resemble Berghia in size and appearance, mainly mimicking the zoos' tentacles. To the best of my knowledge they are specific to zoanthus genus, not Protopalythoa. Fortunately the solution is simple and easy but if you don't know what you're dealing with you can lose colonies fast.
Don't looz your zooz dude!

[JT]

Aquazoa: What store do you work at?

I've seen an increase in the amount of leather eating nudibranchs coming in lately along with montipora eating nudibranchs. I haven't seen too many Zoanthid Varmints lately.

[mojo]

It'd probably be best to not mention the name of the store. If Aquazoa wanted to name the store, he would have. Let's suffice it to say that it's a major store in Atlanta. PM Aquazoa if you really need to know.

[JT]

Originally Posted by mojo

It'd probably be best to not mention the name of the store.

Are you implying I am trying to bash this poster or his store? Actually, I didn't ask to imply any sort of negativity, I was curious because he mentioned he worked at a store and it's nice to know more "industry" people are posting on the forums. Unfortunately, most of them appear to be ashamed to publicly state such facts such as their real name and therefore hide behind the annonymity the internet provides. But we've had this discussion before and no need to debate it again. This is a problem that plagues all forums, not just TRT.

Now, if someone doesn't want to buy corals from a store just because of a nuisance nudibranch this is pure sillyness. These critters come in with every single coral shipment, and I bet if you look close enough in any store in the ATL area, you will find some. It's not a bad thing and if a hobbyist wants to boycott a store if they see one, phooey on the hobbyist not the store.

There are a lot more things a hobbyists should get their panties twisted over than predator nudibranchs. Now, if this was a red bug issue, it may be a bit different. But even flatworms isn't the plague some cry about.

[mojo]

Originally Posted by JT

Are you implying I am trying to bash this poster or his store?

Not at all. Aquazoa works at a well-known store here in Atlanta, and that store is a sponsor store. While I would like to raise awareness of a problem at a particular store, it becomes an issue when people think that everything in the store may be bad. We (ARC) can easily be blamed by the sponsor store for lost sales and spreading rumors, and it all ends in tears.

The person that posted this is an ARC member and is a very well respected aquarist. If he wanted to post the name of his store, then he would have. I understand your point about nudibranchs and pests in/on corals that we buy, and standard QT practices should take care of most of these potential problems.

I'm only trying to stop what may snowball into something bigger...

[Aquazoa]

The majority of marinelife we get for our tanks is still wild collected and here are other pests that I regularly deal with. Fortunately most are easily treated......
Colt eating nudibranchs on Klyxum and Cladiella
Corallivorous nudibranchs on Porites cylindrica
Rapa rapa snails that eat Nephtheids
Tegastes copepods (red bugs)
Corallivorous nudibranchs on Sarcophyton and Gorgonians
Tathrella snails on tridacnids
....and various bivalve drills, etc.
It is the same as dealing with protozoan fish parasites......it is our responsibility to be stewards of our marine resources.

[robsmith32]

it is our responsibility to be stewards of our marine resources.

well said.

[gwen_o_lyn]

Originally Posted by JT

Aquazoa: What store do you work at?

check out his profile *hint hint*

[JT]

Well, I, for one, am glad to see Porter active on these forums. He's probably the most knowledgeble and respected aquarist in Atlanta. No need for him to hide is identity.

[mike17kb]

Originally Posted by JT

Well, I, for one, am glad to see Porter active on these forums. He's probably the most knowledgeble and respected aquarist in Atlanta. No need for him to hide is identity.

I would agree, he was a great source of knowledge when I had a reef tank, still is not that I have a predator tank.

[GeoJoe]

Can we please get back to the problem here?

These zoo eating nudi's are a major pain. They have practically wiped out my colonies. They are tiny, toxic and lay eggs like crazy. You have to do a few fresh water dips a few times a week to get rid of them all.

I ended up taking every zoo out of my tank for a few weeks and isolating them. I cut lighting down and lowered salinity too. This has made the zoo's close up and starve the nudis.

If you see part of your colony closed up, check for these guys climbing around near the skirts of the zoo. They take on the color of the zoo that they are eating, so it is very hard to see them.

Also, DO NOT crush these with your finger - as you may die.

see this: http://www.easttnreefclub.com/articles.html

See pic for what you may have to deal with.... this is one of the larger critters that I was able to suck off with a turkey baster

[GLXTRIX]

christ man, thats crazy! Tho i guess it would only make sence that these guys are toxic seein what they eat. Please people be careful and thanks Porter for letting us know about these.

Lee

[GeoJoe]

What really sucks is that zoanthids are some of my favorite corals... see pics

[GLXTRIX]

fortunately, you can get rid of these guys, just need to take precautions.

[mike17kb]

Originally Posted by GeoJoe

What really sucks is that zoanthids are some of my favorite corals... see pics

Beautiful tank, good luck with getting them all out