Say it isn't so! I think I found a nudibranch on my coral!

[Nicole79]

Casually looking at my tank, noticed my Lazer Lava palys were closed up and unhappy looking..
upon a closer look, it looked like one wasn't closed all the way and the polys that were sticking out were not the right color.. decided to poke with pipette..it started crawling off the plug!

caught it and have it in a jar...pretty sure its a nudi and was eating my palys! .. havnt noticed any losses, havnt recently acquired anything that wasn't dipped.. I'm confused since I STARE at my tank for hours, lol... hes currently in a shot glass until I get a positive ID..seems happy there

Anyone??

 

[frank180reef]

Wow!

 

[willray]

If it looks like a nudi ...walks like a nudi...well it's a nudi. Just keep your eyes open for more.If you can get one of those blue finger lights like the ones out of a bubble gum type machines they are easy to spot with the lights out.

 

[Nicole79]

I know right?! Im going to Investigate further after the lights go out..

 

[Ryan17]

Ahh scary!

 

[Nicole79]

Funny thing is that when he was in the zoas .. he looked JUST like a zoa besides being a little darker!.. Thankfully all of my zoas/palys are small frags so if there are any more, I should be able to spot them.... now that I know what I am looking for!

 

[Nicole79]

and of course he was in my nicer ones... couldn't go for the feeling peachy zoas that are taking over my tank...NOOO gotta go for the 5 polyp frag of pretty ones...pure evil!

 

[dz6t]

Flatworm exit will take them out and reef safe too.

 

[Nicole79]

Flatworm exit will take them out and reef safe too.

Thanks! I'm going to have to pick some up!

 

[Pat02026]

Yup I dealt with those little guys. Keep a close eye out for them and manually remove any you can find. Flatworm exit does the trick, just search for info on using that on them; pretty sure you need to increase the dosage a bit to knock them out. And yes, apparently the nicer looking zoas taste the best! The nudis DO turn the color of the colony they're eating, so they camouflage quite well; look closely, and good luck!

 

[P-Nut]

I thought i had them. I went on a trip for three weeks and my fiancee updated me with pics. Some palys were closed the entire time. And when i came back they had what looked like nudis except they where white (they looked more like montipora nudis than zoa nudibranches). Just in case, I took them out and threw them in fresh water for 15minutes. 3 days later and 90% of them are now open (better than 0%).

 

[Ruge13]

Watch for them just before (if your lights fade down, or turn to actinic), or after they go out. The nudis will be more active. Watch for small patches of zoas that close while the rest stay open. Dead giveaway that you have someone munching on them there. I picked some out by hand when I had them in Jan of 2012. They disapeared for a month, 2 or 3 came back and I picked them out, then I have never seen them since, been almost 2 years. I never used FE.
http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums...ven-Innocent-hard-times-for-a-Nudi&highlight=

I also got a yellow Corris wrasse back then to eat them. Cool fish for the 24 hours I saw him. The next day he never appeared again. Money well spent.