Little white things on my green monti

Discussion in 'ASAP' started by clay, Mar 8, 2009.

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  1. clay

    clay Plankton

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    Ok, I think they are eating it. The areas where there are no longer have the green polyps. They are less than an inch, white, and have little feather-type dealies on their backs. Nudibranches? If so, how do I get rid of them? If not, how do I get rid of them?

    Thanks

    Clay
     
    clay, Mar 8, 2009
    clay, Mar 8, 2009
    #1

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  2. schackmel

    schackmel Giant Squid

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    when did you get the piece? Any other montis in your tank?

    I dont know if it is nudis but I would gander to say that it is. I had MEN (Monti eating nudi) once and it killed all my montis within days!

    Best plan of attack is to dip all your corals before you put them in the tank...and then QT them. Well....if we only all did that! :} But from now on you should dip all your corals at least...I learned my lesson

    There are several things you can do...but honestly these burgers are a ROYAL Pain to get rid of. You have to starve them out basically. They lay eggs at an alarmingly fast rate..and they dont need a partner always to do it.

    The problem is is they are in your tank. While they only eat montis...they can survive in your tank for a very long time. What I would recommend doing is ....do you have a qt tank? I would remove ALL your montis out of your display tank and dip them in coral revive or some other hard stoney wash similar. Be sure you really swish it around. Then do not place it back in your tank..but instead into your QT tank. You will have to do this very frequently as the eggs will not be affected and will hatch and reinfest. You will have to do total water changes in the QT tank frequently and have it bare bottom.

    You will not be able to put any montis back into your tank for at least 6-8 weeks. I waited 6 months as I heard it can take that long before they all die off! This includes your pieces in quarentine!

    I will try to post pictures of my monti. Mine did not survive and from what I understand it is almost a losing battle to save the affected pieces. It can be done though
     
    schackmel, Mar 8, 2009
    schackmel, Mar 8, 2009
    #2
  3. schackmel

    schackmel Giant Squid

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    here is some pictures of my monti that was affected. Good luck.. I hope you do not have MEN

    [​IMG]
    this was the first morning that I noted it

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    as the day went on


    [​IMG]
    I fragged them..there was no white on the frag pieces..however a day or two later they started appearing again

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    this was the only piece left that did not seem infected..however I gave up on it and took it out of the water and let it slime up and saw nudis on that piece also
     
    schackmel, Mar 8, 2009
    schackmel, Mar 8, 2009
    #3
  4. clay

    clay Plankton

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    I don't have the ability to set up a qt tank and had already had the montis before I started browsing this forums, so I didn't dip first. And the tank has been up since mid feb, and this is the first signs of these buggers! And I do see the eggs (or something that hangs in the bottom of the monti), so can I squash them? I will send a pic this evening of that if the camera can zoom that close

    Is the alternative to dispose of the monti? I have 2 other stonys I presume to be montis, that have not been touched. Should I start dipping the others? The green is huge, so it will take a while to eat it <head in hands sobbing>

    Thanks

    Clay
     
    clay, Mar 9, 2009
    clay, Mar 9, 2009
    #4
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  5. amcarrig

    amcarrig Super Moderator

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    Unfortunately, if you can't remove the montis to quarantine them, they are pretty much done for. You can pull them out every so often to dip them but when you consider that the nudis have no doubt laid eggs all over your tank, it would be an exercise in futility. Once your montis are completely consumed, you will have to remain monti free for at least a year to starve the nudis out. I know all too much about these little buggers from personal experience. I lost over 10 prize monti colonies to this pest and will never add another coral to my tank without quarantining them first.
     
    amcarrig, Mar 9, 2009
    amcarrig, Mar 9, 2009
    #5
  6. clay

    clay Plankton

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    Unfortunately, the nudis got it. I am considering saving something of it. Is it a good idea to frag it? There are parts toward the tips where the nudis haven't ventured yet.
     
    clay, Mar 14, 2009
    clay, Mar 14, 2009
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  7. schackmel

    schackmel Giant Squid

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    honestly...I wouldnt bother. Like said above the nudis are in your tank and will eventually attack that piece. When I finally gave up (and I had them placed into qt tank and treating qt tank..with prazipro, and doing hydrogen peroxide dips and other stuff) all I had left was that little piece. I did not see anything on it...until I let it out of the water and saw all sort of eggs on it.

    Problem with nudi that I read is that if just 1 is in your tank it can reproduce at an alarminly fast rate! They do not need another one to lay eggs. The other problem is the eggs do not respond to any of the treatments.

    So I am thinking what happened is your piece had eggs on it when you bought it, hatched out and kept reproducing! That is why you did not have any problems when you first got it.

    Sooo, no monti of any kind for at least 6 months...or a year like amcarig said. If there is a bright side of this it is: at least they will not eat any other type of your corals..only montis! And trust me...if it is like what happened to me...you will see all sort of corals that you want that are montis between now and the time it is safe to put back in your tank!

    Anyway..sorry for your loss! I know how you feel. I lost that monti and am loosing a miami hurricane chalice right now due to pests! GRRR
     
    schackmel, Mar 14, 2009
    schackmel, Mar 14, 2009
    #7
  8. amcarrig

    amcarrig Super Moderator

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    Truer words have never been spoken!
     
    amcarrig, Mar 16, 2009
    amcarrig, Mar 16, 2009
    #8