please help id this

live rock · 04-04-2006, 11:13 AM

Today in the morning when I switched on the actinic blue tube (I normally switch on the actinic blue light 1 hour prior to switching on the main lights)
I noticed these two critters on the front glass - was lucky to take a good snap (after several shots

).
Please help id them and also please let me know if they can be a possible threat to the reef!
Presently I have live rocks, zooanthids (atleast 10 varities), mushrooms and some feather duster worms.
HELP!
thanks in anticipation

inwall75 · 04-04-2006, 11:56 AM

The picture isn't quite close enough. It could be a zoanthid-eating nudibranch or an isopod. I would carefully remove either though.

live rock · 04-05-2006, 01:56 AM

I'm sorry but this is the best shot I could take with the sony 7 megapixal digital camera - had to shrink the picture a bit though to upload it on the site!
Anyways, if the critters are not desirable - will try my best to eliminate them the next time I see them!
Is there a particular way I can eliminate them or do I wait for the next time I sight them?

Jason McKenzie · 04-05-2006, 04:31 AM

Look like nudi's to me. Not sure the type. Could be Berghia but that would be too good to be true
there is a link
http://www.saltyunderground.com/.

Pic from Saltyunderground.com
now the zoa eating Nudis look very similar but have stockier bodies and are more brown.
I here more and more of these and other pests in zoa colonies. Not sure the reason. but many of my friends are huge zoa keepers and they have seen a huge increase in pests.
Try a goolge search for zoanthid eating nudis there is a lot of info

muck · 04-06-2006, 08:03 AM

Heres a pic of a zoanthid eating Nudibranch..

live rock · 04-06-2006, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Try a goolge search for zoanthid eating nudis there is a lot of info

I just did it and concluded that:
they look more like Berghia - what should I do? They are still very small though about 2-3mm in length shall I leave them in the tank? I however don't have any aiptasia anemones or anything that they feed on so will they start preying on anything else?

rickzter · 04-06-2006, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by live rock

I just did it and concluded that:
they look more like Berghia - what should I do? They are still very small though about 2-3mm in length shall I leave them in the tank? I however don't have any aiptasia anemones or anything that they feed on so will they start preying on anything else?

They eat aiptasia, but shouldn't be trusted, take them out.

jonathan · 04-07-2006, 12:03 AM

just use a simple turkey baster to suck them out of the tank...better to get rid of them now before they decide to hide amongst the rockwork and corals.

live rock · 04-07-2006, 01:48 AM

I could manage to scoop out one today! Will keep an eagle eye henceforth - Thanks a lot guys!

live rock · 04-18-2006, 01:17 AM

Hi,
I'm facing a major problem here - I've scooped and sucked out about 30 of the zoanthid eating nudis and the berghia - they are multiplying I suppose in my tank and it is costing me a lot of money as the zoa colonies are getting eroded off the rocks

:mad:

Does anyone here know how to eradicate them from my tank apart from using a turkey blaster as there are about a hundred of them and I cannot manually suck them out as they are all over the zoanthids and in the rock crevices etc. (do they have a natural predator?) Can I introduce something that can selectively hunt them down or do we have any water treatments to get rid of them? ..... Please help and oblige a fellow 3reefer