Jump to content
inTank Media Baskets

Spiky slug


renichms

Recommended Posts

On my glass right now, there's a slug (no shell) with what look like soft spikes on its back. It's fairly small, but big enough to be easy to spot. I saw it a while back but wasn't sure what I was seeing, on a zoanthid, and it hasn't harmed those at all. Any idea what kind of slug would have spikes on its back like this?

 

RN

Link to comment
BKtomodachi

It MIGHT eat coral.. but it may also be wandering around looking for its food source only to die.

 

Get rid of it, they do often reproduce.

Link to comment

Found an even bigger one on my really colorful zoanthids and removed it. How do they get into the tank? Other than the mandarin that eats frozen foods, I haven't introduced anything to the tank in some time, and they haven't shown up before.

 

RN

Link to comment
jenniebutterfly

do a fresh water dip on your zoos. leave them in the fresh water for like 5 minutes. check for eggs on the zoos.

Link to comment

they probably came w/ your zoo's...as tiny baby nudis or eggs. They can go undetected for quite some time before they finish off your zoo's. like jenn said, freshwater dip would definitely be a good idea.

Link to comment

What if eggs or others are not on the zoos anymore? Wouldn't they just come back if I did a freshwater dip? Any way to check? I've been scouring the tank for them and not found any more. Been checking for stressed looking zoos or anything eaten and found nothing so far.

 

RN

Link to comment

I love how everyone just assumes that it's a coral-devouring nudibranch. There are literally thousands of molluscs that could fit that description and out of those maybe a few hundred that would be detrimental to a reef tank.

 

Always get a pic before you try to ID anything..

 

Oy vey..

 

Cheers,

Fred

Link to comment

I think ppl are just trying to be safe than sorry. no way to positively ID all of them, but if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, might as well yank em out. Unless of course you are advocating for nudibranch rights and their right to live...then I have nothing to say to that. haha. =)

 

but to be sure (and yes, no way to be 100% certain even after comparing the suspect nudi to these pics), use a flashlight when lights are off and inspect zoo's...if u see any that look like the ones shown and talked about in the link below, then freshwater dipping will help. but b/c not all nudis may be on the zoo's at that moment, you may have to do a few dips spread out over a couple weeks...oh, and just sucking them out w/ flex tubing or turkey baster works too, but not as effective.

 

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-01/ac/f...ature/index.htm

Link to comment

Well, I examined the only zoos I've seen them on. They have long stalks and are super brightly colored. The bright yellow ones were half devestated, so it's in freshwater right now getting its dip. The stalks were obviously chewed on, and are withered looking for now. Hopefully, they'll recover, since none of them are completely destroyed. The rest of the zoos in the tank look fine, thankfully.

 

RN

 

EDIT: Also picked off as many eggs as possible. How effective is the freshwater at also killing the eggs? Do these things attack JUST zoanthids? I'd like to protect them but just in case they win out, I'd like to be sure they won't eat my other corals.

 

EDIT2: Any way to tell if they're back other than watching continuously or finding eaten coral? I think I got them all but as was stated above, can't be sure. The zoanthids affected are, for the most part, opening up again, but not all are.

Link to comment

eggs wont be killed by freshwater. so good practice to pluck them off.

 

these guys are controllable. So just keep watching viligantly for now, and if you dont see anymore for a few weeks and things are opening up again, you've probably beat them.

Link to comment

Will they come out under the moonlight LED things that came built into my light fixture? What's best for picking eggs off? They're hard to get off sometimes.

 

RN

 

EDIT: No more spotted after coming home this weekend. No damage to corals and once that had been munched on are mostly open now too. Let's hope that's the last of those buggers...

Link to comment
  • 10 years later...

Hi! I've got something similar. Is this what your's looked like? Pic attached.

this thread I'd from 2005 chances are original posters will never respond to this. But you do have a likely nudibranch.
Link to comment

this thread I'd from 2005 chances are original posters will never respond to this. But you do have a likely nudibranch.

Thanks. Should I kill it?

Link to comment

Search zoanthid eating nudibranch...this is likely what you have...common and what you described.

 

Remove when you can, eggs are on a 7-11 day or so cycle and just about indestructible.

 

I used FWE 4x strength weekly for a month and pulled when I saw them.

 

Have a look at my 2g thread for a better narrative.

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...