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Pest on new Zoas?


NewNano5g

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I got my first coral yesterday Fiji Zoas. I noticed there are these black and white kind of strings attached to the piece the corals came on (bottom right). The Zoas that it touches kind of seem to be closing. What are those? Do I need to remove them? Any tips appreciated - first saltwater tank.

image.jpg

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Did you dip your frag? Looks like some kind of eggs snail possibly but looks like you got more problems than just those hitchhikers whats up with all that hair algae is that all over your tank? No offense we all been there just looks like a big problem!

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It looks exactly like the hair worms that plague my tanks. Kill it with fire. Seriously, get that frag out of your tank until you can be sure it's gone.

 

I have yet to find anything that will eat them, and because they burrow so deeply into tiny crevices in the rock, dips won't kill them most times. They also will bury themselves in the sand. 

 

Here's a picture of a fairly big one that I pulled out of the sand in my tank:

20170330-untitled-001.jpg

 

The ones I have irritate zoas and make them close, eventually killing them. They also seem to sting acros if given the chance.

 

The best luck I've had in eliminating them in the tank is to inject boiling water into their holes until they let go and can be blown out with a turkey baster. Or if you can take out the rock they're in, you may be able to dig them out with some forceps and bone cutters by breaking open the rock enough to get them out. 100% hydrogen peroxide will kill them, but you have to get the rock out of the tank to use it, and you have to get it right into the hole where they live.

 

Not many people seem to have this kind, most have the spaghetti worm which is harmless and considered a good thing to have in the tank.

 

Here's a close up of them irritating my zoas before I figured out what was happening, just so you can compare with what yours look like up close:

Sad Zoas

 

On this page in my tank journal, I collected what little information I've found on the web about them:

 

 

Good luck, and let me know if you have more questions!

  • Wow 1
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1 hour ago, Dougefresh35 said:

Did you dip your frag? Looks like some kind of eggs snail possibly but looks like you got more problems than just those hitchhikers whats up with all that hair algae is that all over your tank? No offense we all been there just looks like a big problem!

No I did not dip it - probably should have. I just put it in yesterday and it is still easily removable. Is it too late? And if not how would I go about doing this?

 

Hair algae bloomed a couple of weeks ago. I keep it under control with a weekly water change and it seems to be getting better. That big green thing in the second picture is a trochus snail. But any tips to keep it under control are welcome.

 

Thanks

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42 minutes ago, teenyreef said:

It looks exactly like the hair worms that plague my tanks. Kill it with fire. Seriously, get that frag out of your tank until you can be sure it's gone.

 

I have yet to find anything that will eat them, and because they burrow so deeply into tiny crevices in the rock, dips won't kill them most times. They also will bury themselves in the sand. 

 

Here's a picture of a fairly big one that I pulled out of the sand in my tank:

20170330-untitled-001.jpg

 

The ones I have irritate zoas and make them close, eventually killing them. They also seem to sting acros if given the chance.

 

The best luck I've had in eliminating them in the tank is to inject boiling water into their holes until they let go and can be blown out with a turkey baster. Or if you can take out the rock they're in, you may be able to dig them out with some forceps and bone cutters by breaking open the rock enough to get them out. 100% hydrogen peroxide will kill them, but you have to get the rock out of the tank to use it, and you have to get it right into the hole where they live.

 

Not many people seem to have this kind, most have the spaghetti worm which is harmless and considered a good thing to have in the tank.

 

Here's a close up of them irritating my zoas before I figured out what was happening, just so you can compare with what yours look like up close:

Sad Zoas

 

On this page in my tank journal, I collected what little information I've found on the web about them:

 

 

Good luck, and let me know if you have more questions!

Thanks for the reply. Beauty tank.

 

The rock the zoa's are on is easily removable. I only put them in yesterday so hoping I can get rid of them before they get to the rest of the tank. I have syringes I can fill with boiling water and a couple tools I can try to dig or scrape them off with. Any more specific advice on how to go about this or if there is a better way feel free to share.

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If they aren't dug in too deep, you can sometimes extract them from the rock with a peroxide dip. Once you think you have them all out, leave the frag sitting in a cup or bowl of tank water for a couple hours to see if any more put out tendrils. You can add a little food to the water to encourage them to feed. That way you can be sure you've got them all. Then just keep a close eye on the frags for the next month to make sure no more appear.

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BustytheSnowMaam

Could they be mini brittle starfish?  I'd check that out first before dipping the frag.  I've had mini black/white brittles before and they're harmless.

 

Edit:  I concur with the worm after zooming in. They're harmless too IME but Teenyreef would know. 

 

Ok, I guess my posting here is useless and I'll go to bed now. :D

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I have had these, and wow are they a headache.  I had an infestation of them about 6-8 months ago to a point where my corals began dying because they were being smothered.  I basically redid my entire tank with new rock and sand but kept the corals.  I’ve had the new setup about 3 months now and I’m starting to see them pop up again, but no where near as many as I had before.  They are good for the tank, until out of control.  They eat detritus and come from the usual over feeding or collection of detritus.  You can starve them out.  Another option would be to kill them.  Just get some Aptasia-X from Red Sea, and squirt a little bit right into them, be careful not to get it on the corals.  Another option would be to put boiling water into a syringe, and squirt it right on them.  There aren’t any known natural predators for them.

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41 minutes ago, teenyreef said:

That's good information! I have some Aiptasia-X but I never thought to try it on the hair worms. Now I have a new thing to try :)

Yes!  Aiptasia-X is fully reef safe so I figure anything that is a pest can be safely taken out with Aiptasia-X :) 

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  • 1 month later...

Just an update - I went with the boiling syringe and it worked great at getting rid of whatever that was. Unfortunately I lost a few polyps in the process. I have since got a coral dip and added some new corals - all are doing great.

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