cookie extreme Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 found this little beauty tonight whilst doing some major fragging again. i have been wondering why my colt gor smaller (ok i did cut heaps of frags but it never seemed to mind before and stayed the same size or even grew quite a bit. so it was a bit strange. i have not added a fish for over 4 months now (if not longer) and no coral for almost a year and then it was a single p.daminicornis. i also dip all my new arrivals in reef dip to prevent any nasties. so i assume that this one has been with me foe a rather long time. the nudibranch looks awesome well so it should as it has eaten at least $50 over the last few month. does anyone else has a similar senario with their colt / leather corals? free to a "good home" or it will go into the "big white telephone" :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 I had an outbreak of those a few years ago, it wasn't one, it was a wave of them. They must have come attached as eggs. They were relatively easy to (permanently) remove though, unlike those damn monti nudibranchs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 What on earth is it? (sorry, im quite new to all this stuf, im sure others want to know but dont want to ask :lol: ) Looks freaky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 Had this thing cruising the tanks for months, removed it as it was eating the leathers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 What on earth is it? (sorry, im quite new to all this stuf, im sure others want to know but dont want to ask :lol: ) Looks freaky It's a species of coral eating nudibranch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie extreme Posted October 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 Had this thing cruising the tanks for months, removed it as it was eating the leathers that very interesting as most leather eating nudi's never leave their food source and hence are hard to spot. all the once i came across over the years that moved around freely ate sponges and the like and were always looking out for more food sources. the only reason i found mine was because i put the knife right next to it with the intent of cutting a frag of the leather. otherwise i would have not seen it at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie extreme Posted October 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 They must have come attached as eggs. i strongly agrree with that, but how long will it take a coral eating nudibranch to reach that size? how did it get in my tank? i use NSW but do not believe that those little buggers exist in local waters. and i had that coral for almost 3 years and it showed no ill effect until just recently. go figure. :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 I suspect the nudis are always on leather and montipora, you don’t see them when the coral is healthy. Maybe They only take control when the coral is dying or in bad shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishboi Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 too bad these guys are nasties cuz i think they look cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 True! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossco Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 Yeah Reef, you are probably on the right track. :lol: (thought you would need endorsement from me :lol: :lol: :lol: ) Many parasitic-type critters only make themselves known in an obvious clinical way when the host is not in great condition with low immunity. Guess its the balance in ecosystems thing again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 Many parasitic-type critters only make themselves known in an obvious clinical way when the host is not in great condition with low immunity. My observation of the monti nudibrachs is different to that. The green cap that I had, which was massive (14" +), and growing the fastest i've seen any coral (around 1.5 cm a week!) seemed perfectly healthy, and in a couple of weeks it was wiped out completely by the nudibranchs before I could figure out what the hell was going on. They definately attack corals which are healthy. The corals have virtually no defense against them. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 My outbreak tends to agree with Layton. My montis were growing fast, healthy and glowing in colour. The nudi's didn't mind that and devoured them. For these nudis i believe it's more a case of lack of natural predation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 Yip, they are not a true parasite like ich, they are just preditory animals, they kill healthy corals, and the corals seem to have absolutely no defense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubbles Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F57QZBrWZEI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ady_uk Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 Hi , just started up and was at Hollywood Albany this morning and saw one of these in their coral for sale tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossco Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 How much was it? :lol: :lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ady_uk Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 told them that I had seen info on it and that it could eat the corals, but they thought it was ok to leave in the tank, so I will think twice before I buy any thing from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krama Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 hi andy, are you new to marine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ady_uk Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 Hi Krama, yep new to this, been waiting 3 months for tank to cycle, the last four weeks it looked like someone had painted the inside of it green. had been getting info from shop, until I meet chris who has given me help and advise, chris told me to get skimmer, wooo what a change, 90% clear water in two days, plus got some frangs from him, althouth my nitrite is still reading 3, he said that the soft corals he gave me would do fine, and yep they look very good. Was also told to visit this site, as its the best place to get advise and help and lots of poeple who are very in to marine . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krama Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 good on you. we are probably at about the same stage, I ve only be at it since August. I have purchase most of corals etc, gets fairly costly. Some of the members on this site have offered me some frags, "many thanks" I will have to organise myself and make a trip into town. What part of town do you live in? I live up on the hibiscus coast. That skimmer is a great investment, what have you done for lighting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ady_uk Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 live in albany, yes skimmer is great, shop said not to get one as not necessary:-? . as for lighting tank came with two T 5s have one white and one blue, wanted to get a metal light ( like thats what it's called, about 150 w ) spoke to steve and because I have a closed in lid, was unable to get the height I need, space is tight in the lid steve had one double T 5 unit but it was too wide, in the end I found a unit to fit, now have : tri light 1500 30w and 1000 30w blue plus the two T5 s . just need help on what tests to use for soft corals? which is all I have, as no fish yet and the corals are small frags Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krama Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 are you doing water changes? How did you know what levels your nitrites and nitrates were before you added corals? are you planning to add any fish or just going for corals. I am on the learning curve, but if you are going to have corals that need calcuim then you will need to test for a suitable level. I purchased a tri kit from Hollywood for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate with PH tester includes, once my tank had cycled etc and I added fish I then started to test for calcuim levels etc before I added shrimp and torch coral. It all seemed easy, but you need to watch out for the fact that ( correct me if I am wrong ) your tank will age/continue to cycle etc with different types of blooms/growths that will take a toll on your confidence. wont you need something for the nitates to feed on? I thought that is why they added a fish, something like a clown or damsel. mj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ady_uk Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 yes, do NSW changes. Have been testing tank from word go, Nitrite was at 3 when we were told thats ok to add mushroom corals and some sps corals, which are all doing great, did test to day and Nitrite is now 0.50, so hope to add some fish soon when Nirite is 0 Just wish I had known of this site sooner, may have got some tips on how to cycle tank quicker then 3 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 Nitrite was at 3 when we were told thats ok to add mushroom corals and some sps corals I don’t think it is a good idea to add corals with nitrite that high. Especially sps corals. sps corals should only be added after maybe 6 months when the tank has matured and the water quality is good. Your tank will still be very high in organics which will make the sps corals go brown. Nothing wrong with 3 months to cycle a tank. With marines you need patients as so many people have failed as they get to eager to add stock. Once the tank has done the cycle then a big water change is needed to remove the nitrates and organics. Not good for coral if you have added them to soon. You will get so much conflicting information from hobbyist who are at varies stages of experience, so that is why it is a good idea to invest in a quality book that has factual information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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