Guys, one of our LFS has been bringing in millions of zoanthids, and in the process offered our club some fantastic deals. They sold them for $10, $15, $20, $30, $45, and more per frag. Usually it wasn't the color (except for insane blue) that determined the price but rather the size of the frag. More money meant more polyps.
Our club's members bought, bought, and bought some more. At the same time, we discovered the various parasites that comes with this type of coral. Nudibranchs, sundial snails, and sea spiders. I had one given to me to photograph, but it was white, wispy, and tiny. I didn't have much to work with and gave up. When I saw this one last night, I quickly took pictures for y'all.
They aren't that tiny. Remember, it was on the tip of a large polyped zoanthid which when closed is still 1/4" wide. It was rather bright orange when the flashlight hit it. And when I picked up the zoo to get a better angle, it kinda moved quickly or jumped a fraction (I'm not sure because I kinda jumped a fraction in reaction :lol: ). In just a bowl of water, it didn't move all that quickly, but I guess zoos give them better traction.
I've not added anything to this tank other than more zoos from my main reef, the Dendrophyllia from MACNA, and most recently Fang, my clown goby. I have a feeling it has been in there for months. I'll keep watching for more.
Here are the sundial snails and some images of the nudibranchs:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=623318&highlight=sundial+snail
