If you have Montipora eating Nudribranchs

[chrisstie]

You may enjoy reading this month's issue of Reefkeeping magazine.

Eric Borneman has been doing some research on small aeolid nudibranchs and looking into natural remedies he feels will kill them and keep your coral safe.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-09/eb/index.php

He suggests the use of garlic or potassium permanganate, both already have saltwater tank use and potentially may also kill eggs. His experiments look promising as other treatments out there are still questionable and have no perscribed doses (for example, the way Interceptor does for red bugs)

He has set a few guidlines for what should and should not kill yoru coral but looks like research is still ongoing at this point since he ran out of nudibranchs (not what I'd call a bad thing)

I have seen these commonly and even had them in my tank. They are pretty difficult to get rid of and mainly stick to montipora species (Caps, danaes, digis) and generally leave most other acropora alone. This article also has good identifying pictures if you're wondering what they look like.

I had even had some in my tank but through manual removal off the animal and eggs - and possibly accidental natural predator in wrasse form (I liked the fish, nudibranchs disappeared shortly after, coincidence?) I was able to defeat them but its an agonizing process if you have a lot of montipora species or even specimens you can't remove from your tank easily.

 

[Aquaman]

been there, had a whole tank wiped out by those little pests. potassium permanganate is a strong oxidizer and must be used carefully or it can do more damage then good. Halichoeres melanurus or the tailspot wrasse has been proven by several experienced hobbiest from this board to eat both nudiebranchs and eggs.

 

[chrisstie]

I have but anecdotal evidence that possum wrasses eat these but I really can't prove anything but he was the only wrasse recently in the tank and the dissapearance of them from my tank coincides relatively well with his arrival.

Sorry to hear you had so many past troubles with these guys They are so invasive its very easy to have them and not even know it

 

[Aquaman]

yea they are a pain, I lost over 14 types of M. Caps this one being the largest

 

[Me No Nemo]

I feel so sad to see that.

 

[chrisstie]

I know How often do you get a chance to see such large captive raised montis That picture is incredible, and very sad at the same time

Hopefully with dilligence, education, and prevention we can keep on keeping bad pests like these out of our aquariums and hopefully soon find ways of treating these corals.

It looks like some of our locals on the orca forums are experimenting with dosages as well as possible complete tank treatments and I think its absolutely fantastic.

 

[AndyH5512]

Thanks for posting that. I am battling this problem at the moment. So far, nothing seems to be working, and my montis are suffering. Has anyone tried these new methods, and if so, how did they work?

 

[chrisstie]

Hey andy, I am very sorry to hear that On our club site where I posted this it seems some of our local frag guys are also experimenting with some of these methods.

Here's a copy of a post from there:

David and I have been testing the garlic, potassium, and levimosol. He is running a thread in the DIY forum about this.

So far, the levimosol is stressing the corals very bad, and the fresh garlic is also messing up the corals very bad. The potassium is melting the nudibranches and the eggs without damage to the corals at lower doses. So far the biggest problem is that you cannot dose the whole tank. You have to physically remove the infected pieces, then dip them, then re-enter the corals.

If you already have a population of the nudibranches in your tank, it would still be a slow process getting rid of the little guys. If you miss a few bugs they can easily get started again and become out of control.

If anyone has other pests in their tanks, please contact myself or davy182 . We are looking to test the effects of these substances, and other on all forms of pests in the hopes that we will be able to devise a dip that will kill pests and their eggs. Also, if anyone chops up a big montipora colony, we could use pieces to grow the nudibranches on.....they eat the stuff way faster than it's grown.

The article mentioned above came to me a couple weeks after I started testing the effect of running low levels of other substances in my quarantine tank.

I heard that russel has tested potassium permanganate in the past. maybe he has some extra input?

 

[AndyH5512]

Thanks, Chrisstie. I would like to try getting a wrasse first, to try the natural approach. I read with great interest the tests conducted with the different materials. If the wrasse doesnt help out, then perhaps I will chime in with my own test results. Hopefully the only thing to get wiped out will be the pests. LOL.

 

[Aquaman]

Andy, SITC currently has a tail spot wrasse that should start to work on those nudies

 

[AndyH5512]

I will check into that, thanks for the info. I want to eradicate those stinking nudis with prejudice!

 

[smpolyp]

I would not recomend using Potassium permaganate in saltwater. Maganese dioxide may percipitate onto the gills of the fish. Ref. Fish and Disease Diagnosis and Treatment by Edward J. Noga.
I perfer Levamisole and use it on every acro and monti before it goes in my tank. It can stress out the coral, so you must use it with caution. My success maybe due to treating corals that are not stressed out by any visible signs of pest.

 

[AndyH5512]

Where might I find Levamisole? Thanks.

Andy

 

[chrisstie]

I believe it is a pig dewormer so you may want to try your local vet - but bring documentation that it is a valid treatment for the issues you would be having - sometimes vets truly aren't aware of what goes on in reef tanks and the surprising fixes for some things. It can help to have a little backup to show you are legitimately needing that type of medication

 

[AndyH5512]

Thanks. My wife has a good rapport with our vet, so hopefully it wont be an issue at all.

I wanted to clarify that Levamisole is useful in ridding my system of the tiny monti eating nudibranches.

Andy

 

[chrisstie]

Oh yes definitely - I was just mentioning that its most commonly used as a pig dewormer so..

You just never know what run of the mill (or even not so run of the mill) stuff could be used in our tanks to make a positive difference.

 

[AndyH5512]

I gotcha, thanks. I just wanted to make sure it is intended for the monti eating nudis. I usually like to go the natural way before adding chemicals into the tank. I did add a 6-line and blue side fairy wrasse as well. I have to see the tail spot at SITC. Never been there, but I hear great things.

 

[chrisstie]

Wow never made it to that side of town huh? In my book it's a "can't be missed!" but I might be a little biased Definitely check it out when you get a chance!

 

[AndyH5512]

I live in DeBary, which is near Deltona. I guess a "road trip" is in order, LOL.