Montipora Eating Nudibranch? Close up picture.

[Los]

While at MACNA, I picked up some really cool corals and a clam. Some of these pieces are ridiculous; the prettiest corals I've got, by far. I had set up a quarantine tank beforehand, thank goodness.

The clam didn't get dipped and went straight in the quarantine tank (QT). My dipping protocol for everything else was to add 2-3 drops of Flatworm Exit into the bag and I swirled it around for a minute or so. I then removed the coral from the bag and placed it in a solution of 10X the normal dose of interceptor and 1 cap/liter (as per instructions) of Revive. After 3-5 minutes, the coral was rinsed in a bucket of tank water and put in the quarantine tank. The next week, I again added Interceptor to the QT and added carbon the next day. This weekend, I again added Interceptor. I'm not sure why, but there were still pods cruising around the glass, so I added a second dose from a different batch the next day. Interceptor is very temperature sensitive and if it is mailed to you in the winter, it can be deactivated by the cold. Anyway, I also dipped the acros and montis in a second dose of Revive. Much to my surprise, this guy came out from the monti frag:

After 3 minutes in the Revive, I took him out, rinsed him off and added him to my display. Just kidding. I put him in the measuring cup and took his picture. He's about the size of a small grain of rice and I'm wondering if he's a montipora eating nudibranch. Can someone confirm that? I would have thought Revive would have nuked these guys, but he's still up and running. Any suggestions on what to do to make sure these guys are gone before I put the corals in my tank? Also, is it safe to pull the clam out or is there a reasonable risk that he could carry the nudis into my display? If someone has lived through these and can give me some sage advice of how to deal with them in a QT tank, I would appreciate it.

Also, I'm not sure of the etiquette on posting the vendor's name. On the one hand, it really isn't his fault and everyone should QT their frags. On the other hand, lots and lots of people bought frags there and there are bound to be quite a few of them who didn't QT. If you bought any montipora frags at MACNA, you may want to pull them real quick and give them a quick dip to see if you're OK.

 

[mpoletti]

Did you pick any zoanthids?

 

[Los]

None.

 

[Los]

I have some zoos and some montis in my display. I suppose I could throw both in the cup and see which he goes for. Sounds like a good test, but I'm going to throw out whatever I put in there!

 

[mpoletti]

When they are zoomed in so close, sometimes I think one is the other. As for monti nudi's, They are a PITA. I would QT it for at least 4 weeks. I would also make sure that there are no places for and eggs to hide. Sometimes that means that you must sacrifice some of the coral you just bought, but once they are introduced to the system, it is even more work.

 

[sl-atl]

+1. I think that is definitely a Monti eating nudibranch- I had them in the past and lost ALL of my Montis. The eggs are almost impossible to kill, so I would immediately pull out and quarantine whatever they hitched a ride on.

Check out this article by Eric Borneman: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-09/eb/index.php

 

[Los]

Thanks, guys. I tried a test putting some zoos and a small piece of orange montipora digitata into the cup and he has yet to move after either one. I think he still may be a bit stunned from the dip in Revive.

As far as sacrificing the frag, it's a really beautiful piece, but I can appreciate how difficult it must be making that decision for ALL my montis. I'll do some research now and nothing in that tank is going into my system until I'm certain I'm OK.

Thank goodness for quarantining and thank goodness for RC. If it hadn't of been for this forum, I wouldn't have known what I was looking it.

BTW, thanks for the link sl-atl. I've admired your Churchill quote.

 

[hatfielj]

Yes, definitely a monti-eating nudi. I had these in my old system and they were the WORST! Impossible to get rid of unless you can remove every monti from your tank and leave it monti free for quite some time.

 

[broke1]

Also, I'm not sure of the etiquette on posting the vendor's name. On the one hand, it really isn't his fault and everyone should QT their frags.

Very true. I treat everything I get like it's infected with everything. Sometimes people pass pests they don't even know they have. Swaps are like bars, they're a haven for STDs. Choose wisely and use the proper protection.

 

[Los]

I found another in the frag tank just crawling around. That was after I fragged the montis to a piece the size of a thumb nail and completely coated the bottom with super glue. These guys are even a pain in a quarantine tank.

I sent a note to the vendor and he said he didn't have them, but he'd check again. The STD analogy is a damned good; nobody wants to admit they have a problem

Thanks for the posts everyone.

 

[Los]

I did a test with the two Montipora Eating Nudibranchs (MEN), with them in a measuring cup and 5 or so polyps of zoos and a small piece of orange Montipora Digitata. Today, I noticed the guy who had been dipped in Revive was dead (that's good news) and the little guy who I found crawling on the glass (and who presumably lived through the first dipping of Revive) was happily munching away on the monti. It's confirmed, these are MEN.

What is the best dip to kill the adults? Revive seems to be only somewhat successful on them. I need something that will kill the adults and not hurt the corals if I dip them repeatedly over the coming weeks.

 

[steely185]

Coral Rx claims to kill monti eating nudi's. Not sure how well it works though. I couldn't get any feedback on the product from anyone.

 

[kjord97]

I am in the process of battleing monti nudies right now. Seems to be a big outbreak going on lately on the east coast. They are currently in the process of eating about 12 nice size baseball to basketball size colonies. At first I was using a turkey baster to suck them up and then run the water through a thick sock. The wife and I killed about 40 adults on the first night. I have been battling for the past 3 weeks and still nightly we manage to pull at least 5-10. The only way I can truly get rid of them is to let the food source run dry, and then wait 4-6 weeks before re introducing montis.

My attack started with the turkey baster.

I have now start fragging as big of a peice I can, I then take the frag out of the tank and look it over with a handheld magnafieing glass. If I see any eggs or nudis, I will take the frag and put it in a bucket of water and lightly scub the areas infected with a tooth brush. Once the monti frag appears to be clean, I place it in my frag tank. So far all of my frag tank pieces have started to regrow over the eaten areas and I have not found the nudis in the frag tank.

They are very delicate nudis but pretty much chemical resistant from what I have found. My best method is freshwater treatment and toothbrush. They fall apart. I have doubled up all of my socks on the system and clean them more reguarly. Sometimes I take the turkey baster and shot the eggs and make them enter the water column and into the overflow they go.

 

[Shadowramy]

Does anyone have picture on monti nudi eggs

 

[Los]

Thanks, Kjord97. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge.

Shadow, I don't have any pics of the eggs.

As a quick update, I had two of these suckers in a cup. One of them I thought was dead (he was floating in the water) and the other was happily munching away on a frag of monti digitata. Today, I noticed that they were both alive and well, munching away on the sacrificial monti. As much as I like Two Little Fishes "Revive", it does not kill these guys. I'm going to order a bottle of CoralRX now. Thanks, Steely. Incidentally, the vendor that sold me the infected montis said that CoralRX works great.

 

[steely185]

Let me know how it works for you Los. If it works well I may pick some of it up.

 

[Los]

Will do. I'm leaving on an overseas trip, so I wont know anything for another 10 days or so when I get back. BTW, I just ordered it. The total was $28.90 (which includes $8.95 shipping). That's supposedly enough to make 12 gallons worth.

 

[netboy]

The only that I found to work was to superglue the crap out of them and seal them up forever . I tried dips of all sorts and nothing really worked or maybe i was just doing it wrong. But super glue works just be very generous with it.

 

[hansmatt]

I did the KMNO4 treatment on my monti's...the first dip knocked them down pretty good...the second one, well, it did a number on my king sized monti cap...18"x12"x6" tall. I thought I'd give it the full dose of .1g/liter for an hour, and that was too much too long, and without a skimmer on the Q setup, the poor coral wasnt' able to recover. The KMNO4 does work, and it worth your consideration.

 

[steely185]

I've also heard to give a nice 1-2 hour bath in Revive. I was told this worked by experience to kill both montipora eating nudis and eggs. Just keep your water heated in the bath. I will try this approach on a frag or two and see how it goes.