Rabbitfish gone wild;)

[gflat65]

As some of you heard last night, I had to move all my zoas out of my main tank. My Scribbled Rabbitfish decided it liked my zoas more than algae (yum yum...palytoxin). Here are some shots of the damage. In less than 4 days he took out most of these. It started slow, with a pick here, then a munch on some algae for a while. Now it's pick zoas, pick zoas, pick zoas, turn nose down at algae, pick zoas. I removed them all to the 10 gallon frag tank (except one rock with a bunch of what used to be protopalythoa-have now been apparently renamed to Zoanthus gigantus..., two other rocks with "Protos", and another medium rock with come colorful ones. It has some algae, so I figure the rabbitfish will leave it alone... It didn't start showing signs of interest until a little over a week ago. Then I realized I had whole colonies missing. It would just rip sections off and munch and go back for more... A lot of people have had good luck with these guys, but I guess I got a bad one.

Damaged colonies-They may still come back.?.

Here is everyone in the 10.

 

[c_stowers]

Ouch! I bet the remaining zoas will come back around. I can't believe that a fish would enjoy eating zoas though given that they have toxins in them. So have you caught the rabbit fish yet?

 

[imsqueak]

That waskely wabbit would be vermin by now:blown:

 

[gflat65]

I'm giving him a reprieve until I can figure out what to do with him. As long as he stays away from my LPS, he can have a happy life (short term) and maybe I can rehabilitate him and recondition him to like algae again. My current plans are to have an SPS tank and an LPS/softie tank, but I'd still like to have some zoas in with my sps...

 

[eyebedam]

Are you having a half price zoa sale? If not what about rabbitfish kabobs.

 

[Pickupman66]

Gary,

I had a foxface that are the insides out of an LTA. killed it. also are some zoos, tubeworms and picked at some others. it quickly went to the critter.

NOT REEF SAFE. at least that is my opinion.

 

[just dave]

Rabbitfish are risky reef tank inhabitants as you've found out.

 

[Mikeyjer]

That rabbit fish really did some major damage from what I saw tonight....Hopefully those zoos would recover!!! Thanks again Gary!!!

 

[Mdwannabe]

How's the rabbit acting now?

 

[gflat65]

I pulled every zoa out of the tank except my RPE/Barbies/Pink ringed PE, PPE's, and Chameleon PE's out of the tank. On the rock with the RPE's/Barbies/Pinked Ring PE's rock, there were soem small polyped pink centered with orange skirt zoas. I hadn't seen the rabbitfish pick on any of the larger zoas (apparently they are no longer Protopalythoas...), but then noticed that the pink centered orange skirt zoas were completely missing from the rock... I pulled them all last night...

 

[Sk8r]

I had one get over-excited stealing a bit of shrimp from a coral, but I've never had any trouble other than that. But then, I don't have any 'button' corals. That's horrid! Foster & Smith (or have I got it backward) makes a fish trap that should work for the rabbit: I've ordered one myself, because he's just so big in my 52. Did his work. Now I'll donate him to the lfs. Starve him (if possible) then put grape caulerpa in the trap as the only source of green, and I'll bet you'll get him.

 

[sn8kbit]

Ouch! My tang was only a nibble here and there, nothing like that.

 

[gflat65]

I've got them all out of the tank for now (and am planning a LPS/softie tank in the future), but I have some more work for the little bugger. Now that I've taken away its candy, it is starting to work on some of my algae (bryopsis just won't go away, even with a lot of water changes lately and the MR2). If I can convince myself to keep softies out of my sps tank, he may get to stay, but I'm weak. I like a mixed tank too much...