I recently changed tanks and in the process I lost a majority of my corals. The new tank has been running for about a month now and the surviving corals are finally coming around. However, the other day I spotted a very tiny white worm on the glass. I've had AEFW and zoa nudibranchs in the past. It appeared to be a nudibranch. I have two small colonies of zoas and neither are closed up or have the signs of nudibranchs. I closely looked at one of my table acro frags where it had lost some tissue from the move. It had a few very small nudibranches on its dead tissue. I didn't know acros could get nudis. I also have not purchased a new coral in months. The only new additions to the tank have been 4 emerald crabs and a handful of chaeto algae which I obtained from a LFS. Obviously I didn't dip either. I don't know how I got nudis.I dipped the frag and 3 small nudis flew off. I decided to dip all of my corals and treat the tank with flatworm exit. I do not see signs of eggs but I will retreat the tank for a few weeks just in case something hatches. Is it possible they weren't harmful nudis? I don't see bite marks and it is really hard to compare the coral to its healthier state because it is still rebounding from the move. I'll see if I can get some pics to upload. They look like berghia nudis to me. I just don't have aiptasia for them to feed on.
Suspicious nudibranch
- Thread starter cflow
- Start date
AlSimmons
New member
It looks like a Montipora-eating Nudibranch IMO. A Berghia Nudibranch is another possibilty too though, but these usually don't show up in our tanks as often as the Montipora-eating variety does. You might want to compare what you have to some pictures online just to make sure.
Hard to tell from that picture but I'm leaning a bit more toward zoa eating nudibranch.
In my experience montipora eating nudibranchs are smaller, white to cream, have a smaller number of flattened laterally protruding cerata, and frequently appear on glass when their population increases.
Zoanthid eating nudibranchs are larger, fatter, have fluorescent cerata that match the color of the tentacles of the zoanthid they are eating, Have more rounded cerata protruding from the dorsal side, generally stay in zoanthid colonies.
In my experience montipora eating nudibranchs are smaller, white to cream, have a smaller number of flattened laterally protruding cerata, and frequently appear on glass when their population increases.
Zoanthid eating nudibranchs are larger, fatter, have fluorescent cerata that match the color of the tentacles of the zoanthid they are eating, Have more rounded cerata protruding from the dorsal side, generally stay in zoanthid colonies.
So after about 4 days of treating the tank I saw a tiny white nudi on the glass again. I noticed that the same acro had about 2 more on its skeleton again. I captured one and added a drop of flatworm exit to its container to see if it kills it. It did. Then about 2 days later I saw a much bigger one on the dead tissue of my stylophora. I captured it and got some better pics. Hopefully it'll upload.
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It's an aeolid nudibranch. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-05/rs/index.htm
lancesmith1
Member
I had one show up a while back that looked similar to this one. I tried to get some pictures to help identify it. By the time I got around to trying to catch it it was gone. I haven't seen it since.
