White Slugs. What are These Things?

cabby

Premium Member
These guys are taking over. How do I terminate them?

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Hard to tell from the pic. Any chance of getting a more in focus shot. I'll go on a limb and guess a nudibranch of some sort, perhaps a coral eater. Do they seem to be congregating around any particular coral?
 
Yep, those are arminid nudibranchs. They feed on soft corals. Some wrasses may eat them, but your best bet is probably to find the coral they're eating and remove them by hand.
 
Re: White Slugs. What are These Things?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11021962#post11021962 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cabby
These guys are taking over. How do I terminate them?

With extreme prejudice. Sorry, Cabby.... Those are nudibranchs in the family Arminidae which means they're specialized predators on some kind of cnidarian, usually soft corals & sea pens. If they appear to be taking over it means something came in with at least one reproductive individual or eggs. Without anything to eat them the population has exploded. You'll need to do fresh water dips and carefully check each coral & other surfaces in the tank over & over again to try to catch as many as possible. Do some searches here on RC for posts on how other people have dealt with problem nudibranchs. Good luck!
 
Since they are reproducing and growing, it seems they have a food source that meets their specialized diet. Have they attacked any particular coral?
 
Another thought: If your rock is realtively new, it's possible they came in on a rock that carried their food needs (sponge, etc.), in which case you might be looking at a boom / bust cycle eventually.
 
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