Peter Eichler
New member
It was a joke... There is no spider eating nudi.
Zoa Spiders, The battle begins.....
- Thread starter Shultz
- Start date
It was a joke... There is no spider eating nudi.
Shultz
New member
Today is judgement day for me, I'm giving myself 24hrs to step back & decide whether to just say enough is enough. Sounds a bit over the top, but its just how I feel now.....
Basically lastnight after my last update I had another look in the QT after lights out, yeap you guessed it the Zoa spiders were out in force again! picked off another 5
I have to hand it to them these things really are bulletproof, I've given all my Zoa's 2 dips so far & one of those was nigh on nuclear strenght & yet still more of these buggers can be found alive I presume these are coming out of polyps, so really dipping is a waste of time, its a factor of finding them & picking them off to get rid of them?
For me its heartbreaking to see the time & effort I put into this tank just melting away in front of my eyes, this is not even to mention the cost....
I would say out of all the rocks in the QT I have just 4 now that don't look too bad, a dozen or so that look iffy & the rest that don't look good at all, really wondering whether to dump them all & be done with it.
All I can add is I hope none of you big Zoa keepers out there manage to get these in your tank because these are the real deal Zoa killers, nudi's are a walk in the park compared to these.....
My only other thought is to alter my light cycle so that the tank is in darkness a lot earlier so I might dip them & hopefully catch the spiders outside the polyps.... thinking time beckcons.
Cheers Shelton.
Basically lastnight after my last update I had another look in the QT after lights out, yeap you guessed it the Zoa spiders were out in force again! picked off another 5
I have to hand it to them these things really are bulletproof, I've given all my Zoa's 2 dips so far & one of those was nigh on nuclear strenght & yet still more of these buggers can be found alive I presume these are coming out of polyps, so really dipping is a waste of time, its a factor of finding them & picking them off to get rid of them?For me its heartbreaking to see the time & effort I put into this tank just melting away in front of my eyes, this is not even to mention the cost....
I would say out of all the rocks in the QT I have just 4 now that don't look too bad, a dozen or so that look iffy & the rest that don't look good at all, really wondering whether to dump them all & be done with it.
All I can add is I hope none of you big Zoa keepers out there manage to get these in your tank because these are the real deal Zoa killers, nudi's are a walk in the park compared to these.....
My only other thought is to alter my light cycle so that the tank is in darkness a lot earlier so I might dip them & hopefully catch the spiders outside the polyps.... thinking time beckcons.
Cheers Shelton.
This is a great thread.... I am pulling for your success!!!
However, I am sad to say that I no longer keep these truly amazing species anymore because of the hitchhiker problems.
I am out of the game until there is enough awareness so prevention techniques are adapted by enough of the hobbyist population to give the educated hobbyists a fighting chance to have a successful tank.
I applaud the pioneers out there who are defining these techniques (ex. Lugols Dip) so everyone with a little homework can enjoy these fascinating corals...
However, I am sad to say that I no longer keep these truly amazing species anymore because of the hitchhiker problems.
I am out of the game until there is enough awareness so prevention techniques are adapted by enough of the hobbyist population to give the educated hobbyists a fighting chance to have a successful tank.
I applaud the pioneers out there who are defining these techniques (ex. Lugols Dip) so everyone with a little homework can enjoy these fascinating corals...
RedSonja
Premium Member
I found those pictures in the galleries at zoaid.com, wow, they are some tiny little things. The last pictures has one beside a penny and it's maybe 1/10 the size of the penny. I'm going to go look at my neon orange zoa's in quarantine when lights go out tonight, I can't understand why I'm losing them when all parameters seem good.
To the OP I hope you can get rid of them and your zoa's pull through!
-Sonja
Angela Short
New member
Have you gave them a FW dip redsonja? It can only help if you had a problem and any nudies or spiders will fall off so you will know.
Shultz
New member
Well I can't say its been a fun 2 hours, here I am at nearly midnight after dipping all that were still alive.....
As a re-cap I am testing a theory its better to dip for Zoa Spiders after lights out, well as the picture below shows I still have a problem
I think including the ones that didn't make it into the pic there was 44 tonight So it continues, will a beat them or will I run out of polyps first?? Dumped 6 rocks tonight that had bit the dust.......
Apologies for the crappy pic I couldn't be bothered to set up the macro at this time of night...
Cheers Shelton.
As a re-cap I am testing a theory its better to dip for Zoa Spiders after lights out, well as the picture below shows I still have a problem
I think including the ones that didn't make it into the pic there was 44 tonight So it continues, will a beat them or will I run out of polyps first?? Dumped 6 rocks tonight that had bit the dust.......
Apologies for the crappy pic I couldn't be bothered to set up the macro at this time of night...
Cheers Shelton.
Speckled Grouper
Sticks Suck!
OMG....unbelievable.....
Makes me very worried. We found one and only by accident. I scanned for nudis and found an eggswirl on a rock, so I took it out to remove it. I happened to turn the rock over and saw the spider. I wonder how many more there are ????
Makes me very worried. We found one and only by accident. I scanned for nudis and found an eggswirl on a rock, so I took it out to remove it. I happened to turn the rock over and saw the spider. I wonder how many more there are ????
dark_stranger
New member
This seems to be a common problem, unfortunately lacking a common solution.
Angela Short
New member
Wow! I wish someone had some reaserch on them to give you a clue as to what to do! Bummer!
Bummer!
Shultz
New member
Right since dipping all that are left in the QT friday I've not found anymore spiders after lights out.... The big test for me will be this coming friday when I dip them all again & see how many spiders I get this week as I know I've always gotten a lot more via dipping than searching.
I suspect I have had some eggs hatch as I notice I'm still losing polyps, though nowhere near on the scale I was... The most important question I would like answered now is how long the eggs take to hatch from being laid within the polyp?
Also it would be good to know how old these spiders have to be before they reach breeding age?
Will give another update on friday, poss saturday once I have dipped again.
Cheers Shelton.
I suspect I have had some eggs hatch as I notice I'm still losing polyps, though nowhere near on the scale I was... The most important question I would like answered now is how long the eggs take to hatch from being laid within the polyp?
Also it would be good to know how old these spiders have to be before they reach breeding age?
Will give another update on friday, poss saturday once I have dipped again.
Cheers Shelton.
saltycreefer
New member
Kryppy? That's that good ish,Right?
dark_stranger
New member
Shelton, from the lack of info on these little buggers on either side of the pond, maybe you have discovered a new spieces? Better get your latin hat on and think of a name. Will also let you know if my new ones (if they arrive today) are infected.
Shultz
New member
Right its time for the friday night update for all you Zoa-holics out there 
Just dipped what I have left, dumped 2 more rocks as the polyps left had gone so not worth keeping just to totally rot in the QT. Of course what you are reading for is to find out if/how many spiders I found.....
Well ok there is good & bad news as far as I'm concerned, I got 20 spiders this week so thats a good improvement on last weeks 44. The bad news is my largest rock of pinks has lost a fair chunk from it in dead poylps, I got 4 spiders off this rock alone! Continuing the bad news as such about 10 spiders were of a size I would call fully grown, I can't beleive these grow that quickly in a week, so it must mean they are inside either polyps or very lucky in a hole within the LR to survive the 3 dips so far?
I really hope next weeks dip will result in single figure finds, but again time will tell..... Most of the rocks left are between 2-10 polyps & some don't look overly healthy & I dunno how many more dips they will tolerate?
Cheers Shelton.
Just dipped what I have left, dumped 2 more rocks as the polyps left had gone so not worth keeping just to totally rot in the QT. Of course what you are reading for is to find out if/how many spiders I found.....
Well ok there is good & bad news as far as I'm concerned, I got 20 spiders this week so thats a good improvement on last weeks 44. The bad news is my largest rock of pinks has lost a fair chunk from it in dead poylps, I got 4 spiders off this rock alone! Continuing the bad news as such about 10 spiders were of a size I would call fully grown, I can't beleive these grow that quickly in a week, so it must mean they are inside either polyps or very lucky in a hole within the LR to survive the 3 dips so far?
I really hope next weeks dip will result in single figure finds, but again time will tell..... Most of the rocks left are between 2-10 polyps & some don't look overly healthy & I dunno how many more dips they will tolerate?
Cheers Shelton.
cschumaker
Member
I wonder if the red bug treatment for acro's would work on these spiders? If I remember right, you are supposed to try and remove any shrimp or crabs you have before you use it since they may not make it, so these spiders may have a similar weakness. Just a thought
Shultz
New member
I know the dip kills these spiders, all that I pull off afterwards are dead, they must be hiding somewhere that shields them from the dip in the first place though???
Thanks for the thought though, do you know what this redbug stuff is called please as I might try it if I continue to find them alive...
Cheers Shelton.
Thanks for the thought though, do you know what this redbug stuff is called please as I might try it if I continue to find them alive...
Cheers Shelton.
Shultz
New member
Thanks for that, doesn't seem its available here in the UK
For those following this I was pointed towards a Reefkeeping link as below, but I'll quote the last paragraph which doesn't bode to well for me or any other Zoanithid keeper....
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-01/rs/index.php
Quote: "Sea spider predation or parasitism is a potential threat to all corals, soft corals, and sea anemones that are kept in aquaria. If an aquarium system gets infected, just how easy it is to control the pest species will really depend on the type of pycnogonid that is present. The large forms are typically slow, and readily apparent, and may be easily removed from aquaria. The small forms, on the other hand, may be quite difficult to see, as they may be as small, or smaller, than the polyps of small-mouthed corals. Additionally, they may live under the coral mucus layer, and this would further obscure them. They do not appear to be easily removed by "dips," poisons, or potential predators. Frankly, if they are found on corals in any tank, the best option would likely be to remove the coral from the tank, and simply dispose of it."
Cheers Shelton.
For those following this I was pointed towards a Reefkeeping link as below, but I'll quote the last paragraph which doesn't bode to well for me or any other Zoanithid keeper....
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-01/rs/index.php
Quote: "Sea spider predation or parasitism is a potential threat to all corals, soft corals, and sea anemones that are kept in aquaria. If an aquarium system gets infected, just how easy it is to control the pest species will really depend on the type of pycnogonid that is present. The large forms are typically slow, and readily apparent, and may be easily removed from aquaria. The small forms, on the other hand, may be quite difficult to see, as they may be as small, or smaller, than the polyps of small-mouthed corals. Additionally, they may live under the coral mucus layer, and this would further obscure them. They do not appear to be easily removed by "dips," poisons, or potential predators. Frankly, if they are found on corals in any tank, the best option would likely be to remove the coral from the tank, and simply dispose of it."
Cheers Shelton.
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