Zoanthid eaters?

[returnofsid]

What fish are absolutely know to definitely eat Zoanthids/Palys???

I have a major issue with UGLY Palys that have taken over the bottom of my 200DD. About a year ago, this was a small infestation, growing up the front glass. I quickly scraped them off with a razor blade, netting them out, along with their very thick slime, quickly. The next morning ALL of my Montipora corals were DEAD. NOW, it's a MAJOR infestation.

My last resort is to completely tear down the tank, moving all of my livestock into a couple stock tanks, and removing any rocks with the offending Palys, while also scraping them off of the bottom glass.

First, I'd like to try a fish. I need a fish that will DEFINITELY eat Zoanthids but will NOT bother my large RBTA or SPS corals. I can remove all of the LPS, Zoanthids I want to keep, and clams, placing them in another tank, but I can't remove the RBTA.

Any ideas?

I've considered a Raccoon Butterfly and possibly some type of large Angelfish. Just need to know what's most likely to eat Zoanthids/Palys while NOT messing with any SPS or the RBTA.

 

[JaneG]

What fish are absolutely know to definitely eat Zoanthids/Palys???

I have a major issue with UGLY Palys that have taken over the bottom of my 200DD. About a year ago, this was a small infestation, growing up the front glass. I quickly scraped them off with a razor blade, netting them out, along with their very thick slime, quickly. The next morning ALL of my Montipora corals were DEAD. NOW, it's a MAJOR infestation.

My last resort is to completely tear down the tank, moving all of my livestock into a couple stock tanks, and removing any rocks with the offending Palys, while also scraping them off of the bottom glass.

First, I'd like to try a fish. I need a fish that will DEFINITELY eat Zoanthids but will NOT bother my large RBTA or SPS corals. I can remove all of the LPS, Zoanthids I want to keep, and clams, placing them in another tank, but I can't remove the RBTA.

Any ideas?

I've considered a Raccoon Butterfly and possibly some type of large Angelfish. Just need to know what's most likely to eat Zoanthids/Palys while NOT messing with any SPS or the RBTA.

I can't think of any fish that will definitley and not go after other corals. Your best bet, I would think, is to either try something that eats Aiptasia (Aiptasia Eating Filefish, etc. - but a risk overall), perhaps get an angelfish or get a specilized predator. I know zoa eating nudis don't eat them, but I don't know about sundial snails - if I remember correctly, they will. If you can't get your hands on them, you might try Joe's Juice (I think it kills them like it does Aiptasia) or injecting them one by one with freshwater. Good luck!

 

[returnofsid]

I have an Aiptasia Eating Filefish that doesn't bother Zoanthids at all.

I've considered an Angelfish but don't know which species is MOST LIKELY to eat Zoanthids.

Joe's Juice isn't an option. We're talking about a 4-6 Square Foot area of nasty Palys. I'd have to buy Joe's Juice by the gallon jug and it'd probably crash my system.

Zoanthid Eating Nudis and/or Sundial Snails are also not an option. Once the nasty Palys are eradicated, I'd like to be able to put some Zoanthids back in the tank, in the future, though that's not an absolute necessity at this time. But I don't want to deal with a pest that I can't find to remove...lol

 

[SDguy]

Not sure how specific zoa nudis are to a particular species. Maybe try to find some of those?

 

[JaneG]

I have an Aiptasia Eating Filefish that doesn't bother Zoanthids at all.

I've considered an Angelfish but don't know which species is MOST LIKELY to eat Zoanthids.

Joe's Juice isn't an option. We're talking about a 4-6 Square Foot area of nasty Palys. I'd have to buy Joe's Juice by the gallon jug and it'd probably crash my system.

Zoanthid Eating Nudis and/or Sundial Snails are also not an option. Once the nasty Palys are eradicated, I'd like to be able to put some Zoanthids back in the tank, in the future, though that's not an absolute necessity at this time. But I don't want to deal with a pest that I can't find to remove...lol

My only other ides would be...
1. Flagfin Angelfish? We had one that loved zoanthids - but that seems kind of expensive/risky
2. Some kind of cowrie (note review)
3. Starve them of light by covering them with something? I imagine they would survive though.
4. Kill little by little with Joe's Juice? I think it's concentrated kalkwasser, which would be cheaper to make.
5. Introduce a pyramid snail (zoa nudibranches won't eat palys to my knowledge) and wait for them to starve after your infestation is over - or just introduce one if you can and remove it later, but I don't know if they can reproduce on their own.
I can't think of anything else. Good luck!

 

[aleonn]

I've heard some people with racoon butterflies or rabbitfish eating their zoas. If you have a reef club forum on RC, I'd post there or see if people sell off their zoa-eating fishies.

 

[returnofsid]

So far, I'm still leaning towards some type of Butterfly fish or Angelfish, and researching a Cowrie...something that can be easily removed in the future.

If I can't come up with a fish/Cowrie option, I guess I'll stick with my original plan to tear the tank apart, eliminate all the Palys, and rebuild...lol. I'm prepared to do that, just would rather not...lol

 

[CMS!]

From the sound of it your best bet might be a tear down because it sounds like they reproduce very easily and I sure if there is a the slightest but missed you could have the same problem again.

 

[snorvich]

Emperor angelfish, if I recall correctly, love them.

 

[snorvich]

Also, be very sensitive to the concept of Palytoxin Poisoning.