Found a Nudi eating my Porities and need advice

[College_Reefer]

Hey everyone so last night I did my nightly scan of the tank before going to bed and found my worst nightmare. It is 100% sps eating nudibranchs. I had noticed a little bleached edge around the bottom of the rock after getting back from Thanksgiving but figured maybe parameters weren’t spot on and I wasn’t too worried as that rock is super healthy otherwise. I’m at a total loss now… Normally I’d dip them and be done worrying but the issue is they’re eating porities that my Christmas tree worms are in so as far as I understand, I can’t dip it without killing the worms. I’m at a loss as to what to do because what I don’t want is to have to choose the worms over the coral.

 

[Lemons]

No wrasses to eat those pests?

 

[College_Reefer]

No wrasses to eat those pests?

There very well may be. My worry is they’ll eat the Christmas tree worms too. Any recommendations on best species to get?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Manual removal of both the slugs and any eggs would be my suggestion - these nudibranchs typically integrate chemicals from their prey to use as their own chemical defenses (these chemicals may be either toxic, foul-tasting, or both to predators), so I don't know for sure of anything that would eat them. Wrasses or other invert eaters (reef-safe-with-caution or not reef-safe fish) might eat them, but they definitely wouldn't be a surefire solution.

 

[Lemons]

There very well may be. My worry is they’ll eat the Christmas tree worms too. Any recommendations on best species to get?

I've personally never had christmas tree worms, but i imagine something like a pinkstreak or a six line wouldnt harm them!

 

[Lemons]

The """standard""" pest control wrasses like a melanarus/Coris might also be a good choice, but unsure if they'd pick on the worms

 

[fishyjoes]

I did some related research when I found monti eating nudibranch in my tank. From what I found there's not a good way to deal with them.
I dipped with revive and bayer (not sure of spelling) and that might have stunned/killed the adults, but not the eggs.
In the end I just physically removed them (removed the coral and blasted it with water) and scraped off the eggs I could find with a razor blade. I found this technique from a couple of reefbuilders videos.

 

[Kasrift]

I've personally never had christmas tree worms, but i imagine something like a pinkstreak or a six line wouldnt harm them!

I have both and have had them for a year. My sixline doesn't even look twice at the Christmas tree worm rock.

 

[KrisReef]

Spray the rocks with KCl and avoid the worms, swish the rock if clean saltwater and look and crush any eggs.

 

[djf91]

Are you sure these are nudibranchs and that they are eating your Porites? I didn’t know there was a species of nudibranch that fed on Porites.

 

[PeterErc]

I have both and have had them for a year. My sixline doesn't even look twice at the Christmas tree worm rock.

I have had six lines that eat every duster/worm in the tank. The present sixline is a dud, or a blessing in disguises. It does not touch tube worms.

 

[Kasrift]

I have had six lines that eat every duster/worm in the tank. The present sixline is a dud, or a blessing in disguises. It does not touch tube worms.

Interesting. Wondering if it has anything to do with availability of other food sources. My tank is overflowing with pods.

 

[PeterErc]

Interesting. Wondering if it has anything to do with availability of other food sources. My tank is overflowing with pods.

Yea, i don’t know, I killed the pods off with interceptor, removed and replaced all the rock so not much in there for food. Colonial Feather dusters are still on sand bed and thriving.
I once bought a colony of feather dusters from the LFS. Put them in the tank and a sixline picked the colony apart and ate all of them.
I guess it’s like some angels that are model citizens or a fox face that won’t eat bubble algae