Pest and Pestilence: What the WORST you have ever faced in your reefing career?

[revhtree]

This week we're going to be talking about our most favorite subject in this hobby, Pest and Pestilences....NOT! Well they're not our favorite subject but we will be talking about them. And YES I know that pest and pestilence are the same thing but for the sake of differentiating between certain pests let's consider pests to be something akin to aiptasia or monti eating nudis etc. and the term pestilence to refer to a type of algae or dino outbreak etc! Deal? Let's talk about it!

"let's consider pests to be something akin to aiptasia or monti eating nudis etc. and the term pestilence to refer to a type of algae or dino outbreak etc."

What's the worst PEST you've had to deal with in your reef aquarium?

What's the worst PESTILENCE you've had to overcome in your aquarium?

3ft bobbit worm image via @Blue Seas Aquariums

 

[lulubap]

Currently am experiencing some kind of “bacteria mashup” has the look of cyano, the color of diatoms, and the length of dinos. Starting a new tank so hoping everything gets a clean slate..

 

[Andreas' Reef]

I'm actually having an outbreak of this thing called "everything"

 

[Aidenlko22]

Ich

 

[Therbuscosmas]

This crab i caught on camera has been wreaking havok for at least a year... its at least 1.5 in and has killed som snails, bangais, and ehsrk nose goby. Its too cunning to catch, so itll just stay until it get replaced by something worse i guess...
Gif via imgur

 

[Sharkbait19]

Does disease count? If so, then that.

 

[tbrown]

This week we're going to be talking about our most favorite subject in this hobby, Pest and Pestilences....NOT! Well they're not our favorite subject but we will be talking about them. And YES I know that pest and pestilence are the same thing but for the sake of differentiating between certain pests let's consider pests to be something akin to aiptasia or monti eating nudis etc. and the term pestilence to refer to a type of algae or dino outbreak etc! Deal? Let's talk about it!

"let's consider pests to be something akin to aiptasia or monti eating nudis etc. and the term pestilence to refer to a type of algae or dino outbreak etc."

What's the worst PEST you've had to deal with in your reef aquarium?

What's the worst PESTILENCE you've had to overcome in your aquarium?

3ft bobbit worm image via @Blue Seas Aquariums

I was fighting both at the same time! I got a nasty case of bryopsis and Monti Eating Nudis at the same time! The bryopsis was getting so bad I finally used Flux RX, but even that only kept it down... I finally figured out that there was a magnet glass scraper leaching and rusting in my tank and as soon as I removed that the bryopsis disappeared in 3 days. The damage had been done already though and I lost several of my corals. Once the bryopsis was gone I realized why I was losing my montis... Monti Eating Nudis.

 

[Slocke]

Yet to have anything awful though I do have a bit of cyano at the moment.

Funny story. I got 2 shipments from a well known coral site. The first one had Aiptasia hitchhiking which gave me a slight infestation. The second order came with hitchhiking berghia. I no longer have aiptasia.

 

[jackbreefs]

I have dino x and hairy algae, its killing my goons

 

[Jeffcb]

This guy stung me as I clean my sock out. Pest.

 

[sixty_reefer]

I find that pestilence are fairly easy to deal with now days and often a imbalance between CNP, no3 and po4 availability (organic Vs inorganic nutrients) as far as pests I think I’ve dealt with most with the exception of afew a natural predator always have been my personal choice for pest.

 

[kevgib67]

Neomesis sp (Thank you wheat for the id, was still bugging me after 10 years), caused me to tear down a 16 yo tank.

 

[Biglew11]

Dinos, then bubble algae and red turf algae at same time.

 

[jimk60]

I've been doing this for a long time and have battled most everything at one time or another but colonial hydroids are the only thing I could not get under control and ended up tearing down the tank.

 

[Gtinnel]

I’m going through a aiptasia outbreak currently and it’s the worst outbreak in my tank that I’ve had. Everything I’ve tried to kill them just spreads them.
The only issue I’ve had that was even close was Dinos and they were easier to beat than aiptasia.

 

[TonyP]

Vermetid snails are horrible!

 

[CookieRdReef]

My tank is infested with expensive corals. I can't seem to stop buying them.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

Recently I had multiple Drs. Mis-diagnose me, wonder they didn’t kill me, by dropping my Potassium, Magnesium and Electrolytes to off scale. Lost two Banggai Cardinals in my Quarantine tank, due to lack of feeding. Saved one. Aquariums are a mess, will have to start over on my Frag. Tank. Except for making RO/DI water, aquariums went unattended for Five Weeks.

 

[skip0211]

Large infestation of Majano Nems in my SPS tank.

 

[Gatorpa]

I’m going through a aiptasia outbreak currently and it’s the worst outbreak in my tank that I’ve had. Everything I’ve tried to kill them just spreads them.
The only issue I’ve had that was even close was Dinos and they were easier to beat than aiptasia.

Have you tried a CB butterfly?

Pepermint shrimp work great. just need to get the “real” ones and over stock them