Zoa Eating Nudibranch - Now what?

[Jxw6963]

So I picked up a few zoa frags a couple of weeks ago. All went through a dip, but yesterday found an orange nudibranch munching on on one. It was actually on a green zoa next to the frag I'm assuming it came from, since that other frag is orange, same color as the nudi, and that orange frag never really fully opened up since I got it.

So I pulled that frag out and dipped again. Nothing cam off of it, but I'm not sure if anything is inside the closed polyps, and I do see these white dots that i'm not really sure what they are. Seem different than egg pictures I've seen, but wanted to check what these white dots may be and what do you all think I should do with this frag?


The pictures while it is still in the dip may be best to see the white spots. The pics of me holding the frag shows a lot of other white dots due to the light reflection

 

[tbrown]

Are they in your display tank? It may be best to set up a quarantine for the new frags until you find out what you have?

Also, have you reached out to the vendor to let them know what you found? My hope is that they are unaware and they will stop sales and reach out to others that may have received infected frags.

Likely they are already aware, but hopefully reaching out will cause them to potentially change their husbandry.

As for the current situation you're in, do you have any predators that will eat nudibranches? Some wrasses, damselfish, and Hawkfish will eat them if they can find them.

 

[Jxw6963]

Are they in your display tank? It may be best to set up a quarantine for the new frags until you find out what you have?

Also, have you reached out to the vendor to let them know what you found? My hope is that they are unaware and they will stop sales and reach out to others that may have received infected frags.

Likely they are already aware, but hopefully reaching out will cause them to potentially change their husbandry.

As for the current situation you're in, do you have any predators that will eat nudibranches? Some wrasses, damselfish, and Hawkfish will eat them if they can find them.

Both would be ideal, but unfortunately no Quarantine tank, and not really fish that would target these.

 

[tbrown]

That makes it difficult. If they're Zoa eaters, the good news is they only eat Zoas. The bad news is, they're very difficult to eradicate.

I got a batch of Monti eaters and I lost many of my months to them. Keep taking the frags out and dipping every couple of days to get rid of new hatchlings in case there's eggs. Pick out any adults you can find as soon as you see them. Check after lights out though, that seems to be when they're mostly active.

 

[Jxw6963]

Oh man, ok i took another look and this definitely looks like eggs. I think im just going to toss this frag

 

[tbrown]

Those are definitely eggs.

Have you reached out to the vendor to inform them of what you found?

 

[Jxw6963]

Not yet, will do.
Not to blast them on here, but this was Aquasd and overall not so happy with this latest shipment. Ordered from them once before and wasn't bad, had 1 issue with a torch which they refunded quickly. But this latest shipment had several issues

 

[Ziggy17]

Another reason why I remove the frag from the plug they were on, glue it in a fresh one, and then dip.
It sucks when the stick has already started to base on the old plug, but it’s still better that hosting eggs.

 

[Patx]

Could these be eggs of other things?
I've seen similar eggs on my refugium glass before.

 

[Jxw6963]

Well anything is possible, but it's the same frag that i'm pretty sure the nudi came from, and has the circular pattern that they make with their eggs.
Are yours circular pattern? I'm not sure what else lays like that.

 

[slingfox]

Not yet, will do.
Not to blast them on here, but this was Aquasd and overall not so happy with this latest shipment. Ordered from them once before and wasn't bad, had 1 issue with a torch which they refunded quickly. But this latest shipment had several issues

AquaSD seems to mainly import corals from Indo/Australia and resells. This can be seen from what they sell. This is not an uncommon business model but if you want to decreases chances of hitchhikers then you should order from the sellers who focus on selling aquaculture coral or which have more strict protocols before they resell to consumers.

To address your current issue: I would remount all frags you ordered from AquaSD on fresh frag plugs. This reduces the chance of eggs and hitchhikers materially. I would then dip all those frags in a potassium chloride dip once a week for six weeks straight.

 

[Patx]

Well anything is possible, but it's the same frag that i'm pretty sure the nudi came from, and has the circular pattern that they make with their eggs.
Are yours circular pattern? I'm not sure what else lays like that.

Mine are pretty much the same. But let's stay on topic.
Finding a Nudi and having that on a plug... it's not time to guess.
Dip.

 

[Jxw6963]

Are they in your display tank? It may be best to set up a quarantine for the new frags until you find out what you have?

Also, have you reached out to the vendor to let them know what you found? My hope is that they are unaware and they will stop sales and reach out to others that may have received infected frags.

Likely they are already aware, but hopefully reaching out will cause them to potentially change their husbandry.

As for the current situation you're in, do you have any predators that will eat nudibranches? Some wrasses, damselfish, and Hawkfish will eat them if they can find them.

Are there certain damsels more likely to target pests like nudibranchs more than others that would be recommended?

 

[me & my baby]

That’s suck I’m glade you caught it and found the eggs before they went in your system . the days are gone from thinking any vendors , private seller or buddy’s frags are pest free .

 

[Jxw6963]

That’s suck I’m glade you caught it and found the eggs before they went in your system . the days are gone from thinking any vendors , private seller or buddy’s frags are pest free .

Hopefully none hatched, kinda paranoid about that now

 

[tbrown]

Are there certain damsels more likely to target pests like nudibranchs more than others that would be recommended?

I think there's only a few that eat them. Springeri are my favorite - they're bright blue and mostly great community members.

@Stang67 what was the other Damsel? I think it was you that was trying to find one? A pinkish colored one?

 

[tbrown]

Talbot's!

 

[Patx]

Are there certain damsels more likely to target pests like nudibranchs more than others that would be recommended?

Tank dimensions ?

 

[Jxw6963]

Tank dimensions ?

Not too big, 42 gal. 2 x 2 ft

Midas Blenny
Midnight Lightning Clown
Royal Gramma
Firefish
Blood red shrimp
Trochus, ceriths, hermits, nassarius, sand tiger conch

 

[Patx]

I have a H. Leucoxanthus in 24x24x18 for 2 years now.
"If they eat" zoa nudibranch (probably, but i don't know)

i suggest H. Leucoxanthus or H. chrysus.
Both peaceful... unlike damsel.
But need confirmation if they eat those nudi.