Zoo Nudis vs FWE, a pictorial and easy zoo dip

[organism]

Zoanthid Eating Nudibranchs vs Salifert’s Flatworm Exit


I had initially set out to remove a large mass of flatworms that were on a colony of zoanthids, and placed 8 drops of Salifert’s Flatworm Exit (FWE) into 3 gallons of tank water in a bucket. After 10 minutes, I removed the zoanthids colony, and noted that all of the flatworms were dead at the bottom of the bucket. I also noticed, however, that there were a few zoanthids eating nudibranchs that were also at the bottom of the bucket, whether alive or dead it was hard to tell. Immediately I collected some nudis from a shipment of Solomon Zoanthids that was still acclimating and waiting to be dipped in iodine and freshwater, as usual.
The nudis were placed into two cups, a test group and a control group.

Test group
http://www.FraggleReef.com/zen/banners/nudis1.jpg
http://www.FraggleReef.com/zen/banners/nudis3.jpg

Control group
http://www.FraggleReef.com/zen/banners/nudic1.jpg


Each cup had 2 cups of tank water. Into one cup, there were added 4 drops of FWE, nothing was added into the control group.
In 30 seconds, one of the nudis in the test cup was falling from the side of the cup. In 45 seconds it looked like this.

http://www.FraggleReef.com/zen/banners/nudis4.jpg

In 60 seconds
http://www.FraggleReef.com/zen/banners/nudis6.jpg

The results were fast, effective, and much, much less stressful for the zoanthids colonies than the freshwater iodine dip. The control group showed no ill effects during this time. Obviously, the control group wasn’t going anywhere, so 4 drops were added since they were in better locations for pictures.

In 30 seconds stress sets in
http://www.FraggleReef.com/zen/banners/nudic3.jpg

In 45 seconds, lesions appear on the side of the nudi
http://www.FraggleReef.com/zen/banners/nudic4.jpg

In 60 seconds the lesion spreads
http://www.FraggleReef.com/zen/banners/nudic6.jpg

One of the nudi's appendages falls off at 80 seconds
http://www.FraggleReef.com/zen/banners/nudic8.jpg

90 seconds it’s falling to pieces
http://www.FraggleReef.com/zen/banners/nudic9.jpg

[organism]

In two minutes, two minutes! Mwahahahahahahhaha!
http://www.FraggleReef.com/zen/banners/nudic11.jpg



While not provenly effective against nudi eating spiders (someone please try that one and let me know), this treatment certainly seems to work wonders against zoanthid eating nudibranchs, and best of all it’s pretty reef safe! This means that if you have an infestation in your entire tank, you can now treat with a heavy dose of FWE and get all of the nudis, then retreat every two weeks to deal with the newly hatched eggs. As always, care is required however, since 4 drops per 2-4 cups is nearly 4 times the recommended dosage, and is much easier (and cheaper) to carry out in a bucket than in an entire system. Since this dipping system works with your regular tank water, you can leave the colonies in the bucket for nearly 30 minutes with no ill effects, then place them into a bucket of only tank water for 10-30 minutes in order to remove any FWE that may still be on the colony, and place back into the tank or quarantine system.

[msman825]

cool thanks for the info

[dc_909]

Nice, get those bastards!!!

[coralite]

Great post organism. I will try to repeat your results and I hope it's as easy as you claim. Thanks for sharing.

[fio1022]

Thanks for sharing.
I'll be doing this during the week.

[bower23]

I have to keep this in mind.... thanks for the info.

[organism]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9834601#post9834601 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by coralite
Great post organism. I will try to repeat your results and I hope it's as easy as you claim. Thanks for sharing.


tried it today with some larger colonies, works very well, 30 minutes, no nudis, all of them are just lying on the bottom of the bucket...


make sure to put them into a bucket of clean tankwater afterwards for a little while to get all of the FWE off of the colonies since the dosage is so high

[jessp]

thanks for the info, one question. whats the difference between doing this and fw dip? I guess is gets the flat worms and nudis at same time.

[WWC]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9834601#post9834601 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by coralite
Great post organism. I will try to repeat your results and I hope it's as easy as you claim. Thanks for sharing. it's that easy,it just wont kill the eggs;) wheat i do when i get new zoanthid colony a put them on a gallon of salt water with 15-20 drops of flatworm exit(if nudis are very large add 5 more drops)it has work for me for quite a while now,hope this info helps.

also don't forget to shake the rock hard on the solution.

[WWC]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9836515#post9836515 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jessp
thanks for the info, one question. whats the difference between doing this and fw dip? I guess is gets the flat worms and nudis at same time. Just less stress for your zoa's,just my opinion,fresh water is a great treatment but it's not when you dip them often cause of nudis,it can take a toll on your zoa's;)

[ct_vol]

Good info Miguel!!! Thanks for sharing... :D

[organism]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9836942#post9836942 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lvschiavo
Just less stress for your zoa's,just my opinion,fresh water is a great treatment but it's not when you dip them often cause of nudis,it can take a toll on your zoa's;)


exactly, freshwater dipping makes them much more prone to fungal infections and stress issues


lvschiavo, have you tried a really high dose on the eggs to see what happens? I think I might give it a shot to see if they fall apart as well under some insanely high dosage...

[jessp]

ok good to know, that makes sense.

[WWC]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9838407#post9838407 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by organism
exactly, freshwater dipping makes them much more prone to fungal infections and stress issues


lvschiavo, have you tried a really high dose on the eggs to see what happens? I think I might give it a shot to see if they fall apart as well under some insanely high dosage... yes i have,they don't look stress at all,what i did to get rid off them was to put the zoas under atinic lights like MUCHO does:p

[organism]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9840532#post9840532 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lvschiavo
yes i have,they don't look stress at all,what i did to get rid off them was to put the zoas under atinic lights like MUCHO does:p


aw, oh well... I like the actinics method too, but would've been nice to have an all in one nudi eradication dip :D

[chadfarmer]

been doing this for a while

eggs are not affected from what i have seen

only wish i could get the flat worm exot in a bigger bottle

[organism]

right? they need to come out with a FWE 40oz jug...

[organism]

Since all the pics got lost on this one here's an update of the ones in the original post :)

30 seconds

http://www.practicalcoralfarming.com/images/nudis/429nudic3.jpg

45 seconds

http://www.practicalcoralfarming.com/images/nudis/429nudic4.jpg

60 seconds

http://www.practicalcoralfarming.com/images/nudis/429nudic6.jpg

80 seconds

http://www.practicalcoralfarming.com/images/nudis/429nudic8.jpg

90 seconds

http://www.practicalcoralfarming.com/images/nudis/429nudic9.jpg

2 minutes

http://www.practicalcoralfarming.com/images/nudis/429nudic11.jpg

[organism]

Also, 45 seconds

http://www.practicalcoralfarming.com/images/nudis/429nudis4.jpg

60 seconds

http://www.practicalcoralfarming.com/images/nudis/429nudis6.jpg

[Megalonaias]

Any thoughts on how this might affect your copepod populations? Also, I'm having trouble with my zoas lately and have been thinking about doing a dip. Only problem is that I have a tridacnid clam on the rock that needs to be dipped. Do you think this treatment would be safe for the clam and other invertebrates like brittle stars? Very nice post.

[organism]

I'm not sure what would happen with a clam at that concentration, but I haven't had any issues with pods or inverts. I'd do a search on the clam and see if anyone's had a similar issue...