Acro Eating Nudibranch

biggles · 11/15/2014, 11:42 PM

I discovered these guys last night whilst doing an after dark torch inspection. About 7-8 years ago i had them appear in a frag tank connected to the 4x2x2 display. Not knowing what i was looking at until they made their presence known by sheer numbers led to the loss of about ten big frags but after chucking out everything infected i did eradicate them.

It's only because i've had a previous battle with these little bastards that i spotted them so i wanted to do my best to give you a heads up on what they look like and their behavior from my personal experience.

The nudis are white and very frilly. The frills move in the water flow and they seem to follow a very set pattern from my experience with them. They will pick a single acro frag or colony and immediately begin eating the tissue at the edge. They never move up and attack branches etc, always working from the bottom edges upwards. They lay eggs repeatedly about every 3 days and the eggs hatch in about 14 days from memory.

I only have my phone camera so i've done the best i can to get the clearest shot i could given the equipment. The two nudis are less than 1/8" in length so they are very hard to spot unless you are specifically looking for them. Last night the pair were together laying eggs beside a corallite and looked exactly like a mesenterial filament bundle which is what caught my eye. Rather than have that glistening translucence that filaments exhibit these things are solid white. They don't let go even when hammered hard with a turkey baster at point blank range and this is the easiest way to confirm you're not panicking over a piece of detritus caught by a polyp.

Here they are on their chosen acro, a small SSC frag. They are lower left on the frag edge and even though you can't see it there are two egg batches laid, an older one and the one i saw them laying last night.

I zoomed in more and rotated the pic to give you the best look i could at what you want to watch for. The area circled in yellow is acro skeleton where the tissue has been consumed by the two nudis that you see in that circled area. Dead center of the right circle is that egg batch laid at the bast of the corallite last night. The second area on the left outlined in red is the first batch prob laid 3-4 days ago when they first settled in. The barnacle opening in the acro is no more than 1/16" wide for size reference.

I killed both the adults with boiling hot RO along with the entire side of the acro frag. I then used a chisel to manually pulverize the area i killed on the acro. I have thoroughly inspected everything i can and will start doing some big checks at night for a while because they stand out under a torch IF you know what you're looking at. To your naked eye they do not look like a nudi, they look like a tiny bit of crap caught by an acro polyp or detritus resting on the tissue. Remember, anything staying put on your acro that isn't being moved on by water flow is suspicious so use a turkey baster and you'll soon know what's up if that 'detritus' doesn't blow away or the 'filaments' don't unravel under moderate water flow.

I'm only speaking from personal experience and i'm not too worried about seeing them as they are much easier to deal with if you catch them early than the bugs and flatworms i see driving everyone nuts now days. I'll let you know if any further developments arise in regards to AEN (made that up)

Fishy 1 · 11/15/2014, 11:46 PM

That's no good mate, show those little bugger's they messed with the wrong Acro maniac

rlpardue · 11/15/2014, 11:58 PM

Is it possible to isolate a couple of them into a specimen container or petri dish?

Peter Eichler · 11/16/2014, 12:33 AM

Hmmm, that's a new one for me. I know there are a lot of other coral pests than what is talked about here. But I can't recall an acropora eating nudibranch being reported... They look identical to the montipora eating nudi's. It would be interesting to know if they're the same species that has adapted to other food offerings. Do you have any montipora in the tank? Good luck kicking them out of your tank, again!

biggles · 11/16/2014, 12:36 AM

Well the two in the photo went to nudi heaven Lee via the vaporizing white wand of boiling death, 4-5 baby snails and a couple of small brittle stars were unfortunately caught up in the hostilities and suffered fatal hits. If i see any more i will catch them as i'll just cut off the bit with them on it.
Don't worry Rory, when i get the wand of death out it's not a surgical strike, rather i would have to say a napalm bomb would best describe the aftermath of one of my boiling RO attacks.

' I love the smell of boiling RO in the morning.......... '

biggles · 11/16/2014, 12:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Eichler

Hmmm, that's a new one for me. I know there are a lot of other coral pests than what is talked about here. But I can't recall an acropora eating nudibranch being reported... They look identical to the montipora eating nudi's. It would be interesting to know if they're the same species that has adapted to other food offerings. Do you have any montipora in the tank? Good luck kicking them out of your tank, again!

Hi Peter, in my last system there were no monti's whatsoever but in this system i have 3 or 4 bits. I thought of the monti nudis but haven't been able to see a sign of anything up with them. I last added a piece of monti about 8-9 weeks back.

sahin · 11/16/2014, 02:25 AM

Wow Biggles. Sorry that these buggers have made it into your tank. Please continue to document. Your the first person to possibly write and photograph about them. Maybe one day they will be named after you.

I hope they are easier to deal with compared to aefw.

A proper qt tank is essential these days if most of us want to avoid pests.

biggles · 11/16/2014, 06:58 AM

Thanks Sahin, think i'll give having an acro pest named after me a miss thanks mate lol.

Couldn't agree more, i think you and everyone else should have a QT tank.

trueblackpercula · 11/16/2014, 07:25 AM

Wow Mr.Big thanks for sharing this information as Sps keepers now have just one more thing to worry about. Can you get a closer picture of these little bastards? Also I will tell you a quick story that may ease your worries.

I purchased a bunch of aptasias eating nudis to control the out break I had. Well after receiving them and placing them in my tank I sat there and waited and watched. After 15 minutes My mystery wrasse caught a glimpse of one went up to it And sucked it down like an ice cold beer on a hot sumer day. He then checked every single inch of my rock work until he found every single one of the them.
So I guess what I am saying is that if you can get a hold of a mystery wrasse your nudis days will be numbered.
Michael

sahin · 11/16/2014, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trueblackpercula

Wow Mr.Big thanks for sharing this information as Sps keepers now have just one more thing to worry about. Can you get a closer picture of these little bastards? Also I will tell you a quick story that may ease your worries.

I purchased a bunch of aptasias eating nudis to control the out break I had. Well after receiving them and placing them in my tank I sat there and waited and watched. After 15 minutes My mystery wrasse caught a glimpse of one went up to it And sucked it down like an ice cold beer on a hot sumer day. He then checked every single inch of my rock work until he found every single one of the them.
So I guess what I am saying is that if you can get a hold of a mystery wrasse your nudis days will be numbered.
Michael

Michael, I was going to suggest a wrasse for Biggles...but being Biggles he wont put a wrasse anywhere near his tank.

sahin · 11/16/2014, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by biggles

Thanks Sahin, think i'll give having an acro pest named after me a miss thanks mate lol.

Couldn't agree more, i think you and everyone else should have a QT tank.

Acropora Eating NudiBiggles comes to mind as the perfect name for them.

martinphillip03 · 11/16/2014, 07:51 AM

I second that! Now how shall it be abreviated?

Marty

Quote:

Originally Posted by sahin

Acropora Eating NudiBiggles comes to mind as the perfect name for them.

sahin · 11/16/2014, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by martinphillip03

I second that! Now how shall it be abreviated?

Marty

Biggles has already abbreviated in the last line of his first post:

AEN = Acropora Eating NudiBiggles.

Fishy 1 · 11/16/2014, 08:39 AM

I think we should name them "Little Aussie Buggers" = LAB's or "Australian Acro Eating Nudebiggles" = AAEN. But I do like sahin's name

martinphillip03 · 11/16/2014, 09:27 AM

Your correct as usual. But he named them before you discovered their scienctific name. I propose AENB. Thoughts?

Marty

Quote:

Originally Posted by sahin

Biggles has already abbreviated in the last line of his first post:

AEN = Acropora Eating NudiBiggles.

sahin · 11/16/2014, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by martinphillip03

Your correct as usual. But he named them before you discovered their scienctific name. I propose AENB. Thoughts?

Marty

Seeing as he Biggles stopped posting in his tank Journal...

I think we should stick to AEN...we dont want to wind him up even more...in case he stops posting all together...

DiscusHeckel · 11/16/2014, 10:53 AM

Hi Biggles,

Sorry to hear about your nudi issues. I got distracted by Kevin and have not seen this thread until now.

I have searched my digital library and have come across this article written by Dana Riddle.

I have not come across any distinct species of nudibranches mentioned in the literature that prey specifically on acroporids. However, in his Article Dana mentions Phestilla sp, which preys on Porites. This nudibranch is distinct from Embletonia sp., which is 'Montipora-eating Nudibranchs'. Embletonia sp. would scatter around if you blow them with a turkey baster.

Is it likely that what you have in your tank is a Phestilla sp, which developed a taste for acroporids in the absence of Porites in your tank?

I would consider getting a Halichoeres melanurus as well as Halichoeres hortulanus. I am sure they will help you with your battle. They are very efficient hunters. I used them in the past for montipora eating nudie as well as pyramidellid snails.

I wish you best of luck.

regards

trueblackpercula · 11/16/2014, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by discusheckel

hi biggles,

sorry to hear about your nudi issues. I got distracted by kevin and have not seen this thread until now.

I have searched my digital library and have come across this article written by dana riddle.

I have not come across any distinct species of nudibranches mentioned in the literature that prey specifically on acroporids. However, in his article dana mentions phestilla sp, which preys on porites. This nudibranch is distinct from embletonia sp., which is 'montipora-eating nudibranchs'. Embletonia sp. Would scatter around if you blow them with a turkey baster.

Is it likely that what you have in your tank is a phestilla sp, which developed a taste for acroporids in the absence of porites in your tank?

I would consider getting a halichoeres melanurus as well as halichoeres hortulanus. I am sure they will help you with your battle. They are very efficient hunters. I used them in the past for montipora eating nudie as well as pyramidellid snails.

I wish you best of luck.

Regards

+1

Dapg8gt · 11/16/2014, 01:54 PM

Wow thanks for sharing your experience with these guys, yet one more thing to look out for in the sps pest challenge.

Greg11 · 11/16/2014, 05:53 PM

+1 for melanurus

Fishy 1 · 11/16/2014, 05:58 PM

Biggles keeps pods as pets, he even names them

. So wrasses aren't his most favorite fish because they would eat his pet pods

Piper27 · 11/17/2014, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiscusHeckel

Hi Biggles,

Sorry to hear about your nudi issues. I got distracted by Kevin and have not seen this thread until now.

I have searched my digital library and have come across this article written by Dana Riddle.

I have not come across any distinct species of nudibranches mentioned in the literature that prey specifically on acroporids. However, in his Article Dana mentions Phestilla sp, which preys on Porites. This nudibranch is distinct from Embletonia sp., which is 'Montipora-eating Nudibranchs'. Embletonia sp. would scatter around if you blow them with a turkey baster.

Is it likely that what you have in your tank is a Phestilla sp, which developed a taste for acroporids in the absence of Porites in your tank?

I would consider getting a Halichoeres melanurus as well as Halichoeres hortulanus. I am sure they will help you with your battle. They are very efficient hunters. I used them in the past for montipora eating nudie as well as pyramidellid snails.

I wish you best of luck.

regards

I don't think these are phestilla nudis. They are very large compared to others and his seem to be the size of an acro polyp. Then again I haven't seen a pic of the phestilla that eat porites, they could be smaller but I have noticed that these kinds of nudis have a circle on the center of them to blend in with the surrounding polyps. Biggles seem to be very small and look more like the Monti eating nudis.

Piper27 · 11/17/2014, 05:52 PM

Here is a picture of a goni eating nudibranch my girl took. He had been through a dip and looks a little shrunk on his tenticals.

We have seen nudis eating acropora before but did not get to take any pics or study them. They seemed to be doing the same kind of damage biggles is describing. It looked kind of like a thumb had smudged off the skin on the acro around the base.

Biggles thanks for the pics! Very well done, I hope they don't give you trouble your acros are beautiful!

11/15/2014, 11:42 PM	#1
biggles Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Australia Posts: 3,907	Acro Eating Nudibranch I discovered these guys last night whilst doing an after dark torch inspection. About 7-8 years ago i had them appear in a frag tank connected to the 4x2x2 display. Not knowing what i was looking at until they made their presence known by sheer numbers led to the loss of about ten big frags but after chucking out everything infected i did eradicate them. It's only because i've had a previous battle with these little bastards that i spotted them so i wanted to do my best to give you a heads up on what they look like and their behavior from my personal experience. The nudis are white and very frilly. The frills move in the water flow and they seem to follow a very set pattern from my experience with them. They will pick a single acro frag or colony and immediately begin eating the tissue at the edge. They never move up and attack branches etc, always working from the bottom edges upwards. They lay eggs repeatedly about every 3 days and the eggs hatch in about 14 days from memory. I only have my phone camera so i've done the best i can to get the clearest shot i could given the equipment. The two nudis are less than 1/8" in length so they are very hard to spot unless you are specifically looking for them. Last night the pair were together laying eggs beside a corallite and looked exactly like a mesenterial filament bundle which is what caught my eye. Rather than have that glistening translucence that filaments exhibit these things are solid white. They don't let go even when hammered hard with a turkey baster at point blank range and this is the easiest way to confirm you're not panicking over a piece of detritus caught by a polyp. Here they are on their chosen acro, a small SSC frag. They are lower left on the frag edge and even though you can't see it there are two egg batches laid, an older one and the one i saw them laying last night. I zoomed in more and rotated the pic to give you the best look i could at what you want to watch for. The area circled in yellow is acro skeleton where the tissue has been consumed by the two nudis that you see in that circled area. Dead center of the right circle is that egg batch laid at the bast of the corallite last night. The second area on the left outlined in red is the first batch prob laid 3-4 days ago when they first settled in. The barnacle opening in the acro is no more than 1/16" wide for size reference. I killed both the adults with boiling hot RO along with the entire side of the acro frag. I then used a chisel to manually pulverize the area i killed on the acro. I have thoroughly inspected everything i can and will start doing some big checks at night for a while because they stand out under a torch IF you know what you're looking at. To your naked eye they do not look like a nudi, they look like a tiny bit of crap caught by an acro polyp or detritus resting on the tissue. Remember, anything staying put on your acro that isn't being moved on by water flow is suspicious so use a turkey baster and you'll soon know what's up if that 'detritus' doesn't blow away or the 'filaments' don't unravel under moderate water flow. I'm only speaking from personal experience and i'm not too worried about seeing them as they are much easier to deal with if you catch them early than the bugs and flatworms i see driving everyone nuts now days. I'll let you know if any further developments arise in regards to AEN (made that up)

11/15/2014, 11:46 PM	#2
Fishy 1 The Reefer From Downunder Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Western Australia Posts: 2,256	That's no good mate, show those little bugger's they messed with the wrong Acro maniac __________________ Rory "The day that I stop learning will be the day that I die" Current Tank Info: Newly Born Regency 220 "The Impulse Reef"

11/15/2014, 11:58 PM	#3
rlpardue Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Houston Posts: 560	Is it possible to isolate a couple of them into a specimen container or petri dish? __________________ Lee 5x2x2 Build In Progress (near completion!) Current Tank Info: 5-foot 150g

11/16/2014, 07:25 AM	#9
trueblackpercula Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: STATEN ISLAND Posts: 7,517	Wow Mr.Big thanks for sharing this information as Sps keepers now have just one more thing to worry about. Can you get a closer picture of these little bastards? Also I will tell you a quick story that may ease your worries. I purchased a bunch of aptasias eating nudis to control the out break I had. Well after receiving them and placing them in my tank I sat there and waited and watched. After 15 minutes My mystery wrasse caught a glimpse of one went up to it And sucked it down like an ice cold beer on a hot sumer day. He then checked every single inch of my rock work until he found every single one of the them. So I guess what I am saying is that if you can get a hold of a mystery wrasse your nudis days will be numbered. Michael __________________ Life is to short to buy frags ! But for FREE I'LL take them ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º> ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. >((((º> LIVE SAND ITS THE CURE........® Current Tank Info: 120 CUBE Live sand Mitras lx6100hv MRC MR 2 single becket MP40 power head Aquamedic dosing pump using B-ionic

11/16/2014, 08:39 AM	#14
Fishy 1 The Reefer From Downunder Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Western Australia Posts: 2,256	I think we should name them "Little Aussie Buggers" = LAB's or "Australian Acro Eating Nudebiggles" = AAEN. But I do like sahin's name __________________ Rory "The day that I stop learning will be the day that I die" Current Tank Info: Newly Born Regency 220 "The Impulse Reef"

11/16/2014, 12:33 AM	#4
Peter Eichler Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Milwaukee Posts: 6,081	Hmmm, that's a new one for me. I know there are a lot of other coral pests than what is talked about here. But I can't recall an acropora eating nudibranch being reported... They look identical to the montipora eating nudi's. It would be interesting to know if they're the same species that has adapted to other food offerings. Do you have any montipora in the tank? Good luck kicking them out of your tank, again!

11/16/2014, 12:36 AM	#5
biggles Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Australia Posts: 3,907	Well the two in the photo went to nudi heaven Lee via the vaporizing white wand of boiling death, 4-5 baby snails and a couple of small brittle stars were unfortunately caught up in the hostilities and suffered fatal hits. If i see any more i will catch them as i'll just cut off the bit with them on it. Don't worry Rory, when i get the wand of death out it's not a surgical strike, rather i would have to say a napalm bomb would best describe the aftermath of one of my boiling RO attacks. ' I love the smell of boiling RO in the morning.......... '

11/16/2014, 02:25 AM	#7
sahin Ultimate Reefer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: London, UK Posts: 8,540	Wow Biggles. Sorry that these buggers have made it into your tank. Please continue to document. Your the first person to possibly write and photograph about them. Maybe one day they will be named after you. I hope they are easier to deal with compared to aefw. A proper qt tank is essential these days if most of us want to avoid pests.

11/16/2014, 06:58 AM	#8
biggles Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Australia Posts: 3,907	Thanks Sahin, think i'll give having an acro pest named after me a miss thanks mate lol. Couldn't agree more, i think you and everyone else should have a QT tank.

11/16/2014, 10:53 AM	#17
DiscusHeckel Acropora Gardener Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Sheffield, UK Posts: 2,780	Hi Biggles, Sorry to hear about your nudi issues. I got distracted by Kevin and have not seen this thread until now. I have searched my digital library and have come across this article written by Dana Riddle. I have not come across any distinct species of nudibranches mentioned in the literature that prey specifically on acroporids. However, in his Article Dana mentions Phestilla sp, which preys on Porites. This nudibranch is distinct from Embletonia sp., which is 'Montipora-eating Nudibranchs'. Embletonia sp. would scatter around if you blow them with a turkey baster. Is it likely that what you have in your tank is a Phestilla sp, which developed a taste for acroporids in the absence of Porites in your tank? I would consider getting a Halichoeres melanurus as well as Halichoeres hortulanus. I am sure they will help you with your battle. They are very efficient hunters. I used them in the past for montipora eating nudie as well as pyramidellid snails. I wish you best of luck. regards __________________ Featured Tank OCT 2016 \| "Reef Hobbyist Magazine" TOTM OCT 2016 \| "Ultimate Reef", UK FB \| "/troutsReefTank/" 65G SPS Reef- ATI 8 X 39W PM; TM [Bacto-Balance A-; Reef Actif; Nitribiotic; Iodine]

11/16/2014, 01:54 PM	#19
Dapg8gt Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Pacifica Posts: 3,741	Wow thanks for sharing your experience with these guys, yet one more thing to look out for in the sps pest challenge. __________________ 15 years in the hobby yet still learning every day. 280g radium lit sps flat living in my garage rent free. Current Tank Info: 105g SPS dominant euro braced powered by 4 ecotech pumps and lit by an ATI powermodule controlled by a reef angel =).

11/16/2014, 05:53 PM	#20
Greg11 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Levittown pa Posts: 75	+1 for melanurus

11/16/2014, 05:58 PM	#21
Fishy 1 The Reefer From Downunder Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Western Australia Posts: 2,256	Biggles keeps pods as pets, he even names them. So wrasses aren't his most favorite fish because they would eat his pet pods __________________ Rory "The day that I stop learning will be the day that I die" Current Tank Info: Newly Born Regency 220 "The Impulse Reef"

11/17/2014, 05:52 PM	#23
Piper27 I love bengals Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Manassas Virginia Posts: 2,512	Here is a picture of a goni eating nudibranch my girl took. He had been through a dip and looks a little shrunk on his tenticals. We have seen nudis eating acropora before but did not get to take any pics or study them. They seemed to be doing the same kind of damage biggles is describing. It looked kind of like a thumb had smudged off the skin on the acro around the base. Biggles thanks for the pics! Very well done, I hope they don't give you trouble your acros are beautiful!