Unknown worm?

[Aquandy]

Just seen this in tank now. Worm like creature making its way across bottom of tank. About inch long with long tenticles which are very slightly green tipped? Seem to be heading for my green star polyps which presume would almost totally blend into.
Any ideas, included a pic and you can see it inbetween the buttons and green stars.

[Mark J]

id say it was a nudibranch and if its heading for your star polyps, and looks just like them, that'll be what it will be munching its way through, as they tend to mimic what they eat as so not to be seen etc.
prob best to remove if possible or your star polyps could soon start dissapearing etc.

Mark.

[moorish]

as stated most probally a nudibranch,quite often they mimic what they eat.derek

[Aquandy]

Oh right, should of grabbed it when I had the chance then :(. Will keep a keen eye out for it again.

Must say they spotted two of a large piece of star polyps before now and just thought it was part of the coral as no damage seems to of been done? Will keep a close eye out.

[fishface]

it looks like a flabellina spp (aeolid nudibranchs) eats all corals,soft corals anemones hope this helps

[Aquandy]

Think I've spotted them both so out with the tongs tonight.

[Aquandy]

Well removed the two I saw the other night. Upon trying to remove them some of the tenticles came off and I tried best I could to catch ever one. Some remained in the tank still moving about, will the un caught ones which have now floated away form new worms?

[Macca]

yes they may do :o

[Aquandy]

Seen quite a few more of these little things on two different pieces of polyp rocks.
Can I RO wash the rocks without doing harm to the polyps or is it best to discard the rocks themselves?

Don't want a problem with these, is there anything that eats them?

[cl0wn]

there has been evidence in the states that wrasses will eat the younger ones IIRC Banana wrasses, filaments and i think flashers. RC has some good threads about nudi eating wrasses. only other thing would perhaps be nudi eating nudis. i wouldn't suggest this as once it's eaten all the prey it too will die, unless you can give it to other members who have problem nudis. they occasionally turn up in LFS, i saw a couple a few months ago.

manual removal is probably the best bet along with FW dipping any corals it's been munching on. also keep an eye out for eggs, if you've had two nudi's as they can breed like rats. the eggs of lace nudis are layed underneath the rocks surrounding prey items. they look like a miniture version of toadspawn, thread like strands of white eggs. if you find any FW dip and scrub the eggs off gently with a toothbrush. i would also suggest wearing latex gloves as they are usually toxic. best time for spotting them IME is in the morning before the lights come on.
HTH
good luck

[cl0wn]

oh by the way www.seaslugforum.net (http://www.seaslugforum.net) is great for identifying and finding more about nudis.

[cl0wn]

here ya go fella a brilliant read. i would head down the wrasse route. admittedly adding a species to wipe another out is something last resort, but this is pretty much a win/win situation as wrasses are lovely, peaceful fish and some just happen to eat nudis.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1167318

[Macca]

when removing a single nudi that has been spotted use a syringe not tongs as you will be able to suck the little ****** up. Take the star polyp out your tank or any other coral you think the pest is hiding in and place in a bucket full of the same aquarium water. Lift the coral up and have the polyps facing down towards the bottom of bucket. Thrash the coral from side to side and all / any of these wee pests will fall out. This might need to be repeated over a course of time as new eggs may survive this and will only fall out when hatched. A classic sign on zoos is when your polyps stay closed, this is a sign they are being attacked.

James

[Aquandy]

Cheers guys for the advice. Had to remove one piece tonight was really covered in them :(. The other piece was cleaned best i could and think I got them all, but will keep a close eye on them. Fingers crossed only the pieces on the bottom have been infected and not the larger pieces placed higher up.