Which are pests and why are they pests??

ctniners · 04/02/2009, 01:58 PM

Hi guys,
I have a question about pestsâ€¦..I read other posts where people complain about nudibranchesâ€¦..I have a fairly new set up 4 months oldâ€¦.I have all hard corals and some zoas, but I have noticed a bunch of nudibranchesâ€¦..all my frags and zoas seem ok, how do I know which nudibranches are bad?....I hate to kill anything in my tank just by generalizing nudibranches as pests.

Also I have seen some little sea stars that donâ€™t have the usual arm lengths, like 3 arms are the same size and one is half the size, I heard these are also pestsâ€¦..but what do they do to be called pests.

Thank you for input.

Mr. Brooks · 04/02/2009, 02:14 PM

Can't help you with the Nudi's but the little starfish eat coraline algae and some eat zoas.

Rae C. · 04/02/2009, 02:43 PM

IMO, the little star fish are harmless. Mine don't do any noticeable damage, if any. They may be pests just because they weren't put there on purpose.

I think some pests are like weeds. What you call it depends on if you want it there. Raspberry canes in the lawn - weed. Raspberry canes in the garden - yay! It's still a raspberry cane.

You'll find people calling soft corals like xenias and kenya trees pests/weeds.

Can't help with the nudi's either. I suppose high numbers of something harmless also makes it a pest. How many nudi's we talking about? A manageable number if they turn out to be not reef-safe? Then leave them until you know. Again, IMO.

dcombs44 · 04/02/2009, 02:48 PM

I believe nudis can be considered pests b/c some of them can crash a tank if they die. Also, as mentioned, some eat zoas and other coral.

You may try wet web media or something to try and find IDs.

Paul B · 04/02/2009, 02:49 PM

All nudibranchs are carnivores which are eating your corals. They do not eat any plants.
Slugs which look slightly different are vegetarians and do not harm corals.
Nudibranchs have feathery looking gills usually on their backe while slugs do not.

This is a Lettuce slug elysia crispata which I raised, they are harmless and only eat bryopsis algae.

rendogg · 04/02/2009, 04:29 PM

Can you post pics of these "pests"? They might be helpful inhabitants? I think you are talking about Asterina stars, in that case they eat algae and microfauna and I wouldn't worry about them. Are you sure the others a nudis?

weaselslucks · 04/02/2009, 05:53 PM

the starfish i have been told if they are constently on your zoas and turing the same color as them then they are eating them.if not mine seem not to hurt anything

paraletho · 04/02/2009, 10:15 PM

There are thousands of species of nudibranchs and most are very specific to host/food. If they were hitchhikers and you do not have their food source in your tank they will die out. If you do then they will quickly become a pest. Asterina Stars never seem to bother anything in my tank.

will16 · 04/02/2009, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by weaselslucks
the starfish i have been told if they are constently on your zoas and turing the same color as them then they are eating them.if not mine seem not to hurt anything

Some do. I have plenty of asterina's. Every now and then I find some just wrapped around a polyp munching away. I manually remove and the polyp is definitely being eaten.

LobsterOfJustice · 04/03/2009, 08:18 AM

Are you sure your "nudibranches" are not flatworms?

DSMpunk · 04/03/2009, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by will16
Some do. I have plenty of asterina's. Every now and then I find some just wrapped around a polyp munching away. I manually remove and the polyp is definitely being eaten.

I have experienced the exact same behavior. They tend to go after the small newly formed buds.

04/02/2009, 01:58 PM	#1
ctniners Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: CT Posts: 938	Which are pests and why are they pests?? Hi guys, I have a question about pestsâ€¦..I read other posts where people complain about nudibranchesâ€¦..I have a fairly new set up 4 months oldâ€¦.I have all hard corals and some zoas, but I have noticed a bunch of nudibranchesâ€¦..all my frags and zoas seem ok, how do I know which nudibranches are bad?....I hate to kill anything in my tank just by generalizing nudibranches as pests. Also I have seen some little sea stars that donâ€™t have the usual arm lengths, like 3 arms are the same size and one is half the size, I heard these are also pestsâ€¦..but what do they do to be called pests. Thank you for input.

04/02/2009, 02:43 PM	#3
Rae C. Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Colorado Posts: 916	IMO, the little star fish are harmless. Mine don't do any noticeable damage, if any. They may be pests just because they weren't put there on purpose. I think some pests are like weeds. What you call it depends on if you want it there. Raspberry canes in the lawn - weed. Raspberry canes in the garden - yay! It's still a raspberry cane. You'll find people calling soft corals like xenias and kenya trees pests/weeds. Can't help with the nudi's either. I suppose high numbers of something harmless also makes it a pest. How many nudi's we talking about? A manageable number if they turn out to be not reef-safe? Then leave them until you know. Again, IMO. __________________ Rae C It's 8:30, kids. Turn off the tank and go to bed! Current Tank Info: 65 gal, softies, 1 mandarine, 1 clown

04/02/2009, 02:48 PM	#4
dcombs44 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 2,913	I believe nudis can be considered pests b/c some of them can crash a tank if they die. Also, as mentioned, some eat zoas and other coral. You may try wet web media or something to try and find IDs. __________________ Current Setup: 10 Gallon Skimmerless Zoanthid Tank Lighting: Single 175 Watt Metal Halide (14,000 K Hamilton Lamp) Filtration: 10 gallon sump/refugium and Phosban Reactor Return: Mag Drive 700 Controller: ReefKeeper Lite (Basic Version) Circulation: TBD Age of System: Build is in Progress

04/02/2009, 02:49 PM	#5
Paul B Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 15,549	All nudibranchs are carnivores which are eating your corals. They do not eat any plants. Slugs which look slightly different are vegetarians and do not harm corals. Nudibranchs have feathery looking gills usually on their backe while slugs do not. This is a Lettuce slug elysia crispata which I raised, they are harmless and only eat bryopsis algae. __________________ I used to get shocked when I put my hand in my tank. Then the electric eel went dead. Current Tank Info: 100 gal reef set up in 1971

04/02/2009, 10:15 PM	#8
paraletho Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Sabine Pass TX Posts: 433	There are thousands of species of nudibranchs and most are very specific to host/food. If they were hitchhikers and you do not have their food source in your tank they will die out. If you do then they will quickly become a pest. Asterina Stars never seem to bother anything in my tank. __________________ There is no better feeling in the world than waking up in the morning and knowing you're doing what you were born to do. It's your life just do it Current Tank Info: 32month old 58 gallon (GBTA,Mushrooms,Dendros,Ricordea,Red Planet,Lobo, Open Brain,10" Torch,Hammer/Frogspawn Xbreed, Mated Pair Ocellaris, Powder Blue ,CB shrimp, assorted cleanup crew) mag 9, 6x39 T5 ATI; 21 mth old 125 gal SPS 50 gal sump/refugium

04/02/2009, 02:14 PM	#2
Mr. Brooks MASVC Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Simi Valley, CA Posts: 3,477	Can't help you with the Nudi's but the little starfish eat coraline algae and some eat zoas.

04/02/2009, 04:29 PM	#6
rendogg Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Abbotsford, B.C. Posts: 578	Can you post pics of these "pests"? They might be helpful inhabitants? I think you are talking about Asterina stars, in that case they eat algae and microfauna and I wouldn't worry about them. Are you sure the others a nudis?

04/02/2009, 05:53 PM	#7
weaselslucks Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Oxford,Ct Posts: 1,393	the starfish i have been told if they are constently on your zoas and turing the same color as them then they are eating them.if not mine seem not to hurt anything

04/03/2009, 08:18 AM	#10
LobsterOfJustice Recovering Detritophobe Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Cary, NC Posts: 7,443	Are you sure your "nudibranches" are not flatworms? __________________ If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right. I remember when zoanthids were called things like "green" and "orange" and not "reverse gorilla nipple." Current Tank Info: 180g reef with all the bells and whistles