Help! Monti cap nudibranch

[kendaroo]

This morning I noticed my little monti cap had some white on it, so I took the frag out and found some of those nasty white nudibranches. It looks exactly like the pictures I found online. What do I do? I don't know how much I can save of this frag, it was small to begin with. But I don't want the nudibranches going after the other 2 small monti cap frags I have in my tank. What can I do to save them? Anything?

 

Thanks for any advice...(scary)

 

PS- how do I set up a quarantine tank? And how long do things need to live in there before going into my tank?

[stylaster]

First pick off any adults you find, then with a toothbrush scrub any areas that don't have any living tissue on them. Then if possible i would quarantine the frags in a different tank for a couple of months. Also if it has infected your other montis you can do the this treatment

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-09/eb/index.php

[grassi]

Hi, was it on the orange I gave you? In case you are not able to save the frag I can give you a new one for free. The mother colony is clean.

Be sure to get rid of the nudis first or they will go on the next frag :-(

[kendaroo]

Awesome, that's a great link. Now I'll just have to figure out where to get potassium permanganate if I have to treat the others.

 

Alex, don't worry, I think the orange ones are OK. They have their polyps out looking happy and I couldn't find any white or bugs on them. I'm setting up a quarantine tank for them to be safe for awhile, and hopefully I will get rid of all the nudis. The one I lost was a purple and green frag that was fusing, oh well.

[dsoz]

I have some potassium permanganate. If you can wait until Tuesday to get it, then come to Oregon City to pick it up. Send ma a PM and I can give you directions. I have about 10 lbs. of the stuff, and it only takes 0.05 g dissolved in a liter of water.

 

I did give some to the new store The Nano-Reef. Call them up to see if you can get a treatment from them. If they don't give it to you (for free), then you can get it directly from me.

 

dsoz

[snowpunk]

a Melenarus wrasse will get them in no time also... Best reef investment I've made to date!

[impur]

QT and dip dip dip!! Good luck, i know what you are going thru. At least you don't have a lot of montis, when i got those bastages i had lots of montis. In the end i had to throw them away :(

[Emerald525]

Good luck Kendaroo. So does dipping frags with iodine solution before putting them in the your tank help prevent this? If not what is the best way to prevent this?

[dsoz]

Good luck Kendaroo. So does dipping frags with iodine solution before putting them in the your tank help prevent this? If not what is the best way to prevent this?

 

Iodine does not seem to do anything to the monti eating nudis.

 

The only way to not get them is to not take corals from anyone that has them.

 

TMPCC may help when acclimating, but I don't know about the nudibranchs.

 

QT is the best way to prevent them from getting in your tank.

 

Pests in a reef tank are like fleas on a dog. If you go long enough, you will get something. and the less you protect yourself, the higher your chances.

 

dsoz

[impur]

Yah even at super high concentrations of iodine they will just sit there and wave at you.

 

The only surefire way to avoid them is to QT and inspect all incoming corals/fish/inverts/rock.....EVERYTHING!

 

I learned the hard way.

[Emerald525]

Yah even at super high concentrations of iodine they will just sit there and wave at you.

 

How long have you had this special relationship with nudibranches?

 

The only surefire way to avoid them is to QT and inspect all incoming corals/fish/inverts/rock.....EVERYTHING!

 

I learned the hard way.

 

So then why dip frags in iodine if it is not helping anything? would inspection with a magnifying glass and scraping off any hitchhikers be better or should we set up a QT for frags too?(scratch)

 

I apologize if these are stupid obvious questions. Just a newbie.

[impur]

There are no stupid questions!!

 

The iodine won't affect the nudibranchs, but it will bother flatworms, pods, redbugs, and other bugs that come on coral.

 

I would suggest a dip such as Revive, or a strong dosage of TMPCC which will kill/stun nudibranchs. But the problem arises because the dips don't kill the eggs. You dip, kill all the adults and juvis but there are still eggs and then they hatch a few days after you put it in your tank and boom there goes all your montis. The biggest problem with these pests is that they lay eggs and there isn't a dip to kill those eggs. So 6-8 weeks of QT with weekly dips the first 4 is your best bet to not having a problem in your display.

[Emerald525]

There are no stupid questions!!

 

The iodine won't affect the nudibranchs, but it will bother flatworms, pods, redbugs, and other bugs that come on coral.

 

I would suggest a dip such as Revive, or a strong dosage of TMPCC which will kill/stun nudibranchs. But the problem arises because the dips don't kill the eggs. You dip, kill all the adults and juvis but there are still eggs and then they hatch a few days after you put it in your tank and boom there goes all your montis. The biggest problem with these pests is that they lay eggs and there isn't a dip to kill those eggs. So 6-8 weeks of QT with weekly dips the first 4 is your best bet to not having a problem in your display.

 

Really 8 weeks in a QT? Do people really do this?(scratch) Does that include all corals (chalices, zoas). I don't think I can wait that long before putting it into the tank.

[impur]

I sure do. Been thru monti-eating nudis, redbugs, and AEFW twice.

 

Yep every single coral goes thru the same process. I even QT inverts. Although i did just put in a starfish without QT DOH!

[Emerald525]

I sure do. Been thru monti-eating nudis, redbugs, and AEFW twice.

 

Yep every single coral goes thru the same process. I even QT inverts. Although i did just put in a starfish without QT DOH!

 

I stopped using a QT on the fish I had because it seemed like they did worse and got more stressed out in the smaller system and just bought from places that I have never had any problems with the livestock.

 

Really good advice. An ounce of prevention as they say. It makes sense. I just never thought about it. Do you dose calcium, magnesium , etc in the quarantine tank. Again I just worry because it is harder to maintain parameters in a smaller system.

[impur]

I replace about 75% of the water in my QT with water from my display each week when i do a WC. I have an auto topoff with kalk but do not dose anything else.

 

While they are in QT they really don't grow much, so the uptake is considerably less. This is especially true when you are dipping corals.

[kendaroo]

Thanks to everyone for all the advice. And Dennis, I wanted to say thanks for sharing the the potassium permanganate love, and for the newbie goodie pack! Definitely helped me mourn the loss of the monti.

[dsoz]

Thanks to everyone for all the advice. And Dennis' date=' I wanted to say thanks for sharing the the potassium permanganate love, and for the newbie goodie pack! Definitely helped me mourn the loss of the monti. [/quote']

 

No problem. It was good to meet you.

 

When your bigger tank gets done cycling, come back and I'll sell you some of the other stuff that you were looking at.

 

Did the affected monti not make it? I am so sorry. I know how that feels, I have lost some montis myself to those stupid nudibranchs. :( I hope that the other two that you have do just fine.

 

Don't be surprised if the potassium permanganate stains your corals brown. Also, I probably should have told you to wear gloves or something because the permanganate is not healthy for you, and will also stain your hands brown.

 

dsoz