beefytang

Yes, that's what they are. If anything bugs our zoas, it's those things. I'll try your technique, although most of mine are burrowed in the vugular pores of the live rock. Makes it tough to get at them. Got new shots of the nudibranch. Hot off the camera. Found it on the rock it came in on. I think this one eats algae or clove polyps...thats what was on the LR when I bought it. Didn't buy the rock for the polyps, though so I don't mind it cleaning them off. But I think, as some have suggested, that they may pose problems later once the cloves or algae is gone. Gonna have to ball up and make a decision to get rid of them I guess.

Hey Mike! Yeah I've been through the pest nudibranch stuff when I first started keeping zoas...it really sucked. I do have some irritators, though...the micro-stringy sort that extend over 3-4" out of live rock etc. Not sure exactly how to deal with those yet. But as for the nudibranchs...fascinating little creatures. I hate to get all John Wayne on any of them before I know they're detrimental to our corals. Someday I'd like to make a nudibranch pico with some of the more exotic varieties. Saw some nice ones at RCA awhile back...tempting!

If they look like these you're fine: They're scavengers, beneficial to your substrate. I have a larger set of starfish that hide in one particular rock of mine. I've never seen the whole thing but whenever I feed the tank, it will gently extend it's legs out for some food. So I'll hand feed it a little something.

From the causal name "dime clam" and "jewel box clam" I was able to track down some more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spondylus http://www.conchology.be/en/availableshell...ylus&page=7 Since I don't know squat about clams, etc this is really interesting stuff. I think the ones I have are Spondylus varians.

Very impressive. I've never seen one of these before. Kudos on your ninja octopus-keeping skills.

Thanks Mike. I'll dig around and see what I can find.

My wife bought me a pair of rics. Each one had three mouths. Thrill! =D It was a great sale. Don't miss the next one, Robb. Lots of people there but they managed to get us in and out really fast with no waiting. The RCA crew is awesome, as always.

Here are the pics of the mussel and the nudibranch. The nudibranch seems kind of bunched up in this shot, a little more dirty than the last time I saw it. As you can see, it doesn't have all the frilly effects as the zoa eaters. The mussel is really small. About the size of a pinky nail.

An interesting observation. A shame you didn't find a watch or some pirate booty while you were at it. On this page, a lot of the companies are open about the iron content in their sand: http://www.azgardens.com/newsubst2.php They claim it isn't harmful to saltwater setups. I suppose if you have lingering concerns, maybe contact the company that markets/distributes it? I used black sand in a pico and liked the appearance but had doubts about the viability of it as a substrate in the long run. It's nice for contrast, no doubt. Makes coral colors pop out like crazy.

I understand. But I kind of have a fascination with studying these things in an informal way, I suppose. But mostly, I'm queasy about killing things in the tank that I'm not 100% sure they're going to wreak havoc. Same approach I take when going to HEB. =) I'm looking for them now...they don't seem to be in the familiar places (side of the glass). I really like nudis, mostly the ornate ones with the vivid colors. As I mentioned, mine are mostly pure white and very smooth. If they had the surface features of known nudi-eaters, I would have acted by now. I'm mostly curious if anyone else has had similar nudis before. I know pics would help...working on it!

True. On average, nudibranchs have monolithic diets. Typically eating only one specific thing, like you mentioned. What they're eating I'm unsure of. I'll try and get a picture of the nudis and mussels today. They've (nudis) been in the tank for at least 15-30 days. That's the amount of time that I last introduced anything in the tank that they could have hitched on. The mussels came in on the piece of rock that I've had for months. Amazing I missed it. I spent a good deal of time hand-picking some bubble algae off the rock. Never once saw it.

Hey there! I thought of that possibility at first but they don't resemble any of the known zoanthid predators I've seen before. All the zoa eaters I've seen have surface effects and textures that mine lack. You've probably seen these before: http://zoaid.com/index.php?module=Gallery2&g2_itemId=384 The nudis in my tank resemble this one, only mine have a small elliptical pattern of black dots behind their antennae: http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=cadllaev Not dismissing your concerns or anything. You may be right and they might indeed be a zoa eater that isn't well documented. I just hesitate to kill anything before I determine if it's friend or foe. I haven't noticed any decline in my stock so far. From my observations, this one nudi isn't too bright (or it's a thrill-seeker). It climbed towards one of my korialas, got sucked in, shot across the tank and landed safely on the other side of the tank. Didn't seem to injure it. It was pretty funny. But I'll keep an eye on things to see if any zoas start disappearing.

Yeah they are pretty cool looking. At first I thought I was just seeing things. I haven't read anywhere about this kind of hitchhiker before so it was unexpected. Doing a search I came across this article from NOAA and then got a little concerned. http://www.noaa.gov/features/earthobs_0508/zebra.html I just spotted another hitchiker...a white nudibranch. Really small, about 3/4" long. Wish it was a Berghia but it's completely smooth with a small sprinkle of black dots behind it's antennae. Seen anything like that before?

Over the past few weeks I have observed what appears to be a pair of small mussels attached to the live rock in my 20g. The first one I spotted was under a ledge, barely observable since a piece of rock overhangs, casting a shadow on it. The second one I spotted the other day, in a more visible location. I'm not too concerned about how to care for these creatures as they seem to have done quite well without any special attention from me. However, I'm kind of curious if over the long term that they may pose some problems...like multiplying/spreading out of control. Appearance-wise they strongly resemble Zebra mussels, although I'm under the impression they are freshwater creatures. Has anyone had any experience with these things?

What color is the yuma? Might trade you some money for it. =)

Thanks! Looking forward to putting this to use.

Alright! I'll buy the skimmer. Let me know when you wanna do this. I'm up late tonight or we could meet tomorrow.

I've read good things about these. How tall is the skimmer? Does it skim the surface too? Let me know asap. and I might buy it. Only hitch is my tank is 12" tall so if it's too tall, I have to pass on it. Thanks

I have a frogspawn that needs a good home. Willing to trade for a ric or an interesting mushroom like a rainbow tonga. If you have a rainbow tonga and don't want a frogspawn and you're willing to sell, let me know? PM if interested. This frogspawn inflates nicely when happy. But my tank has been getting crowded and it would benefit from having more space to stretch out.

I'm no clam expert. Couldn't really advise you on what to do in this instance. I have never had the proper equipment or knowledge to keep a clam. Maybe some wise clam sage can advise.

It's probably a defensive posture. I've heard of fish getting snagged by clams when they shut. I don't think the clams eat them but rather they accidentally trap fish. It happened to me once. I'm missing a finger from an overzealous clam. It grew back though.

The mandarin's mouth is really tiny. I have a hard time imagining they could eat a sexy. I haven't seen a sexy as small as mysis before, maybe baby ones are that small I guess.

Yeah. Hiding is one thing us guys aren't all that great at. But as the octopus can squirt ink, we have the ability to spew our own. Intestinal flora. Just scarf down some steak with beans, jump up and down while chewing gum and you have an instant wife-repellant. They say that healthy adult males can do this about 10-15 times a day. I'm incredibly healthy. =D