Please id this nudibranch? good or bad?

ssweet1

Member
I got these three little crawling things off of a small zoo colony that was recently purchased. Are these guys good or bad? I have the three I found after looking carefully in a cup and dont want to put them back until they are pronounced good or evil. Thanks in advance Carrie
 

smarls

Member
Sweet,
I am not an expert on Nudibranches, but I belive that those like zoa eating nudibranches. Do they look like the have little "packets" or "pouches" on them, almost like little eggs, that are roughly the same color as the zoa colony they came from?
If so, they will eat your colony (which is why they were there in the first place).
I had a colony come with those on it, and I had to dip the colony to make sure they all died.
So unless you get a definitive opinion otherwise, I would not put them back in the tank, and I would remove any others as soon as you see them.
HTH
Stewart
 

ssweet1

Member
They were on the zoo colony and the spike things look like the fringe around the zoos. I hate to kill stuff but if they are eating my zoo's then goodbye. Are these called nudibranches? Where can I get info on them? Thanks, Carrie
 

smarls

Member
Carrie,
Do a search on here using the words "zoo" or "zoa" or "zoanthid" and "eating nudibranch", and lots of info should come up.
I am relatively sure that those are the same ones I had, and that they eat zoanthids.
Stewart
 

ssweet1

Member
After doing the search I believe your right they are bad evil zoa chomping things so down the drain they go darn I sure hope no more are in my tank!! Carrie
 

nas19320

Active Member
Looks like an aeolid nudibranch aka zoanthid eater. They lay spiral white egg sacks at the bottom of zoa polyps. Definetly not something you want. Be careful as they can carry palytoxin.
 

ssweet1

Member
Wow, I touched one, scraped it off with my fingernail!! Geez I guess God was with me cause I kept checking myself to make sure nothing was weird or anything, I am definately wearing gloves from now on!! I talked to a guy here who almost had to have his arm amputated because of an open cut/scrape when he brushed up against a zoo colony while cleaning a tank. The antibiotics he had to take were so strong he had to sign a waiver and have a kidney donor on hand!!! It took him 6 months just to be functioning again and still had side effects for months from the toxin. This is nothing to play around with I am so definately getting gloves from now on!!! I hope people will read this and take warning cause $20 gloves are worth your life! Carrie
 
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