What Ate my Zoanthids...?

[aznt1217]

Hello Everybody,

Woke up this morning to a half eaten colony of zoanthids. Really NICE ones too. Orange ring on those guys. Well anyway I had about 20 polyps and now I have 9. I know they didn't waste away. It definitely looked like something ate it.

For those of you who have seen my fish.... they are all FAT, so I have no idea what could have done it.

Should I put the zoanthids in like a seperate container so they can recover? The other zoanthids seem fine btw.

- 4 Pepperment Shrimps
- 2 Skunk Cleaners
- A lot of common hermit crabs
- 1 Emerald Crab
- 1 relatively large hermit crab with a big claw... (the main suspect)

- Midas Blenny
- 3 Green Chromis
- 2 Pink Square Anthias
- 2 False Percs
- 1 Engineer Goby
- 1 Yellow Watchman Goby
- 1 Pearly Jawfish
- 1 Blue Hippo Tang
- 1 Yellow Tang
- 1 Firefish

 

[Deanos]

Peppermint shrimp, emerald crab and hippo tang are all suspects. Also, consider an unseen gorilla crab.

 

[Zoous]

You can also add box snails or sundial snails and zoa eating nudibranches.

 

[Mr.First]

Hippo Tang !!!!!

 

[Deanos]

You can also add box snails or sundial snails and zoa eating nudibranches.

Some of these won't leave the zoanthids looking like they've been eaten...they'll just be dead.

 

[NYreefNoob]

4 Pepperment Shrimps

 

[Arati]

I also suspect a fish or possibly a crab. but there is always...


Zoanthid eating spider.
http://www.zoaid.com/index.php?modul...&g2_itemId=396

Zoanthid eating Sundial snail.
http://www.zoaid.com/index.php?modul...&g2_itemId=424

Here is a list with pictures of possible pests and how to treat the Zoa.
http://www.zoaid.com/index.php?modul...&g2_itemId=384

 

[kigs]

most likely your hippo. depending on how mature it is

 

[aznt1217]

The hippo tang is a baby one. I have no gorilla crabs or spider crabs. Only the inverts I mentioned...

It's only one zoanthid it's eating.... What should I do... put the zoanthid in a breeder net so that it can recover?

goodness I had no idea hippos ate it. I just got her like 2-3 weeks ago.

I'll get pictures up by tonight.

 

[DevIouS]

You don't know for sure that you don't have any crabs....

It can take quite some time even before you know you actually have 1 in the tank.

 

[aznt1217]

I started this tank off with dry rock. No pests lol. The other cured rock I seeded with was from a Biocube that didn't have any pests either because that started off as dry rock too haha.

 

[DevIouS]

They hitch-hike on corals too.:shhh:

 

[BFITZ06]

I Had Grady Clown Crab Hitchhike On A Rock Or Something , He Chowed Down On About 30-40 Heads Of Seamat On Me , I Would Get Ride Of Him But My Wife Thinks Hes Cute ... Shes Not Worried About How Much Money Hes Eatting

 

[premilove]

whoa i too had no idea hippo tangs ate zoas!?!

 

[Robbies Reef]

probably the peppermint or the hermits

 

[emmanuel]

HIPPO I lost several hundreds of dollars of zoos in the coarse of 5 years and it took that long to finally see the hippo eating the zoos and I spend a lot of time staring at my tank

 

[aznt1217]

.... So I should just get rid of all my zoas?

 

[Deanos]

Posts offering money for those zoanthids have been deleted.

 

[aznt1217]

o wow I didn't know people offered money HAHA