Small White Nudibranch on Glass and Rocks

[asetikas]

I just noticed these small white nudibrachs in my tank, of course I am assuming they are nudibranchs. Does anyone know what they are, and if they are reef safe?

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[Anonymous]

Don't know what they are, but I think I recollect a recent thread where someone had these things and he squished one with his thumb and ended up in the emergency room.

 

[asetikas]

Hi,

I look at the tank this evening, and noticed about 15 of these. Most were on my Woods polyps, and eating them. In the last week, they seemed to look as if they were drying up. It now looks liek these nudibranchs like to eat them. I'm wondering if these might be the Aiptisia wating type, that also liek woods polyps. they are anywhere from 1/4" - 1" long.

I appreciate your feedback, and will be cautious not to squish them

 

[asetikas]

In additon, there were a few cruising around the tank, but didn't seem to be bothering anything else, and everything else is doing fine.

 

[asetikas]

A little better picture

 

[Len]

Definitely looks like a nudibranch to me, but does not resember Berghia verrucicornis, the species that eats aiptasia. There are many hundreds of species of nudibranchs so I won't even begin to guess what this species is. It's good to hear that they're "drying up" on their own and hopefully won't be back to eat your polyps/corals.

 

[Anonymous]

If they're eating your polyps, (to those of you who argue this point with me, here is yet ANOTHER good argument for quarantining everything for a minimum of 30 days) then I would try to siphon off every one I could find, as well as giving everything a f/w dip, ASAP. They could reproduce to plague proportions in a closed system, and you don't want the stuff that you paid for to be wiped out. Do adjust the freshwater for pH, temperature.

 

[asetikas]

Thanks for your replies. I went to work this evening, and removed the rocks with the woods polyps, and found about 50 of the little nudibranchs chowing down. I removed as many as I could, and placed the rocks in a quarantine tank. Unfortunately I am leaving for a week tomorrow, so I hope my tank is ok when I return.

I have posted a better picture of one, now that I got a non blurry shot.