Let's Talk About ~Pests~

[NaH2O]

and here is another: (photo from same site linked above)

 

[Elmo18]

I believe i have pyramidellids. I'm looking for ways to getting rid of them naturally. What methods work so far?

- Elmo

 

[CarlaW]

a six line wrasse should do the trick.

 

[NaH2O]

Elmo - what inhabitants are they bothering?

Here are some quotes from Barry @ Clams Direct (link provided by Maxx). If you decide to do the quarantine....be sure to remove your clean-up snails as well. The larger snails seem to be a target for these guys, too (Astrea, turbos, etc).

They will suck the blood from the clams. I would inspect all your clams very closely and continue to do this every week till you see none. Look for jelly like mucus as that will be the sack for laying more eggs. Take all empty hermit and snail shells out as they will also hide in there. They can lay eggs in the substrate as well. A six-line wrasse will help keep them under control but will not elimate them all.

Do you have a q-tank that you can place your clams in. Don't think they can live without a host.

What kind of lighting are you going to put over your q-tank? I would not use any substrate, place your calms on PVC rings.

Make sure your clams are well inspected before and also inspect after they have been in the q-tank for a while to assure they do not have any snails on them. Might even clean the shells with old tooth brush and check around the edge of mantles and the byssal.

I truly do not know how long it takes for the parasites to die without a host.

The way we did it with one of our holding tanks was to remove everything and take out all the substate and replace it with new. Now we use mostly baskets with #10 sand any every week we take the baskets out and clean them with fresh water and put in the sun for a few days then back in the tanks and restock clams. Seem to work as I haven't seen a snail in many months. We just take our time when acclimating new arrvials and check them closely before placing in our tanks. We have found some from time to time when bring in new clams from the wholesalers.

 

[Curtswearing]

With zoanthid eating nudibranchs or snails, you can sometimes find them when you see a couple of polyps that don't open like they typically do. This can be an indicator where the little buggers are hiding. The nudibranchs absorb toxins from the zoanthids. You should never remove them with your bare hand.

I have heard that Flatworm Exit also works on nudibranchs.

 

[NaH2O]

The next set of pests I'm going to mention is Stomatopods (mantis shrimp), crabs, and pistol shrimp.

Crabs, mantis, and pistol shrimp arrive in the live rock.....sometimes you won't know they are there until much later. Especially if you hear the infamous clicking sounds at night, while your janitorial crew dwindles in population. More than likely if it is a manits - it will be a small variety and may only knock off a few snails here and there....you may not even notice. With the crabs - they may start off innocent enough, and depending on the species may not cause trouble until after it grows.

Here is a link to The Lurker's Guide to Stomatopods

What can you do? Well - sometimes easier said than done . If you know where the den is, and the rock can be removed, then remove the rock and pour either club soda over the den, pour boiling water into the den, or do a high salinity dip. An important note on mantis....sometimes hypersalinity dips don't always work. If the rock is from an intertidal area - when the tide goes out the water that is left behind can reach a pretty high salinity. The mantis that reside in these areas are not always effected by the hypersalinity, so it would make sense that sometimes the hypersalinity dip doesn't work.

Traps are also an option. When dealing with a mantis and a trap - you better catch it the first time with the trap, otherwise you may as well give up. They are intelligent enough to know what's happening the next go around. Crabs on the other hand....lol.

I've made a couple of different types of traps. The first one, I took a soda bottle, and cut off the top (where it begins to form the funnel shape). Place bait into the bottom half of the bottle (represented by the pink barrette ), then stick the spout into the bottom half. Secure with rubber bands.....and you're set! Place near the crab's den and they can crawl in, but can't get out. When trying to catch mantis utilizing this trap, there are several options to try. First you can try with the bottle on its side.....you can also superglue pantyhose to the inside bottom of the bottle (this sometimes works because the mantis may swim-walk out of the trap and get hung up on the hosiery). Another way to utilize this trap is upright, or tie a string to it to stand it up after the hitchhiker enters.

Here is the bottle trap:

 

[NaH2O]

A shot from the top:

 

[NaH2O]

Another type of trap is using stockings (I used my toddler's stockings in this picture because you can see the toothpicks). Take the stocking, place the bait in the toe part, and prop open with toothpicks. The crab will get stuck in the nylon and can't get out.

 

[Maxx]

Who knew panty hose were so versatile????
Honey, they're for the tank, I swear!!!
Nick

 

[Witfull]

Who knew panty hose were so versatile????
Honey, they're for the tank, I swear!!!
Nick

thats my story and im sticking to it!!!!

 

[NaH2O]

Pods in the aquarium are for the most part scavengers. They are a good thing to have, especially when keeping a fish that feasts on them. There are a couple of isopods, however, that are parasitic.

Here is a good article about Pills, Parasites, and Predators; Isopods in the Reef Aquarium

from the above referenced article

The rather odd epicaridean isopods are rarely, but regularly, reported from aquaria. "Epi" means "on" and "carid" means shrimp, so these animals are aptly named, as they are isopods most frequently seen as parasites on shrimp. The males are very small, look like normal isopods, and are almost never seen. The parasitic females may be quite large, and look like large lumps or tumors found on the side of a shrimp. The female lives fastened onto her host's gills or upper leg segments and sucks the host's blood. It lives under the carapace, which becomes deformed over the parasite. The parasite is generally not recognizable as an isopod, but rather looks like a large white lump on the side of a shrimp.

Epicarids appear to be rather well-adapted parasites, and do not seem to harm their host much, in spite of their rather ghastly appearance. They may be found occasionally on the sides of all of the various shrimp imported for the hobby. They appear to be most frequently seen in peppermint shrimp, Lysmata wurdemanni.

from the above referenced article

The taxonomic Family Cirolanidae is huge, consisting of several dozen genera, and probably many hundreds of species. Many of them are generally benign animals that are obligatory carrion-feeding scavengers. Some of these scavengers have been found in aquaria, and appear to be very well adapted to being part of "the clean-up crew." Many of the rest appear to be capable of scavenging when such food is available, but they will occasionally swim up into the water and attack fish, fastening on and sucking their blood. Finally, several species appear to be more-or-less obligate blood-sucking parasites of fishes, although some may be able to live for extended periods by scavenging some dead food. Within the last couple of years, some of these latter species have been seen in aquaria with alarming frequency. In many cases, these infestations appear to be the result of a pregnant female that enters the aquarium and then drops her brood of 10 to 30 young, all of which are immediately hungry for a nice meal of fish blood. A hobbyist will see the alarming sight of one or more fish with from one to twenty blood-sucking parasites on it. Often the isopods are nocturnal, and unless the aquarist is alert, they may not notice the parasites, as the bugs drop off the fish shortly after the lights go on and find shelter in the rocks. Prolonged exposure to such densities of blood suckers WILL kill fish.

 

[Curtswearing]

Mantis are very fascinating when they are in their own species-only tank. Don't be in a hurry to kill them after you trap them. It is very likely that someone wants it.