Reef Keeper
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nanocube-guy said:
Thanks a lot.
I just finished round one of dipping, basting and brushing off the montipora/s.
I actually had to use a sharp chisel, and carefully chip the last three montis off the live rock (no kidding). I was going to post some pictures, but I couldn't bear to see them on my journal page. People will just have to take my word for it. One is a red digitata with a greenish gold body and nice red polyps on it. The other is a red nedoza; and the other a red setosa. Those corals were just starting to take off nicely after a year of being in one place. I'm glad none of my rock work collapsed.
I'm looking at my display now and it's looking really nice. I'm feeling really confident that I'm going to beat these devils. I can already see the results from the Revive. The nudis turned gray and crapped out after being dipped for 10 minutes. There were intervals of blasting them to high Heaven 0
with the baster, followed by a good tooth bushing to get those bugger off the colonies. This seems like an aggressive enough approach, and the corals didn't seem any worse for the wear. Plus, I find it a cathartic exercise.I haven't really had my hands in the tank, like this for months and months. I was just getting use to just enjoying the tank and all the growth I'd gotten. I sort of like all the room I've made as a result. I have drawn up a re-design plan on paper to take advantage of the high price real estate it freed up.
Thanks for reading my thread and posting back. Much appreciated. At first, I felt dirty cause those buggers are devilishly disgusting. Then angry as hell. This Club didn't scoff a bit; and has been very supportive. I've gotten terrific feedback on these boards too. Thx again.
Just found this resource online. Everything you want to know about M.E.N..
The Montipora Eating Nudibranch (09/11/06) / Feature Articles In the Search Box, type nudibranch- the link is near bottom of list. http://www.qualitymarine.com/News/Feature-Articles/The-Montipora-Eating-Nudibranch-(09/11/06)
Click here for Nudibranch Photo
http://www.qualitymarine.com/image.aspx?id=E8791AFF-E74A-4927-87D3-FBB0CCA6B130
I learned that if M.E.N. don't have a host, they can last for apx 2 months, but that's not set in stone. Also, M.E.N. can live on live rock near surrounding places montis were placed till they can find their next victim. So I did not relocate any of the pieces near where I dislodged them from.... I read that besides Coris Wrasses, certain crabs will eat M.E.N. too, but the article did not discuss which crabs would rid them. The articled stated that predators such as the Coris Wrasses are not always an effect means of control, because M.E.N. live in crevices which make it difficult for these fish to get at them.
That's it from M.E.N. headquarters. :davie:
