General Discussions:

President Paul Whitby updated the membership on the status of the Oklahoma City Conference for Reef Aquarists and Saltwater Enthusiasts (CRASE). This event will be held on October 13th at the Sellers Event center in Edmond, Oklahoma. It will be a single day event and will involve lectures by distinguished speakers in the area of saltwater aquariums. In addition there will be a hobbyist frag sale, vendor and trade displays as well as numerous door prizes. Tickets can be purchased from Aquariums in Edmond, or by contacting Leigh Anne Koudriavtsev at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Leigh Anne was available at the meeting for questions about CRASE & selling tickets. Ticket Prices will be:under 6 free6-14 years old $7.5014 and over $10.A motion was brought up for discussion concerning raffling of prizes to club members. The membership voted to have cash raffles for “larger & better” prizes.  

Prize Winners:

Joel Menciano won a $25.00 gift voucher to Aquariums in Edmond, for the April Photo of the Month Contest “My Happy Place”.

Adam Moore won a $25.00 gift voucher to Aquariums in Edmond.

Kelly Linton won a bottle of Joe’s Juice.Brenda Mayer won a bottle of Flatworm Exit.

Paul Logan won the “cash raffle” prize for June, a Typhoon III RO/DI unit.   

Topic of Meeting:

This month’s presentation by Dr. Paul Whitby was titled “Parasites, Pesties & things that go munch in the night”. This included a power point presentation. The presentation was very informative; some of the highlights will be presented in these minutes.  This presentation was put together last year and some of the subject matter was modified or removed for relevance to this month’s topic. The parasites & pests were classified in the following categories;Algae, Invertebrates, Sponges, Corals, Crustaceans, & Worms. Algae were bypassed here, as it was covered in past meetings. Invertebrates (any animal without a spinal column) constitute the most serious threat in marine tanks. Aptasia is a common nuisance and is very adaptive to marine tanks. The eradication of this pest using chemicals is listed below along with a general rating. Kalkwasser Paste (Good)

Boiling Water      (not good)

Lemon Juice        (not good)

Joe’s Juice           (Excellent)  

The eradication of these pests using biological means is listed along with a general rating.

Copperband Butterfly (excellent)

Peppermint Shrimp     (excellent)

Berghia Nudibranch    (excellent) 

Sponges were bypassed here, as it was covered in past meetings. The only coral that was covered in this meeting was Fire Coral. Fire corals are so called because of their powerful stinging hairs. These are used primarily for defense against fish like parrotfish which would otherwise nibble the coral.

The crustaceans are a large group of arthropods, comprising approximately 52,000 described species. The most common are lobsters, crabs, shrimp, etc. One of the most troublesome pests is the Red Acro Bug. They are parasitic on the hard coral Acropora, and they feed on these corals exclusively. The eradication of this pest using interceptor works, however this will result in the loss of crabs, shrimps, pods, etc. Isolation of the Acropora from the main tank along with the infected coral (after treatment) is recommended. The remaining red bugs will not survive in the main tank without its principal prey. The Dragonface Pipefish, Corythoichthys haematopterus, is a natural predator of the Red Acro Bug. However they are susceptible to sudden death via pumps, overflows, etc. One club member had one last only several minutes, before it meet its doom with a pump! 

Decorator Crabs are okay for nano tanks. They will destroy corals in the main tank to decorate themselves. As a general rule, crabs with rounded claws are usually safe with fish. They usually are algae eaters. The crabs with pointed claws have a greater potential to eat fish, shrimp, etc. Mantis shrimp are considered pests by some. A telltale sign that you have one in your tank; an audible double click sound. A single audible click usually indicates a Pistol Shrimp, which is not considered a pest (unless you count its tunnel digging as problematic). 

Asterina Starfish are voracious eaters of zooanthids, polyps, LPS, SPS, or anything they can get to. Harlequin Shrimps eat the feet of starfish (the ultimate foot fetish). They need starfish to survive, so you can keep frozen starfish arms to drop into the tank when needed. This could keep them from attacking your living starfish. 

The bane of growers or lovers of the montipora corals is the montipora eating nudibranch. One of the more common and serious pests that have become an increasing issue is a species of nudibranch known to feed on the tissue of corals from the Montipora and Anacropora genus.  These nudibranchs can cause massive amounts of damage to coral in a very short amount of time.  They are biologically designed to multiply at an astounding rate in an effort to compete with their constant predation in the wild. The eradication of this pest using chemicals/etc. is listed below along with a general rating.

Freshwater Dip         (Good)        will not work on the eggs

Chilled SaltwWater   (Good)       will not work on the eggs

Levamisol                 (Mixed)       antiparasitic dip

Tropic Marin            (Excellent)   iodine based treatment 

The eradication of montipora eating nudibranches using biological means is listed along with a general rating.

Wrasses             (excellent)    Six Line, Four Line, Yellow, Pink Face, Xmas. 

Marine Flatworms are problematic for captive reef tanks. The ghost (clear) Flatworm is not harmful. The red Flatworm is the pest. Flatworm Exit can be used to eradicate these pests. It is also non-toxic and reef safe. However, the Flatworms release toxins into the water upon its demise. Wrasses (Six Line, Four Line, Yellow, Pink Face, & Xmas) are excellent for preying on these pests.

Acropora Eating Flatworms is another pest. The Acropora Flatworm is starting to become prevalent in the United States. This species of flatworm consumes the actual tissue of Acropora corals at a rapid rate. They seem to prefer species of Acropora that have shorter polyps, and are most commonly found on Staghorn types and Tricolor species. This flatworm is very invasive, and immediate action should be taken if noticed in your aquarium. The best way of controlling these flatworms is by prevention. Flatworms are very sensitive to salinity changes; by dipping the colony in dechlorinated freshwater for 5 to 10 seconds and then shaking the colony while submerged in the bath of freshwater, will cause the worms to lose their grip and fall to the bottom of the container. Fluke Tabs work, but read the directions first! Natural predation of flatworms falls to the Wrasse Family, as listed above. Keep in mind that some of the Wrasses will prey upon snails, crabs, etc. Research the Wrasse you want for you tank, before you add it. 

Pyramid snails are generally white in color, have a slender shell that tapers to a point, and do not grow larger than a few millimeters. The Pyramid Snails use their long tube-like mouth, to puncture the mantle of a Tridacna Clam in order to feed upon the fluids and zooxanthellae cells contained within. Once again the Wrasse is one of the predators of this pest. Seeing a Wrasse pattern here?