Search ReefScales
Results for "Pests"
19 launch-approved results
Search results for "Pests"
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Vermetid Snails
Vermetid snails are tube-dwelling pests that spread on rock and frag plugs and feed with sticky mucus webs. Their webs can irritate corals and...
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Gorilla Crabs
Gorilla/xanthid crabs are common hitchhikers that can become predators in reef tanks, often causing mystery snail and hermit losses. Because many are nocturnal and...
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Spirobid Worms (Spirorbidae spp.)
Spirorbid worms are tiny white spiral tube worms that commonly appear in reef tanks and are usually harmless hitchhikers. The main trust challenge is...
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Six-Line Wrasse
A colorful, energetic wrasse that patrols rockwork all day and is usually easy to feed. Reef safe, but temperament can become aggressive over time—especially...
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Peppermint Shrimp
Peppermint shrimp are hardy, opportunistic scavengers that fit well into many reef tanks when expectations are set correctly. They’re mostly nocturnal, tend to stay...
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Tridacna Clam
Tridacna clams are light-driven reef animals that thrive only in stable, mature systems. Strong, consistent lighting and steady alkalinity and calcium matter far more...
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Asterina Starfish
Asterina starfish are common hitchhikers that usually act as harmless algae and biofilm grazers. In balanced tanks they stay in low numbers and do...
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Amphipods
Amphipods are beneficial micro-crustaceans that support reef stability by recycling waste and serving as natural live food for fish. They thrive in tanks with...
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Acropora-Eating Flatworm
AEFW are Acropora-specific flatworms that eat coral tissue, causing bite marks, poor polyp extension, and slow SPS decline. They spread mainly through unvetted Acropora...
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Montipora-Eating Nudibranch (Phestilla subodiosus)
Montipora-eating nudibranchs are tiny coral predators that chew Montipora tissue, causing “nibbled” edges and scraped white bite patches. They hide on undersides and lay...
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Zoanthid-Eating Nudibranch
Zoanthid-eating nudibranchs are tiny, camouflaged predators that eat zoa polyps and can wipe colonies fast. They hide in mats and lay eggs, so outbreaks...
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Mantis Shrimp (Stomatopoda)
Mantis shrimp are predatory hitchhikers that often reveal themselves through clicking sounds and disappearing snails or hermits. They’re fascinating animals, but not reef-safe in...
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Acropora Red Bugs (Tegastes acroporanus)
Acropora red bugs are tiny parasitic copepods that irritate Acropora, causing reduced polyp extension, dull color, and slowed growth. They spread easily via new...
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Christmas-Tree Hydroid
Fire/Christmas-tree hydroids are stinging Pennaria colonies that look like tiny feathery “mini trees” on plugs, racks, and sump/overflow surfaces. They can irritate corals—and sting...
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Myrionema Hydroids
Myrionema hydroids are stinging colonial polyps that often spread around zoa mats and frag plugs, causing localized zoanthid irritation and persistent closure. They thrive...
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Hydroids
Hydroids are stinging colonial polyps that hitchhike into reef tanks and can spread across plugs, racks, and rockwork. They often irritate corals and cause...
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Waminoa Coral Flatworms (Waminoa spp.)
Waminoa are small flatworms that sit on coral tissue and can create chronic irritation, shading, and reduced extension when populations build up. They are...
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Bobbit Worm (Eunice aphroditois)
Bobbit worms are hidden ambush predators that live deep in rock or sand and can cause strange fish, snail, or crab losses. They are...
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Coral-Boring Spionid Worms (Spionidae spp.)
Coral-boring spionid worms live in or around coral skeleton and feed with paired filaments that can irritate tissue and contribute to localized recession. They...