Help!!! Coral eating copepods/amphipods

by **newbie916** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 5:09 am

I'm not only dealing with zoa pox on my blue hornets. I came home from work and I noticed my Blue tang moved my candy canes to the other side of the tank. I put my flashlight on it and it was covered in little pods about 1mm long. They ate one of the heads almost to the skeleton. What the hell!!! I was also wondering why my yellow button polyps have virtually disappeared and xenias have died in the last month. I think they're being eaten by these things. How do I get rid of them.. Will a scooter blenny or dragonet eat those fuckers?

Thanks,
Chris

by **blueshoes2208** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 1:44 pm

scooter blenny or dragonet ---> copepods.......... dont really know what the difference in amphipods are but im sure it will eat them too

by **fihsboy** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 1:52 pm

I have never heard of amphipods eating corals......got any pics?? get a dragonet of any kind......mandarin or spotted or scooter like blue said.

by **newbie916** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 4:48 pm

Thanks, I'll take some pics and post them

by **newbie916** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 8:06 pm

I haven't had time to get good pics of the amphipods, but they're just regular looking. I've done some research online and some people have had these guys eat their corals as well. It sounds like they start eating corals, if they aren't getting enough food. My tank has had an explosion of growth amongst my corals and my pod population. My Majenta Dottyback is always fat and full, but can't keep up with the pods. Do you guys see any problems with the dottyback and a blenny or dragonette?

by **fihsboy** » Fri May 01, 2009 5:35 pm

As much research as I have done on amphipods and copepods..ive never heard of them eating corals........ever. They eat decaying matter......and remains of algae matte or actual algae..aka phyto plankton. They are a zoo plankton which means they actually should be feeding the corals....Im afraid they may not be pods....and if they are the only way to rid the bad ones would be to start over....eggs are microscopic and you cant eliminate algae..My pods all eat in the refuge where there is an abundance of algae for them to feed on. get sucked in by the pump and feed my corals. We need pics!

by **fihsboy** » Fri May 01, 2009 6:17 pm

As much research as I have done on amphipods and copepods..ive never heard of them eating corals........ever. They eat decaying matter......and remains of algae matte or actual algae..aka phyto plankton. They are a zoo plankton which means they actually should be feeding the corals....Im afraid they may not be pods....and if they are the only way to rid the bad ones would be to start over....eggs are microscopic and you cant eliminate algae..My pods all eat in the refuge where there is an abundance of algae for them to feed on. get sucked in by the pump and feed my corals. We need pics!

by **barnsey** » Sat May 02, 2009 5:54 pm

I gotta agree with Fishboy,everywhere i have read(and its alot) states amphipods and coepods are detrivores and actually feed your fish and certain corals,personelly i would give alot to have a thriveing population of both,but my Pair of leopard wrasse see to it that i have seem to have enough.....try and get us some pics of the coral eating guys:)

by **fihsboy** » Sun May 03, 2009 2:01 am

Do they look like this?

http://www.azeah.com/photos/story/Red%2 ... 0coral.jpg

Or like this?

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n72/ ... tinudi.jpg

Or this?

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004- ... age007.jpg

The first one is a red bug.......which is known to eat other corals besides sps.....but love sps.

The second one is a montipora nudibranch....just an example.......but a nudibranch will go to town on corals......and can multiply rapidly.

The third one is a normal amphipod. Copepods are microscopic and cant be seen with the naked eye unless they are full adult, and then they are still smaller than a ball point pen head. Amphipods have been reported to eat meat....such as human or what ever they can get there jaws on. There is a (man eating) amphipod as well.....they have found them in shipwrecks where people have drowned...You could have a (man eating) amphipod. BUT. No matter what they are of the last three......you have to do an Iodine dip. I brought this matter up to my buddies in the reef store and the club.....and the consensus was that no matter the animal....flatworm.......nudibranch......copepod...what ever....the only way to rid it is to dip it. Are they still eating your coral?? And make sure you dip ASAP, because the longer they sit in your system......the more babys...

by **newbie916** » Sun May 03, 2009 5:28 am

Thanks fihsboy for the info. They aren't eating the corals anymore and my candy cane is recovering well. I've been feeding my tank a little extra phytofeast and noticed that the pods have settledown. They don't look like any of the guys in the pics. I couldn't pull up the last pic though. I've been watching all of my corals closely and no other incidents. I think the Candy cane may have been stressed and began to die off after it was thrown from one side of the tank to the other. I'm guessing that's why the pods were eating at it. Fortunely I found the Candy Cane in time and it's almost completely healed.

No other issues so far with my any of my other corals. I'll keep you updated and hopefully I'll stay away from those man eating pods. They sound a little scary..lol

Help!!! Coral eating copepods/amphipods

10 posts