Acropora necrosis possible pest ID

[Goni Bananas]

Hey there,

Im hoping someone has a little insight into what this may be. I work at a saltwater store and we have been having tissue necrosis in our sps tank. I took a few sample corals home with me to check under my digital microscope. The first coral i looked at was a mini colony under water still and I thought maybe it was red bug

(these images are taken under ~50x zoom).

The only thing i thought wierd though was that we have smooth skin acros in that tank that are unaffected compared to non smooth skin species like the one above.

I then looked at another frag and I noticed under 200x zoom some unknown organism with red centers

Has anyone ever seen anything like these? I tried looking online but I couldn't find a good match.

I appreciate the help!

 

[Reefahholic]

@FarmerTy

 

[Syntax1235]

I see a black dot in the middle of the coral that reminds me of something I’ve seen in my tank for the past 8 months - halicarid mites, benthic creatures that may or may not be an issue. Just something to consider. I have not been able to figure out if these creatures have caused my tissue recession issue with a high degree of certainty.



Here’s a picture of them that I was able to take while dipping and under a microscope. I don’t have the magnification number.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Odd they look like tiny aefw with very distinct dark centers. If that is a coral skeleton with a bit of flesh left they are gathered around I would be worried. Not panicked though, never panic from pests. Learn from them and the hobby (or your job in this case) will be twice as enjoyable once you experience things like this and pull through. They look super small if I am seeing the dead acro correctly. Size of two pinheads at most right?
I have came across odd stuff like nudis on acropora.

 

[Troylee]

I see a black dot in the middle of the coral that reminds me of something I’ve seen in my tank for the past 8 months - halicarid mites, benthic creatures that may or may not be an issue. Just something to consider. I have not been able to figure out if these creatures have caused my tissue recession issue with a high degree of certainty.



Here’s a picture of them that I was able to take while dipping and under a microscope. I don’t have the magnification number.

These look like the dreaded black bugs that have wiping tanks out.. no known cure so far…

 

[Goni Bananas]

I see a black dot in the middle of the coral that reminds me of something I’ve seen in my tank for the past 8 months - halicarid mites, benthic creatures that may or may not be an issue. Just something to consider. I have not been able to figure out if these creatures have caused my tissue recession issue with a high degree of certainty.



Here’s a picture of them that I was able to take while dipping and under a microscope. I don’t have the magnification number.

Hmm how fast do they move? i feel like i did see a black spot moving last night at a decent speed

Odd they look like tiny aefw with very distinct dark centers. If that is a coral skeleton with a bit of flesh left they are gathered around I would be worried.

Yeah they are super tiny. I was considering aefw too but i couldnt for the life of me find an adult.

Not panicked though, never panic from pests. Learn from them and the hobby (or your job in this case) will be twice as enjoyable once you experience things like this and pull through.

Oh most definitely, my degree is in env biology so i love this stuff! I took an invert zoology class in college and it was one of my absolute favorites!

These look like the dreaded black bugs that have wiping tanks out.. no known cure so far…

Hmm i hope not but if so thank goodness I put these frags in an old biocube with just some zoas and tons of aiptasia and not in my main DT! The only thing though from looking at info online is that they look a little bigger (and more copepod like?) than what im seeing. I go back into work tomorrow I may have to take a look at more colonies. Theres tons of Coral Rx pro there too so i can knock some off to look at closer probably

 

[Goni Bananas]

I forgot to add this zoomed out photo of the second frag. I cant really see much evidence of predation but my bread and butter is in LPS so i could be missing something