Extremely fast tissue recession on favia

[living_tribunal]

So the amphipods have started going after other fleshy corals unfortunately. Nothing as severe as the first goniastrea but it is some damage.

They are currently attacking this micro and another goniastrea both of which have lost a fair amount of tissue.

I can’t keep moving coral to my frag tank like these but I don’t know how to stop these guys.

My mccoskers flasher wrasse finished qt two days ago and has been in the display since that time. I’m hoping he can put a dent in their population. I don’t see him scavenging the rocks like I thought he would though.

This is one problem I didn’t expect to have lol!

 

[living_tribunal]

I doubt there is much I can do other than the wrasse and potentially strong chemicals but does anyone have any recommendations?

These guys are really starting to eat this micromussa to shreds. It’s happening so fast as well.

I’m hoping that since they eat every millimeter of algae in my tank, they’ll eventually starve. Hopefully this wrasse does something about their numbers. He doesn’t seem to be feeding off them so far. I don’t want to move all of my coral to my frag tank :/


Check the difference even just in the last few hours

 

[Katrina71]

Have you considered heavier feeding?

 

[living_tribunal]

Have you considered heavier feeding?

You know how much I feed... these guys get fed every single day. The fish get fed 1-2 times a day on top of that.

My concern is that will just make them continue to explode in numbers.

I’m praying this wrasse does something...

 

[Hermie]

Honestly I'm leaning more towards your tank is killing the corals and the amphipods are simply eating the dead tissue, because a healthy coral should be able to produce toxins and "defenses" against amphipods.

That's just my theory and it's really hard to pinpoint what could be causing the coral death if it were true. Otherwise if the amphipods are the real problem then I'd remove all my corals from the tank and do some kind of amphipod killing/invert killing medication... but that's a last resort and it might be better just to restart the tank.

 

[living_tribunal]

Honestly I'm leaning more towards your tank is killing the corals and the amphipods are simply eating the dead tissue, because a healthy coral should be able to produce toxins and "defenses" against amphipods.

That's just my theory and it's really hard to pinpoint what could be causing the coral death if it were true. Otherwise if the amphipods are the real problem then I'd remove all my corals from the tank and do some kind of amphipod killing/invert killing medication... but that's a last resort and it might be better just to restart the tank.

Dude, this guy was growing gangbusters until I saw this this morning. He’s split five new heads this month alone. No way my tank is killing any of these guys.

I can’t remove most of these corals as they are secured, luckily the amphipods haven’t gotten to my expensive pieces but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time until they do.


Just look at the picture above, there are four of them eating the polyp. Every time I have checked the tank today they are just going to town. Corals don’t die this fast under most every circumstance.

 

[Katrina71]

You could get a pipefish too. Hint hint

 

[Hermie]

Dude, this guy was growing gangbusters until I saw this this morning. He’s split five new heads this month alone. No way my tank is killing any of these guys.

I can’t remove most of these corals as they are secured, luckily the amphipods haven’t gotten to my expensive pieces but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time until they do.

Just look at the picture above, there are four of them eating the polyp. Every time I have checked the tank today they are just going to town. Corals don’t die this fast under most every circumstance.

I'm looking at the picture but it's so blue that it's hard to see any amphipods honestly. And im not saying they aren't there, but that I did look at the picture. And not to be pedantic, but just because the coral was growing great doesn't mean that something didn't happen that may have caused it to stop growing great recently. For example, why are the amphipods all the sudden attacking the coral? Why werent they attacking it before when it was growing great?

 

[living_tribunal]

You could get a pipefish too. Hint hint

Well hopefully I don’t lose too many corals during the time it will take to qt it! This wrasse needs to do something. I know their populations will thin out soon, there’s absolutely no algae in the tank. Just hoping these smaller fleshier frags don’t take too much damage in that time.

 

[living_tribunal]

I'm looking at the picture but it's so blue that it's hard to see any amphipods honestly. And im not saying they aren't there, but that I did look at the picture. And not to be pedantic, but just because the coral was growing great doesn't mean that something didn't happen that may have caused it to stop growing great recently. For example, why are the amphipods all the sudden attacking the coral? Why werent they attacking it before when it was growing great?

Because they’re probably starving! Others have reported this, it was 100% the issue with the Dragon soul that I started this thread with.

Let me help you.

 

[Katrina71]

I have seen questionable behavior from pods that made me suspect the same thing. Not sure, but...

 

[living_tribunal]

I have seen questionable behavior from pods that made me suspect the same thing. Not sure, but...

Well there are like 1,000s of different amphipods, some carnivorous. I saw these guys take down a hermit the other day, like a group of ants does a caterpillar. We can discuss the merits or precedent of this but at some point you have to call a spade a spade. I’ve never lost a coral in this tank. Nothing has shown the slightest sign of stress, disease, or anything else. So when I see a large chunk of tissue gone, and 12 amphipods sitting right there nipping away at where the tissue used to be, I’m going to call it like I see it.

These guys are starving and they’re consuming thin tissued corals to supplement their diet.

 

[living_tribunal]

The wrasse just ate one that got sent up into th water column. Hopefully he catches on to the fact that he can eat the ones on the rocks/sand

 

[living_tribunal]

Some better pictures, they are only eating on the polyp, not under it, in between the skeleton, elsewhere. Just the polyp.

Wrasse save me :/

 

[Hermie]

The odd thing is that you say,

I feed my corals quite heavily, I run an lps tank and they receive a few forms of nutrition every day.

But then you expect us to know that the amphipods are starving... usually when corals are fed heavily then the scavengers are also fed heavily. So that's just logical on my part which I don't see why you would give attitude over that assumption.

 

[living_tribunal]

The odd thing is that you say,

But then you expect us to know that the amphipods are starving... usually when corals are fed heavily then the scavengers are also fed heavily. So that's just logical on my part which I don't see why you would give attitude over that assumption.

I’m not giving any kind of attitude?

I have slowed down feeding a little bit recently to get nitrate down a tad. The amphipods still receive a lot of food every day. It’s not enough apparently.

They are certainly scavenging and feasting on corals as if they’re starving. It’s clear they have demolished all algae in the tank, every morsel of food, every shred of mysis. They are always hungry tbh, it only takes them a few minutes to clean scraps and then they’re back to scavenging.

 

[Salacious Crumb]

Maybe try blowing them off the corals and into the water column so the wrasse will learn faster?

 

[living_tribunal]

Maybe try blowing them off the corals and into the water column so the wrasse will learn faster?

I have done that a few times but there are just thousands of them. Killing 15 doesn’t make much of a dent. It’s probably worth doing to knock their numbers a little bit.

Good suggestion, I’ll do it a bit more often.

 

[Hermie]

I’m not giving any kind of attitude?

I have slowed down feeding a little bit recently to get nitrate down a tad. The amphipods still receive a lot of food every day. It’s not enough apparently.

They are certainly scavenging and feasting on corals as if they’re starving. It’s clear they have demolished all algae in the tank, every morsel of food, every shred of mysis. They are always hungry tbh, it only takes them a few minutes to clean scraps and then they’re back to scavenging.

it's all good haha

Just trying to help

 

[living_tribunal]

it's all good haha

Just trying to help

And I appreciate it bud, just a little frustrated. I’m watching them eat my frags alive :/ . They eat more and more tissue every hour.

I think I might have to get my qt set up again and get a stupid pipe fish.