My jack-o-lantern being eaten by bugs

[Shanel]

Whatever these nasty bugs are they have to be eradicated. Now they are going after my Goniopora. I don't think at this point they are just eating dying flesh. It's possible. Tons of these little pods all over this frag this am. Now there is skeleton showing. There was no tissue loss before. I'm sure I'm not the first one in the world that has this problem. Can anybody tell me with 100% certainty what these are?

 

[josephxsxn]

Do you have a Tractor Supply (TCS) you can drive to? Pig dewormer should be over the counter Levamisole. Never tired this before but given that Melevs has a whole article I'd try it.

Acropora Eating Flat Worms (AEFW) | Melev's Reef

www.melevsreef.com

 

[Alexopora]

Apparently the vets in my area are only in it for the money. I have called around today with no luck. Nobody cares or cares to help. So disappointed in humanity today. Here is a photo under a microscope.

I think most vets just don’t have the experience and knowledge in dealing with ailments related to aquatic creatures especially corals. I can’t say with certainty what this critter/pest is but it resembles a ostracod (seed shrimp). Hopefully there will be more reefers that can weigh in on this.

 

[Shanel]

I did some searches on ostracod (seed shrimp). The pictures online I found look like a match to me. What most of the info says is that they eat algae, detritus and decaying flesh. Some say they can go after fish in large groups. They are found in both Fresh and Saltwater. There are many different types of ostracod (seed shrimp). I really haven't seen anyway to treat them. Has anyone had this issue before? Anyone know of a fish that will eat they pods. Maybe scooter or Mandarin?

 

[ying yang]

Love the spraybar. Got the same on one of my other tanks. 75g marineland combo from petsmart.

This one cool aquascape i absolutely love it and must took you so long to do it.good work

 

[Shanel]

This one cool aquascape i absolutely love it and must took you so long to do it.good work

Yes, took me 4 months of weekends to build. All the trees are hand build from driftwood roots. Waterfalls were trial and error until I liked the flow pattern.