Pests from dipping my Trachy

AstroMelly

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Hi guys

Our Trachy has been showing some issues recently - it used to be huge and fleshy and for the last couple of months has been decidedly retracted in comparison. There are two patches each side of his figure 8 where the flesh has apparently torn away from the skeleton. The skeletal fins under these areas is now dark brown with algae growth. Only two spots - one on each side - otherwise there is a nice continuous line where his flesh is attached. I feared maybe something was in the skeletal fins so gave him a dip in Coral RX (10 minutes) and then Seachem Iodine (20 mins). I also lightly painted some neat Iodine dip on those 2 areas.
On doing this (the Iodine dip) I noticed 3 of these worm like creatures which emanated from these open areas. Any chance of an ID please? These are the 2 bigger ones which appear to be busy easting something - they were about 4-5mm in length. Perhaps juvenile nudis?

I'll post some pics of the Trachy, who we affectionately know as 'Carpet'! Background - I found our emerald crab 'Krusty' picking at him so covered him in a 3D printed coral cage to give him a chance of recovery. I took the cage off after a few weeks yesterday but he seems to only begin to puff at night and then shows retraction during the day. He is getting more light now since removing the cage so maybe that will take some time for him to adjust to. I am feeding 2-3 times a week and he is eating well. I now think maybe the crab was attracted by mucus that he may have been secreting but I cannot see this with my eyes. The crab seems to have been leaving him alone the last couple of nights at least but I have no way of knowing - I've moved him away from Krusty's lair but who knows how far he roams at night!.

 
Is it just me or do those appear to have legs?
Yes! I thought that as well! like a couple of pairs at the front. Could it be a gall crab larvae? I was looking at some lumps on his skeleton which I think may be harbouring a female gall crab. Don't want to cut these off/open just yet but it is on my mind that this may be the problem. I have read round a bit on gall crabs and much of the information I have found seems to suggest it is usually a commensal relationship however I'm not sure this is the case here - something is bothering him. I'm posting some shots of Carpet.
 
Hi guys

Our Trachy has been showing some issues recently - it used to be huge and fleshy and for the last couple of months has been decidedly retracted in comparison. There are two patches each side of his figure 8 where the flesh has apparently torn away from the skeleton. The skeletal fins under these areas is now dark brown with algae growth. Only two spots - one on each side - otherwise there is a nice continuous line where his flesh is attached. I feared maybe something was in the skeletal fins so gave him a dip in Coral RX (10 minutes) and then Seachem Iodine (20 mins). I also lightly painted some neat Iodine dip on those 2 areas.
On doing this (the Iodine dip) I noticed 3 of these worm like creatures which emanated from these open areas. Any chance of an ID please? These are the 2 bigger ones which appear to be busy easting something - they were about 4-5mm in length. Perhaps juvenile nudis?

I'll post some pics of the Trachy, who we affectionately know as 'Carpet'! Background - I found our emerald crab 'Krusty' picking at him so covered him in a 3D printed coral cage to give him a chance of recovery. I took the cage off after a few weeks yesterday but he seems to only begin to puff at night and then shows retraction during the day. He is getting more light now since removing the cage so maybe that will take some time for him to adjust to. I am feeding 2-3 times a week and he is eating well. I now think maybe the crab was attracted by mucus that he may have been secreting but I cannot see this with my eyes. The crab seems to have been leaving him alone the last couple of nights at least but I have no way of knowing - I've moved him away from Krusty's lair but who knows how far he roams at night!.

You're sure they're not just slightly longer amphipods?
 
Some images for you. The healthy shot was from March 2023 and even here he is not fully extended. I mounted him vertically on this small reef rock to try and get those patches off the sand. The larger patch is getting worse. I tried to show some of his 'lumps' - seems there is a filter feeder on one of these. I read gall crabs can dig into the skeleton and then the coral grows over the hole, leaving a small hole for water movement.
 

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You're sure they're not just slightly longer amphipods?
Thats kind of what I was thinking, I dont have a good understanding of all types of amphipods and or larval forms of crabs and such, I just saw legs so im pretty sure they are not nudi or worms.
 
I should mention my parameters - I consider them normal although Nitrates are elevated. They reached 100ppm but we have cut back on feeding and are skimming more heavily (wet) now.

Hope this link works otherwise I can post numbers - let me know please?

 
Thats kind of what I was thinking, I dont have a good understanding of all types of amphipods and or larval forms of crabs and such, I just saw legs so im pretty sure they are not nudi or worms.
i'm certainly not ruling out pods - as I say we see them all the time if we dip now the tank is full of them - they just did not look like any pod we have seen before - particularly the movement. It's not in the video but I disturbed them and they did not do the familiar crazy swim that all pods seem to exhibit when being dipped. We are at 18 months now and still loving it!
 
Yes we are tackling that - as I mentioned cutting feeding and skimming wetter. Also going to try some carbon dosing. Tank is doing great - apart from poor Carpet. His decline started back in May.
Looks like Nitrate really spiked up in that timeframe, so definitely want to keep at that. Keep us posted!
 
Looks like Nitrate really spiked up in that timeframe, so definitely want to keep at that. Keep us posted!
That is a good shout! Aim is to get it under 20. Will probably take a few weeks at least but I will be vodka dosing starting in a few days time.
 

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