Please help!!!

[Reef addict 01]

I had some eagle eye and I believe stargazers in my tank. they are disappearing completely! I have no idea where they are going I think something's eating them but I have no idea what would please help asap thank you

 

[DaniSLOelle]

Could be a zoa eating nudibranch, they are very tiny and camouflage extremely well.

 

[Reef addict 01]

Could be a zoa eating nudibranch, they are very tiny and camouflage extremely well.

when I turn my lights back on after they've been off for a while I can see lots of bugs crawling all over my rocks and zoo and friends could these be them? Here's a picture of some of them that I have found.

 

[sutton6989]

Amphipods and copepods. Could be and those are good.

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[DaniSLOelle]

Those look like copepods, they are good guys. Try doing a google image search for the Zoa eating nudibranchs. If you can pull out any zoa you have left, you might be able to locate them hiding between the polyps. I have used a coral dip(Revive coral cleaner) and successfully removed them. Have you ever done a coral dip? Do you have other zoa still?

 

[Reef addict 01]

Those look like copepods, they are good guys. Try doing a google image search for the Zoa eating nudibranchs. If you can pull out any zoa you have left, you might be able to locate them hiding between the polyps. I have used a coral dip(Revive coral cleaner) and successfully removed them. Have you ever done a coral dip? Do you have other zoa still?

okay thank you I will take a look at that. And no I've never coral dept anything I probably should everytime i buy something but I haven't. the polyps just seemed to disappear overnight I will pull them out and take a look like you suggested. I have a few polyps left. but those are the only ones that I have. now what if there are more hiding in my life rock? After I dip this coral and put it back in is there something I can add to the tank as a whole to get rid of any nuisances I may have?

 

[DaniSLOelle]

If there are the pests I suspect then they should be on the Zoas only and likely not elsewhere. They r so tiny and they stay close to their food source. I would not recommend any whole tank treatment, I am of the more holistic approach to animal care. I'd say pull out all your Zoas and dip them and carefully inspect.

 

[ethridge78]

I would do the dip and keep a eye out

 

[Reef addict 01]

If there are the pests I suspect then they should be on the Zoas only and likely not elsewhere. They r so tiny and they stay close to their food source. I would not recommend any whole tank treatment, I am of the more holistic approach to animal care. I'd say pull out all your Zoas and dip them and carefully inspect.

Ok perfect thank you very much ill try this out first. also I have been vodka dosing I am only adding .3 milliliters per day I've been doing this for 4 days could this cause any problems like this? The rest of my tank looks very clear so I don't believe it's bacterial bloom

 

[Bow]

I just started having the same issue. Weird thing is I haven't added anything new

 

[KoleTang]

Zoanthids can randomly do this. I believe the term is "melting". I've had colonies recede for no reason, and come back for no reason. An iodine dip always seems to help them out.

 

[Reef addict 01]

Zoanthids can randomly do this. I believe the term is "melting". I've had colonies recede for no reason, and come back for no reason. An iodine dip always seems to help them out.

it appears as if they have completely disappeared like they were never even there is this normal for this melting that you are describing?

 

[Bow]

That's what happened to mine. Went from about 20 heads to 5 in a few days. Not even nubs left. Just clean rock

 

[Reef addict 01]

That's what happened to mine. Went from about 20 heads to 5 in a few days. Not even nubs left. Just clean rock

how are your other corals? And have you noticed anything funny about your zoas?

 

[KoleTang]

it appears as if they have completely disappeared like they were never even there is this normal for this melting that you are describing?

From my understanding, yes they can melt overnight. I'm not sure if pests are even capable of doing that much damage so quickly. Hopefully some zoanthid experts will chime in. Maybe if you change the name of the thread to something describing the problem they will stop by.

 

[Bow]

how are your other corals? And have you noticed anything funny about your zoas?

Nope. Everything else seems fine

 

[Fin]

After your lights go out, take a flashlight and a magnifying glass and go hunting. If it is a zoa eating nudi, they look like this:

They will probably show bright green at night with a flashlight. They may be on your zoanthids or they may be on the glass. I have found them in both places. If you do have these, also check around the base of your polyps to see if you see eggs. You will have to remove those too. I have always been able to just remove the ones I see and remove eggs. If you see one, chances are you will have a number of them, so check often. They are easier to see with the lights off though. They are about the size of a small grain of rice.

 

[A. grandis]

when I turn my lights back on after they've been off for a while I can see lots of bugs crawling all over my rocks and zoo and friends could these be them? Here's a picture of some of them that I have found.

The picture shows amphipods.
They are normally irritators, but some of the species, like the one in that picture, could eat zoanthids too!!!!

amphipods eating zoanthids - YouTube
Amphipod eating yellow zoanthid - YouTube

If you can't dip the zoas they will be suffering day and night.
It's going to be hard to eliminate them from the system.
The fresh water dip would be the best, for a minute or less.
Keep watching for the amphipods to die while dipping the colony. Some other creatures from the rocks will die to, but...
The dipping would only give the zoas a relief, but not the total eradication of the amphipods, because they are probably all over the place!

You'll need a fish to eat them up. Wrasses or basslets would do the job.
Good luck!!

Grandis.

 

[tuna_bullet]

also what fish do you have?....+100 on the dip

 

[Reef addict 01]

The picture shows amphipods.
They are normally irritators, but some of the species, like the one in that picture, could eat zoanthids too!!!!

amphipods eating zoanthids - YouTube
Amphipod eating yellow zoanthid - YouTube

If you can't dip the zoas they will be suffering day and night.
It's going to be hard to eliminate them from the system.
The fresh water dip would be the best, for a minute or less.
Keep watching for the amphipods to die while dipping the colony. Some other creatures from the rocks will die to, but...
The dipping would only give the zoas a relief, but not the total eradication of the amphipods, because they are probably all over the place!

You'll need a fish to eat them up. Wrasses or basslets would do the job.
Good luck!!

Grandis.

wow that is crazy I never thought they would eat those! What can I do to get rid of them?