Small white bugs on Blasto

[Enad]

Hi there,

In the last few days I've noticed these very tiny white bugs crawling around on the flesh of my Blasto. I haven't seen them anywhere else thus far, and they don't seem to be bothering the coral as far as I can tell but maybe they haven't been on long enough to cause issues.

Regardless, I've tried dipping with CoralRX which usually works great for pest removal but it didn't seem to have any effect. I can confirm they are still moving around on the coral flesh.


I've attached a few pictures, and added white circles in one picture to better highlight the bugs. Hard to get a great pic at this size.

Any ideas? Doesn't seem widespread right now so hopefully I can eliminate them on the Blasto and the problem will go away.

Thanks!

 

[Jaag]

I am not sure but going to follow along.

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Copepods?

 

[Enad]

Nah they're not pods. Unless they're invincible, as coralRX would typically kill pods. They don't move like pods either, they crawl around very bug like.

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

I think I remember hearing about LPS white bugs, @ISpeakForTheSeas any ideas?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I think I remember hearing about LPS white bugs, @ISpeakForTheSeas any ideas?

Yeah, some LPS get parasitic pods that crawl on them, but I haven't heard of a blasto being one of the host corals for them.

That said, it'd be hard to say what these are without a microscope pic or two, but some sort of "pod" or similar (like ostracods) would be my first thought.

 

[Enad]

Any idea why they'd be resistant to typical pest removal dips? Anyone have an idea on a stronger dip I could use without hurting the coral?

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Any idea why they'd be resistant to typical pest removal dips? Anyone have an idea on a stronger dip I could use without hurting the coral?

Have you tried Bayer dip?

 

[Yang’s Blue Paradise]

I think those are ostracods. I had plenty of them all over my LPS dominated take few months ago. Honestly haven’t see them in a while and nothing died from them.

 

[Enad]

Have you tried Bayer dip?

I have not. Never needed to do that before. Seems like a bit of an extreme jump if they aren't hurting anything yet? Seems like that would be harsh on the coral.

I think those are ostracods. I had plenty of them all over my LPS dominated take few months ago. Honestly haven’t see them in a while and nothing died from them.

Interesting. As far as I can tell they aren't bothering the Blasto. Eventually yours just died off?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Any idea why they'd be resistant to typical pest removal dips? Anyone have an idea on a stronger dip I could use without hurting the coral?

I think those are ostracods. I had plenty of them all over my LPS dominated take few months ago. Honestly haven’t see them in a while and nothing died from them.

Lots of "pests" and other critters are surprisingly resilient to dips (otherwise, we'd have a lot less hitchhikers in the hobby) - ostracods are a good guess in this case; closer pics would help confirm, but if they are ostracods, then they're most likely harmless/beneficial.

 

[Yang’s Blue Paradise]

I have not. Never needed to do that before. Seems like a bit of an extreme jump if they aren't hurting anything yet? Seems like that would be harsh on the coral.


Interesting. As far as I can tell they aren't bothering the Blasto. Eventually yours just died off?

yep seems like they all just died off

 

[Enad]

Bringing this one back.

So recently the Blasto has been looking pretty bothered, and I can only assume it's because of the bugs. Nothing else has changed about it, so I'm doubtful it's anything else causing the disturbance.

Any tips on what my next steps should be? I've never done an insecticide dip, but I'll do one if need be.

Advice would be appreciated!

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Bringing this one back.

So recently the Blasto has been looking pretty bothered, and I can only assume it's because of the bugs. Nothing else has changed about it, so I'm doubtful it's anything else causing the disturbance.

Any tips on what my next steps should be? I've never done an insecticide dip, but I'll do one if need be.

Advice would be appreciated!

If you think these are parasitic pods of some variety, the below may help:

Yeah, white bugs, red bugs, black bugs, etc. (coral-parasitic pods) will almost exclusively be found on their host corals. For more info on these and for some closer up pics/drawings:

Aquarium Corals: Stony Coral Parasites: Red and Black Bugs: Identification Guide, Preventive Measures, and a Review of Treatment Protocols

This article is but a small tool for use by serious hobbyists in answering many questions.

reefs.com

Aquarium Corals: Stony Coral Parasites, Part Two: Copepods: Family Xarifiidae

Dana continues last month's discussion about copepods.

reefs.com

https://av.tib.eu/media/55499