SPS critter ID

[Cathman]

First pardon this as I'm doing this from my cell. I have had an issue with frags STNing on Me. They start from the base and slowly go up. There are marks on them that at times sure look like AEFW bites but for the life of me I cannot find one when dipping. I have found what look like eggs but not in clusters, just random around the dead tissue areas. The only think I have found are these black/purple looking bugs when dipped. I can also see them on the frags when I notice the dead tissue beginning. I have noticed that it is only on acros. And seems to be specific ones. For instance birdsnest, chalice, poci, all not touched as of yet. Also have only had it happen to one piece that is encrusted on my rock. The one piece is a stag. I have several small colonies on the rocks. This is going on in my frag racks it seems. I have read of one persons experience with black bugs and he ended up starting over after a long battle. However I won't give up.

I have tried interceptor with no success on them. Bayer dips kill them, Coral Revive also either kills or stuns them to the point with a blast they come off and don't move. I have found zero flatworms, red bugs, AEFW, spiders, etc. Only these guys so it makes me thing it has to be them doing the eating. I do not have a microscope so these are the best pics I have right now.

 

[Cathman]

@Diesel

 

[erk]

Looks like some type of parasitic copepod. I had what appeared to be black parasitic copepods on a setosa frag I purchased. It took 2 dips in Revive to get rid of them. I haven't seen them again. The article below helped me gain a better understanding of what I was dealing with. Hopefully it can help you as well.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/1/corals

Edit:
There are far more parasitic copepods than just red bugs. Seems there is some sort of parasitic copepod for every coral species. Also, it will probably be asked at some point, but you should go ahead and post your alk, calc, mg levels for others that will view this thread.

 

[ReeferBean]

A reefer in my area is dealing with the same pest. Interceptor didn't seem to kill them as far as I know. I can direct him to this thread maybe he can be of some help to you.

 

[Tahoe61]

That frag looks like it's history unfortunately.

Those black dots look like a type of Arthropod, could be one of many see link below.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/3/corals

I am surprised that Interceptor did not do the trick as it targets Arthropods. Was the dosage high enough for a long enough period of time?

Interceptor for me has proven to benign to all other inverts in my tank, it was a very successful treatment the two times I used it.

 

[Diesel]

@Cathman is buying frags from me for while now and picked up a nice pack last Sunday and he was brave enough to wait out the last 5min of the Broncos and Patriots game while we talked corals.
He showed me these pics in post #1 and I had no clue.
Lets help a fellow reefer out [HASHTAG]#reefsquad[/HASHTAG]

 

[Cathman]

Totally forgot to mention. Tank is appx 140 gallons. 30ish gallon sump so assume 165 i guess total volume. I used slightly larger than half a piece of the large breed dog chews (Interceptor Spectrum) i believe it was called. Did nothing for them that I could tell. I have not tried a dose in a dish with a frag yet, but I may attempt that to see if maybe it was not strong enough. But from all accounts i read about red bugs and thinking similar stuff, I tried it at the dose as described.

 

[dewboy1127]

Bayer dip

 

[kschweer]

@Cathman is buying frags from me for while now and picked up a nice pack last Sunday and he was brave enough to wait out the last 5min of the Broncos and Patriots game while we talked corals.
He showed me these pics in post #1 and I had no clue.
Lets help a fellow reefer out [HASHTAG]#reefsquad[/HASHTAG]

I'm at a loss as to what they could be. I would suggest following up with the dips and removing any frags/corals affected that seem to be too far gone. I would deal with it as one would with any sps pest and keep doing dips in case there are eggs involved that will eventually hatched. Best of luck and I hope you get a definitive id.

 

[Salty1962]

I'm at a loss as to what they could be. I would suggest following up with the dips and removing any frags/corals affected that seem to be too far gone. I would deal with it as one would with any sps pest and sore prayed dips in case there are eggs involved that will eventually hatched. Best of luck and I hope you get a definitive id.

Keep us posted so we can learn something that appears a huge question??

 

[zemuss]

That frag looks like it's history unfortunately.

Those black dots look like a type of Arthropod, could be one of many see link below.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/3/corals

I am surprised that Interceptor did not do the trick as it targets Arthropods. Was the dosage high enough for a long enough period of time?

Interceptor for me has proven to benign to all other inverts in my tank, it was a very successful treatment the two times I used it.

From the site Tahoe61 linked read this:

Aquarist Steve Ruddy kindly relayed his experiences with 'black bugs' (see Figures 5, 6, and 7) and MelaFix. He found that black bugs abandoned the host coral (a Montipora species - See Figure 4) about 20 minutes after the treatment began. Note: Ruddy's treatment time of 20 minutes exceeds the manufacturer's maximum recommended time of 5 minutes. These copepods settled to the bottom of the container and swam in circles, and all motion stopped 30 minutes after treatment started. However, the parasites were not killed during the treatment process, and were still alive some 24 hours after the treatment began.

We should note that Meleluca oil is considered a carcinogen by the State of California, and the bottles of Melafix Marine are so marked.

Results of Melafix Treatment (Freshwater animals used, protocol described above):

• Unidentified Crustaceans: 97.5% kill rate after 15 minute dip*
• Snails: Initially stunned by the treatment, but apparently fully recovered when observed at 24 hours.

*An interesting observation. When comparing the kill rates of different copepods, it is apparent that this product is very effective against some bugs, and not so against others. This point may be moot, as Ruddy found it worked very well when used to drive (but not kill) bugs from a Montipora coral during a quarantine 'dip'.


Montipora specimen. Photo courtesy of Steve Ruddy." style="margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; outline: none; border-bottom-width: 0.1em; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); color: rgb(46, 122, 164) !important;">

Maybe you have Black Bugs which apparently are harder to kill.

 

[Afakasi831]

appears to be red bugs. Be sure to dip your corals & use a turkey baster to lightly blow the bugs off while being dipped & be consistent about it. Interceptors work but can kill any inverts i wouldn't recommend it. For future reference you'll want to dip all frags you buy before introducing them to your tank. Best of luck!

 

[thirst]

I have the same thing and have no idea what it is

Here's a video I took of them

 

[Diesel]

I have the same thing and have no idea what it is

Here's a video I took of them

Dang!
#reefsquad

 

[jsker]

This might help you out link or this Link

 

[Maritimer]

Looking at these creatures and the way they move in the video, I'd be looking to flatworms or some kind of mollusc (slugs, nudibranchs - although I don't see any of the gills or other protuberances nudis are known for) for an identification. The way these guys move just doesn't say "arthropod" to me. Whatever they are, they're surprisingly fast - and you've got a lot of 'em!

@Lionfish Lair might be able to confirm these guys identity, and from there it should be easy enough to find a protocol to take them out if needed.

~Bruce