What corals do red bugs eat?

[Bret Brinkmann]

I have red bugs in my tank. I have a GSP and hydnophora. I never see the red bugs on either. So what are they eating to stay alive? Algae? What types of coral do they eat and are there any that they definitely do not eat?

 

[rock_lobster]

Red bugs eat acropora. How do you know you have redbugs?

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

I see reddish orange copopod things on the glass. I looked them up and if they aren't red bugs, then they sure do look like them. I've seen pictures of them on acropora and I believe that is what I have too. Because they never touched my GSP, hydnophora, or the mushroom I used to have, I was thinking maybe they only go after certain types of coral and I could just wait out their life cycle before getting any more coral. I don't want to treat the tank because I have other crustaceans I want to keep and can't take out of the tank.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

You will only see red bugs on acropora. Not on the glass of your aquarium. Very likley it's something else but pictures are the only way for us to know what they are.

 

[Velcro]

You sure you're not seeing tiger Copepods (tigriopus californicus)?

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

That's got to be it, some type of copepod. Mine aren't as big as the tiger pods but they are mixed in with the white pods. Hence no pictures because they would be worthless. They flock on the glass when the algae starts to grow on it. Thanks everyone. Now if I can just figure out why my mushroom melted away...