What is this thing in my zoa?

[JohnNYC8]

It looks like a worm with dark and light stripes. It looks like it's burrowing into the zoa. My first instinct was to rip and dip but I'm not sure if this thing is good or bad.

I took a video:
Airdrop Link to long video with a couple good action shots

 

[JohnNYC8]

Here's a 4k video under bright lighting. I'm not sure if this is just wishful thinking but I hope it's a bristleworm or amphipoda that got lost at sunrise and fled to the zoa.

 

[JohnNYC8]

Here's a pic under white light. Should I pull that coral and dip it? I think it's an amphipoda eating my zoa. It carved a path straight through the small frag and split it in two. I think it's eating everything around the base of the coral.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

not a bristle worm

 

[Sump Crab]

Here's a pic under white light. Should I pull that coral and dip it? I think it's an amphipoda eating my zoa.

Is it a brittle starfish?

 

[JohnNYC8]

I pulled the zoas and dipped them in DipX. After about a minute of agitation another one popped out of a tunnel in the base of the coral. I have the zoa frag in a container of tank water. I don't have a qt system, should I remove it from the tank perminantly to be safe?

 

[Sump Crab]

That’s an amphipod. Beneficial.

 

[JohnNYC8]

That’s an amphipod. Beneficial.

These two were devouring my zoanthids.

 

[Sump Crab]

These two were devouring my zoanthids.

I doubt that. They were most likely eating a film of algae or bacteria off the zoas. If they were consuming Zoa flesh then that means the Zoa was already dead/dying.

Amphipods are a beneficial cleanup crew member and every reef tank has them.

Are you feeding the tank? Only reason I could ever think of an amphipod eating a healthy coral is they are starving to death.

 

[JohnNYC8]

I doubt that. They were most likely eating a film of algae or bacteria off the zoas. If they were consuming Zoa flesh then that means the Zoa was already dead/dying.

Amphipods are a beneficial cleanup crew member and every reef tank has them.

Are you feeding the tank? Only reason I could ever think of an amphipod eating a healthy coral is they are starving to death.

Thank you! Im open to the idea that there was some issue with the coral or nutrients but it just doesn’t seem to fit what I’ve observed.

It’s a tiny frag but the coral looked perfectly healthy, was forming new heads and growing out around the edges of the plug. It’s a 26 gallon on my counter that I look at for at least an hour a day. The first time the coral didn’t look right was yesterday evening when I also noticed the amphipods. Seeing the heads not fully open as usual was what warranted the closer look.

I feed brine or mysis, amino acids, and Oceanmagik phyto daily. I target feed brine and Reef Roids 3 times a week, or extra if I see my phosphates dropping. I’m running Rowaphos to strip silicates so I’ve been careful not to bottom out.

I know from reading other threads that some people are split on the subject.

I can’t say I know for sure that coral was perfectly healthy. I also can’t say for sure I’m feeding enough to support their population.

To your point, I’ll keep a close eye on my other corals and feeding routine as this could be a sign that something is out of balance. Thanks again for your help.