What type of bugs is this?

[Sumbub]

Can anyone tell me what type of bug or crab is this? I’ve never seen it before. It wasn’t on any coral that I could see but at the base of quite a few plugs. A couple sps frags has very minor recession at the base but none of the bugs are on them. They are very small. It’s about the size of fine ground pepper.

Top down

I was able to catch a few more and this looks like butt side I assume.

This is as close as I can get with a handheld mini scope

One last bug came off the frag plug I blasted off. I thought it is red bugs. But I’m not so sure.

I initially thought it was black bugs on the first bug and did the Dr. G’s dosing regimen I saw on here. It didn’t even faze them. I did it to the point of 90 ml for a 60 gallon system. Corals were not affected at all. Fish was doing well. Only a cleaner shrimp died. I couldn’t get him out without tearing down the rock work.

 

[stanleo]

Sorry I don't know. I did a search and couldn't find anything but I would like to follow and find out. I thought black bugs at first but it doesn't match any of the pics I could find. Good luck

 

[reef lover]

@KJ

 

[sixty_reefer]

Following as I think I got some of these to, curious to know what they are

 

[BloopFish]

I can't clearly tell from the pics, but it would help a lot if you could count the number of legs.
My best guess right now is that it is in the family of Halacaridae, marine mites. They're in the same Order as ticks, and have eight legs. I'll paste a picture of various types of marine mite, but they're a very diverse family that contains algae eaters, predators, and parasites so I can't really tell you much else. In addition, it may be a different type of marine Arachnid (there are more than you'd think... horseshoe crabs are the most familiar ones to people in this hobby).

 

[KJ]

 

[reef lover]

I was leaning toward ostracod as well...

 

[BloopFish]

I've personally grown Ostracods before, I don't think op's critter is an ostracod mostly because it doesn't have a bivalve-like shell. Ostracods also don't show off their legs like that nor do they look like that. They'll normally have legs sticking out of their clam like shell. They are more shrimp-like than tick-like.

 

[Sumbub]

I want to explain that those photos are taken with a hand held mini scope at 40x microscope power. To the naked eye when I’m looking in the tank, it’s barely discernible from the plug or live rock.

If you really look close you can see it like tiny tiny spots of black. I used a nanoscope to see and it’s just like the size of a poppy seed. You couldn’t even see the legs because they’re clear.

I tried to take more photos but it didn’t come out well. But I did count 8 legs.

 

[BloopFish]

I want to explain that those photos are taken with a hand held mini scope at 40x microscope power. To the naked eye when I’m looking in the tank, it’s barely discernible from the plug or live rock.

If you really look close you can see it like tiny tiny spots of black. I used a nanoscope to see and it’s just like the size of a poppy seed. You couldn’t even see the legs because they’re clear.

I tried to take more photos but it didn’t come out well. But I did count 8 legs.

That definitely rules out ostracods and points to a marine arachnid of some sort... marine mites, marine ticks... arachnids are very diverse, probably one of the most understudied group of animals. My ecology professor once stated that mites and ticks are probably one of the most diverse animals - we just haven't really identified many of them.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Looks like a mite. . . . which we often classify as black bug although not.
Great to see one under Magnification !!

 

[stanleo]

I would go with mites as the ID based on these comparisons. The one on the left of your pic is almost a perfect match to the pic Bloopfish provided.

 

[Sumbub]

Thank you all for the help! You are all so amazing for helping!

 

[Hellothere12]

I've personally grown Ostracods before, I don't think op's critter is an ostracod mostly because it doesn't have a bivalve-like shell. Ostracods also don't show off their legs like that nor do they look like that. They'll normally have legs sticking out of their clam like shell. They are more shrimp-like than tick-like.

where did you get marine seed shrimp? i been looking for some!!!!!

 

[NYC Penciler]

Can anyone tell me what type of bug or crab is this? I’ve never seen it before. It wasn’t on any coral that I could see but at the base of quite a few plugs. A couple sps frags has very minor recession at the base but none of the bugs are on them. They are very small. It’s about the size of fine ground pepper.

Top down

I was able to catch a few more and this looks like butt side I assume.

This is as close as I can get with a handheld mini scope

One last bug came off the frag plug I blasted off. I thought it is red bugs. But I’m not so sure.

I initially thought it was black bugs on the first bug and did the Dr. G’s dosing regimen I saw on here. It didn’t even faze them. I did it to the point of 90 ml for a 60 gallon system. Corals were not affected at all. Fish was doing well. Only a cleaner shrimp died. I couldn’t get him out without tearing down the rock work.

Hey, I have these in my tank. Did you ever ID them or find a treatment to remove them? Thanks!

Here is a picture of one in my tank:

 

[ebu]

I think I found these on a bonsai SPS frag plug. They weren’t removed with a 5 min dip in revive at the normal concentration. They didn’t appear to be doing any damage to the coral, but who knows. I was viewing them with a stereo zoom microscope. I ended up cutting the frag in a place that didn’t have any bugs and putting that in my tank.

 

[vetteguy53081]

The notoious nightmare= Black bug. Only two things will get rid of them:
- Dr G's on ebay and maybe Amazon
- Interceptor pill (obtained from veterinarian)

Dips are temporary -not solution. They are likely under the plug or frag

 

[ZoaJack]

Hi from South Africa. I have been slowly loosing some of my high end zoas. I am noticing these super tiny almost invisible(supper fast for their size) black dots on my zoas. I think it is what is discribed on the thread. We dont have Dr G or Interceptor in SA. I want to order and have it shipped here. Is this the right one? https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...bs-for-dogs-11-to-25-lbs-and-cats-15-to-6-lbs

 

[ZoaJack]

Hi from South Africa. I have been slowly loosing some of my high end zoas. I am noticing these super tiny almost invisible(supper fast for their size) black dots on my zoas. I think it is what is discribed on the thread. We dont have Dr G or Interceptor in SA. I want to order and have it shipped here. Is this the right one? https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...bs-for-dogs-11-to-25-lbs-and-cats-15-to-6-lbs

 

[ZoaJack]

I tried to upload a vid, but it's failing. This is a picture of how tiny they are and they cant seem to be able to swim, but run supper fast