I have 9 frags or mini colonies of Acan Lords, some Japanese, but most Australian. Over the last month, the flesh is disappearing on 4 of them at an alarming rate while the others are fine. The skeleton is very white which makes me believe the rate of recession is fast. All other corals in the tank are fine. I can't see anything so I'm thinking it is a parasite. Any help is appreciated.
Acans getting eaten!!!!
- Thread starter Z_man5
- Start date
Wellsoman22
New member
Do you have peppermint shrimp? I only had one acan frag and it was being eaten by them and I tried to revive it but it didn't last. You kind of just have to monitor shrimp sometimes. It's reaaly odd, there's that incident and now every night I have to put a cage on my brain coral because my scarlet skunks like to pick at it and it gets really irritated. Only at night though! It was the same deal with the acans. Shrimp must be bolder in the darkness 
MechEng99
aka Reef'd Up
Any fish that may be nipping? How's your water quality?
If you think it's a parasite, it's probably a close relative to the pests like red-bugs, which are typically treated with an in-tank treatment of Interceptor. If Interceptor is unavailable to you, you could try dipping them all in a dip of Bayer Insecticide (at many home improvement stores.) There are several threads out on the correct dosage. This dip will treat a variety of pests.
If you think it's a parasite, it's probably a close relative to the pests like red-bugs, which are typically treated with an in-tank treatment of Interceptor. If Interceptor is unavailable to you, you could try dipping them all in a dip of Bayer Insecticide (at many home improvement stores.) There are several threads out on the correct dosage. This dip will treat a variety of pests.
ReefGeek79
New member
I've also had issues with shrimp and acans. If you're feeding your acans, the shrimp figure out that's a good spot for an easy meal so they'll take the food from them. All the picking will really irritate them and they might begin to die back. I had peppermints going after my acan and the tissue recession was pretty quick. But I managed to get rid of the shrimp and my acan is nice and happy now. I don't have an issue with my current skunk cleaner though I don't target feed the acan anymore either.
Nano sapiens
New member
Check for large Amphipods at night. Sometimes, they develop a taste for Mussids, especially those that are stressed or weak.
MechEng99
aka Reef'd Up
If it actually is black bugs, the ones I've dealt with weren't affected by CoralRx. It took Bayer/Interceptor to deal with them.
Thank you for the advice! I will see if I can get some from my vet.
MechEng99
aka Reef'd Up
Proving you have black bugs is much trickier than proving you have red bugs to a vet. They're a slight bit smaller, move less, and tend to bury themselves in the tissue. I'd go with the Bayer since it's easier to get, and you should see faster results...if pests are the problem.
MechEng99, I did do the dip with Bayer. Found another thread started by Whisper.
Did 2 frags yesterday and they look great today, but obviously the damage has been done. I did the other frags and colonies today. By the time the lights went out, the flesh was looking better. Big thanks for the directive.
Did 2 frags yesterday and they look great today, but obviously the damage has been done. I did the other frags and colonies today. By the time the lights went out, the flesh was looking better. Big thanks for the directive.
