Have been dealing with STN/RTN for weeks now and getting very frustrated. Have done just about everything. I dip everything that comes in. I do not quarantine (which is never gonna happen again). And I believe I got a couple pests on one set of Mini Colonies I bought from a local grower. While dipping them in RPS (reef pest solutions) I noticed spiders. I called the guy I got em from and was told not to worry since I didn't have any zoas in my system and they were zoa spiders. Which should have been my first clue as to trash the darn things. I also noticed all of them had STN'd and healed up at one point. They also had quite a few worm casings on the bases(which will now always be taken off). Fast forward about 3 weeks later I am having mass STN going on. I could not figure it out as my params are perfectly stable and don't vary. I quickly took water sample to 2 LFS and confirmed test kit was good. A few nights later I noticed one yellow stage that had huge green PE no longer had PE. When inspected that night there were about 10 spiders eating away at it. Well I dosed interceptor and re-dipped everything. Thought I was in the clear but the STN started to turn into RTN and I couldn't figure it out. I went through everything. Pumps/reactors/Bulbs I mean you name it I replaced it. Water changes up the you know what. New RO/DI filters, everything.
What I did notice during this whole thing was an EXPLOSION in worm casings over rock and glass. I had some purple real reef rock turn almost totaly white with worm casings. I talked to a few people and was told it was just my system maturing and it would level out. Meanwhile the STN/RTN was getting worse.
I did notice one day on a large blue berry acro a very small worm taking what it looked like was bites out of the stn/good tissue line. I removed the little bugger and went back about my business. Since I have lost almost everything. Starting with the smooth skin and the tenuis and millies last. You would see the base start sliming like something was biting it but you could not see anything. Well the last 2 days I got down and dirty and stayed up way late and sat there and turned the flashlight on suddenly and found these little punks just eating away at the thinest areas of base. They actualy wear a hole in the skeleton and borrow in the coral. I didn't belive this until I threw a coupe of the almost dead frags in a revive dip at double strength. What I seen amazed me. On some they came out of the small hole at the base they chewed in, some came out from between the glue and encrustment and one came right out of a polyp hole. On one Chili pepper cap that fell upside down in the dip container I could see the worm moving around in the skeleton under the skin. They didn't flee the coral until about the 12-15 min mark. And only at a 10ml dose in a quart of water. It still lived another 10 mins in the dip after it came out.
I wished I would have been recording on the last small frag (or what used to be a mini colony) when the worm came right out of the top of the coral where I had cut off a tip trying to save it.
I am convinced now that these are the culprits of my issues as it all happened when these worm casing started multiplying at untold numbers all over everything.
My question is, Are they Eunicid or Bearded Fire worms (Hermodice carunculata) which is the only one of the fireworm family who eat sps. I have compared pics to both and have found matches in both. I did see much larger fireworms in the filter socks when I turn them inside out to wash them. My concern is these things can live without coral present so how do we get rid of them.
Sorry for such a long post I am just happy/upset with my findings. Happy that I believe I have found the cause of my misery. Upset in the fact that I have no idea how to stop it as the time it takes for them to die in the dip will kill the coral also.
Pics and Video (video is after 15 mins of 10ml revive in 1qt Tankwater)
Video
http://youtu.be/HBiYjUkTjak
What I did notice during this whole thing was an EXPLOSION in worm casings over rock and glass. I had some purple real reef rock turn almost totaly white with worm casings. I talked to a few people and was told it was just my system maturing and it would level out. Meanwhile the STN/RTN was getting worse.
I did notice one day on a large blue berry acro a very small worm taking what it looked like was bites out of the stn/good tissue line. I removed the little bugger and went back about my business. Since I have lost almost everything. Starting with the smooth skin and the tenuis and millies last. You would see the base start sliming like something was biting it but you could not see anything. Well the last 2 days I got down and dirty and stayed up way late and sat there and turned the flashlight on suddenly and found these little punks just eating away at the thinest areas of base. They actualy wear a hole in the skeleton and borrow in the coral. I didn't belive this until I threw a coupe of the almost dead frags in a revive dip at double strength. What I seen amazed me. On some they came out of the small hole at the base they chewed in, some came out from between the glue and encrustment and one came right out of a polyp hole. On one Chili pepper cap that fell upside down in the dip container I could see the worm moving around in the skeleton under the skin. They didn't flee the coral until about the 12-15 min mark. And only at a 10ml dose in a quart of water. It still lived another 10 mins in the dip after it came out.
I wished I would have been recording on the last small frag (or what used to be a mini colony) when the worm came right out of the top of the coral where I had cut off a tip trying to save it.
I am convinced now that these are the culprits of my issues as it all happened when these worm casing started multiplying at untold numbers all over everything.
My question is, Are they Eunicid or Bearded Fire worms (Hermodice carunculata) which is the only one of the fireworm family who eat sps. I have compared pics to both and have found matches in both. I did see much larger fireworms in the filter socks when I turn them inside out to wash them. My concern is these things can live without coral present so how do we get rid of them.
Sorry for such a long post I am just happy/upset with my findings. Happy that I believe I have found the cause of my misery. Upset in the fact that I have no idea how to stop it as the time it takes for them to die in the dip will kill the coral also.
Pics and Video (video is after 15 mins of 10ml revive in 1qt Tankwater)
Video
http://youtu.be/HBiYjUkTjak
