BEWARE: Acropora Burrowing Red Worms << PIX included >>

[ridetheducati]

Received a call from a friend, who described what looked like red burrowing worms INSIDE a Blue Tort. I had to see that, so I ran over took some pix. It looks like the worms borrow in and tunnels through coral.

Mild case of basal STN prompted further investigation, which led to the discovering. The coral was in his system for a least 12 months.


Red Worm infection.

Red Worm on paper towel.

Infected Tort

 

[ridetheducati]

Note: I did not see any red worms two inches from the tips; however, the worms have totally infested the coral.

 

[Bigcefa]

Haven't seen that one before that's crazy

 

[ridetheducati]

We fragged a few other corals to see if the worms had spread and it seems it was isolated to one coral.

 

[rbp 4 135]

Thanks for the heads up!

one more nasty to look out for!

 

[ridetheducati]

When the worms are exposed they do not seem to "run". Relaxed like they are protected inside the coral skeleton. I dipped a frag in CoralRX to see if it would react, nothing.

 

[trueblackpercula]

What made him look inside of the coral?

 

[Bigcefa]

He said it was stn'ing from the base and he investigated

 

[xxxduke62xxx]

Great just what we needed

 

[Saltwaternooby]

WOW another pest to deal with! Thanks for the heads up.

Could he see any externally?

 

[turtlespd]

Doh not the tort!

 

[ReefEnc]

As if acros werent hard enough to keep!! Anything meds known to kill these things....other than bleach...****!

 

[ridetheducati]

What made him look inside of the coral?

The coral began to STN from the base.

WOW another pest to deal with! Thanks for the heads up.

Could he see any externally?

Unable to see any worms externally. He also has a couple cleaner wrasse and one Mandarin fish.

 

[trueblackpercula]

Did he try any treatments on the worms to see if it killed them?

 

[ridetheducati]

Did he try any treatments on the worms to see if it killed them?

I dipped it in CoralRX for 45 minutes and the worms were just as red. I never saw the worms move, so I can not tell whether they were alive. As you can see in the pictures, the worms are bright red. I wish I had my Bayer solution with me to experiment with. The hobbyist tossed the coral in the trash, so I cannot do anything further.

I have a feeling the worms are nocturnal.

Do the dipping protocols penetrate all the way through the coral skeleton?

 

[cFloor]

Oh man, those things look creepy! If they're inside the coral, I doubt a preventative dip or maybe even QT would help?? How we suppose to know what's inside our corals. That's wild!

 

[ridetheducati]

There has been some discussion that the coral may have been preparing to spawn. Hopefully a marine biologist can chime in.

 

[tnyr5]

I've seen this before at a friends house, we thought they were worms too & asked several experts with marine biology degrees who all agreed they were Acropora eggs.

 

[trueblackpercula]

I've seen this before at a friends house, we thought they were worms too & asked several experts with marine biology degrees who all agreed they were Acropora eggs.

That is amazing if true....

 

[andbob25]

It was probably spawning because it knew it was sick and dying.