Black Montipora bugs

[JoeCreature]

Three days ago I noticed a new development. My orange montipora was looking faded in the center and upon further inspection I can see a bunch of black, pepper flake sized spots. So I break me off a small hunk and put it under a scope...... There I find a small hoard of cope/amphipods feasting on my coral tissue.

These are not Red-Bugs!

None on the Acros, monti-digi, milli, etc. The only corals affected are monti-caps.

The "bugs" are appx. 0.5-1.0mm, and resemble amphipods to me more than anything else. This is based off of morphology of the antennae, pereon, and pleon.

Most of the information I have found so far is incomplete or contradictory.

My first assumption is to treat these bugs as though they were redbugs which = interceptor. I am going to try a dip or two with Lugol's, just to see what happens and may try a few other things.

I will also try and use the stereoscope to take some pics of the offending little buggers.

There have been no recent additions to the system so it is either an opportunistic organism that has taken hold due to stressed physiology or it managed to ride in somewhere else.

Anyone ever run into this?

At this point RO, Iodine, and manual removal have failed.

 

[evsalty]

Very interested in seeing these little offenders and seeing what you come up with to kill them.

 

[ingtar_shinowa]

would love a good macro pic

 

[JoeCreature]

Here they are:

http://s548.photobucket.com/albums/ii353/joecreatue/?action=view&current=Monti-cappods1.mp4

http://s548.photobucket.com/albums/ii353/joecreatue/?action=view&current=Monti-cappods2.mp4

Also, 30 second RO bath seems to kill them dead. Just have to wash the corpses off. I do not know if this will kill eggs if present. Due to the bits of monti-cap remaining in the DT I am probably going to have to set up a separate hospital tank just for them.........after washing it all.........

 

[aquaph8]

I read a different thread just like this and it was said that interceptor would kill them just like red bugs. I dont have any experience with those but it might be something to look into if they come back.

 

[rtbm]

Nice video.

Hard to say if it's actually eating them but i wouldnt want to see them on my montis.

Revive is a pretty good dip for these sorts of critters. Any other montis affected?

 

[JoeCreature]

Only the monti-caps. None of the digiata seems to be affected. On some of the more affected pieces they have either chowed down to skeleton. I cannot tell if they are eating tissue or zooxanthellae but they are doing a number for sure.

 

[rtbm]

yikes. well maybe you can be the one to come up with a catchy name for them. Black bugs is too obvious.

Id say a good strong revive dip wouldnt hurt.

 

[aquaph8]

I vote for Joe's black creatures.

 

[mike_cmu04]

I have them too but have noticed no problems from them/

 

[ingtar_shinowa]

Nice videos! they dont look like nutis or flatworms which was my guess. Wierd

 

[JoeCreature]

I will keep you guys updated with the progress.

 

[GhostCon1]

Any updates on this? I have noticed about 4 or 5 tiny black specks on my monti. cap. However, mine do not move.

 

[JoeCreature]

Sorry for the delay with the update.

I had to pull and dip all my orange and purple monti caps in RO and revive. I matched the temp and pH of the RO to my system water and gave them all 30-60 second dips. It took me two rounds of dipping to kill them off but I think its because I only went 10-15 sec with the first round of dips.

Lost varying amounts.........the purple was the worst ~60%. But all have recovered well and are back growing like crazy.

 

[GhostCon1]

About how long between discovery and tissue necrosis?

 

[therman]

I had them a couple of years ago in a Montipora dominated tank. They behave like and have virtually identical impacts as redbugs (reduced polyp extension, minimal growth, obvious stress to the coral). They are easily treated and eradicated with Interceptor. I would expect them to be in the same genus and closely related if they have been formally described.

 

[RadReefer]

I have them as well... they have been in my system for probably 8 months. I have only one orange cap but it is pretty large. I also have digi species that are unaffected. I have never treated with interceptor because I chose not to disturb the invert population in my tank, and to conceed the cap...months later and the cap is still noticably growing but is slightly dimmer in color...I may decide to dip if I see them on the digis...

 

[Sk8r]

If you haven't posted this over in the sps forum, please do, along with the video. They're not your ordinary amphipod.

 

[disciple]

Try a camel shrimp in a quantine setup. I've read they eat all kinds of pests, but left with your coral for too long and they'll eat that too.

 

[JoeCreature]

Another overdue update:

From discover to necrosis: appx. 1 week.

From discovery to noticeable decline: 1 week to 3 weeks.

to mortality: 3 weeks +

I have found that the use of RO dips OR interceptor treatment works as well. Have yet to ascertain the exact species or origin. If anyone knows an expert on parasitic amphi/copepods please forward me their contact so I can send a sample for verification.