Copepods eating my zoas?

[tazdvl]

Had tank up or about three years and recently was fish free for about 3 months and seems like my copepod population exploded. That is I used to see like 12 or so roaming around at night now the little guys seem to have tripled in number and seem to be hanging around a small frag of zoas that started as 6 wanting to open to 3 shut up tight as clams. I guy I know said he thought his copepod pop was eating some of his zoas. Does anyone know if this occurs? I thinking it's dragonet time

 

[leviburns89]

Yep, it occurs. When they exhaust their food supply, they will turn on zoas.

I just got done dealing with these. I had to get a six line wrasse, and within a week, the only ones I can find are at night, and very few.

I figure now that their numbers are super low, they don't have competition and will return to feeding on leftovers Vs my polyps.

I caught them literally ripping the tendrils off a few of my zoas, and several colonies of zoas would stay closed for a week at a time.

After introducing the predator wrasse, all my zoa are open and super happy.

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[cloak]

Copepods or Amphipods? The latter has been know to "irritate" zoanthids sometimes.

http://www.coralpedia.com/index.php?module=Gallery2&g2_itemId=384

 

[leviburns89]

Amphipods ate my zoas. Point blank period. Watched em do it. They weren't dying, or decaying, they were healthy.

Again, once the amphipods consume their food source, they will eat corals to survive.

Here is a pick of what was eating mine, only visible at night.

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[cougareyes]

Absolutely, I tried to run a fishless system and some type of pods starting to devour my corals. I had experts at my lfs and here tell me I was crazy that pods didn't eat coral. It was a 14g, I added a pink streaked wrasse and low and behold; problem solved.

 

[leviburns89]

Absolutely, I tried to run a fishless system and some type of pods starting to devour my corals. I had experts at my lfs and here tell me I was crazy that pods didn't eat coral. It was a 14g, I added a pink streaked wrasse and low and behold; problem solved.

I only had 2 clowns for 4 or 5 months, and they were well fed via pellet, so they don't hunt for pods.

Introduction of a predator is probly the only way.

They are literally impossible to catch yourself.

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[tazdvl]

Yes thems the critters

Yes thems the critters

Those are what was EATING my zoas, or making them magically disappear one by one started with 5.5 on a plug and after 5 days .5 left. Introduced some fish and noticed that the observable population during the day has dropped to none. Unfortunately one of the fish was a purple dotty back and I hope I didn't by a aggressive fish, :eek1: I want only lovers in this reef. We shall see. thanks for the posts folks, I love this community .

 

[stupidted]

Copepods eating my zoas?

I encountered the same issue. Everyone told me pods don't eat Zoas but I assured them they did. After getting a Mandy, and a couple wrasses problem was solved


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[Jeff4777]

They can and have seen it happen. Yea reefers at a LFS may think your crazy and say they dont do that.

For me it was Amphipods until a wrasse went in that tank

 

[jmbmmb27]

wow never thought this could happen. this might be why my zoas disappeared magically. I have also seen ashtria stars eat zoas.

 

[leviburns89]

I heard of asterina starfish eating them too, but the ones in my tank stick to ditritus and coraline

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[Bpb]

I seent it in my own tank as well. Wrasses will help


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