Do I have a worm problem?

[eamike261]

There are tiny worms running all over my rocks (mainly where the corals are), maybe like a 1/16th of an inch, at most. They are all the same color, a dirty whiteish color. I had a zoa frag that was doing perfectly, now it looks all beat up, like its its missing skirts, some heads wont come out. Another zoa frag was doing great then heads started disappearing completely, now its doing okay since I moved it down onto the sand. And I'm not sure but I think almost my entire (small) patch of green star polyps has gone away, it doesn't look closed up, it looks worse than that, and they usually come out almost instantly when the light comes on.

What kind of worms could these be? And if they could be eating things how do I get rid of them?

 

[bassplaya12]

no answers?

 

[Drix]

Got pics?

 

[Reef Bass]

Worms? Hmm, maybe a hatching of bristle worms, but pods (copepods, isopods) are more likely.

Or those tiny whitish snails that aren't destructive. Their name escapes me.

I doubt those took out your frags. Zoas will often close up and display only some of their tentacles. Whatever you saw might have been some kind of cleanup crew doing their thing, or you have some kind of shrimp, crab or fish which is being naughty.

Without pics it's hard to tell.

 

[cdeboard]

I would say amphipod... they are quite fast and visible. The climb on my zoas and they close up when actinics only or dark.

 

[eamike261]

oh okay, yeah i've never been able to catch anything in the act of actually eating it and i've watched a lot so I dont think its that, i have pics of the zoas in a new thread cuz i think they may just be dying, i'm new at this whole thing haha

 

[MikeandNicole]

larger amphipods can munch on zoas. What fish do you have in your tank? Have you tried any dips?

 

[eamike261]

I have not tried any dips, and we only have a clownfish who i've never even seen go near corals yet. Its the only zoa having any trouble of the 5+ frags we have so I'm thinking maybe its not a worm or something bothering it.