do pods really eat zoas?
- Thread starter ktar
- Start date
I have heard this for many years but I have never witnessed it in my tank. So I could never comfirm nor deny that it is or isn't true. I would go so far as to say that I find it highly unlikely that it is true. If it was true, than how could any of us maintain such a high population of zoas and palys since we all have pods in our tanks. That is with the exception of those who have a wrasse or other pod eating verts and/or fish.
Can anyone else weigh in with their observations and experiences?
Mucho Reef
Can anyone else weigh in with their observations and experiences?
Mucho Reef
mfinn
Active member
I believe I had some amphipods that were eating some of my zoanthids.They were alot bigger than most pods you normally see.
I had a couple colonies that had some polyps that were closed up and they seemed like they were in the process of dissolving and disappearing.
After doing a couple freshwater dips on them to eliminate the nudibranch threat, the same polyps remained closed.
I checked my tank out early one morning before the lights came on and noticed that there were some very large pods that were crawling over the polyps that were closed up.
They were alot larger and had stripes.
I added a green coris wrasse to the tank shortly after and that was the end of most all the pods in that tank.
The way the polyps were dissolving seemed to end.
before I added the wrasse to the tank there seemed to be quite a few pods in the tank.
I had a couple colonies that had some polyps that were closed up and they seemed like they were in the process of dissolving and disappearing.
After doing a couple freshwater dips on them to eliminate the nudibranch threat, the same polyps remained closed.
I checked my tank out early one morning before the lights came on and noticed that there were some very large pods that were crawling over the polyps that were closed up.
They were alot larger and had stripes.
I added a green coris wrasse to the tank shortly after and that was the end of most all the pods in that tank.
The way the polyps were dissolving seemed to end.
before I added the wrasse to the tank there seemed to be quite a few pods in the tank.
xxtriggermanxx
New member
could be the pods are just eating the sick and dead .they are pretty low on the food chain.
acrylic_300
New member
Iv'e only noticed them when the polyps were closed...Im guessing that they eat the dead skin when the zoas are sheding.
I know iv'e sat for hours wondering if they are helping them or killing them...I haven't lost any because of it yet.
I know iv'e sat for hours wondering if they are helping them or killing them...I haven't lost any because of it yet.
Peter Eichler
New member
I've been doing this for a very long time and I chimed in on one of the other threads kind of making fun of the whole thing. However, I'm starting to think there is some validity to it. I've had something preying on my palys as of late. No nudis, no spiders, and I've removed my emerald crabs just in case. The problem still persists and they only thing I can come up with is amphipods.
I run a low nutrient system, feed almost never, and my fish will not bother with the pods. I guess they are just finding a food source because there isn't really another one present. It would also seem that they like PEs moreso than other palys and zoas. My RPE colony has been almost decimated and I've seen tears in the side, skirts missing, and many polyps being eaten from the bottom up resulting in half a living polyp floating around my tank. Something/they already took care of my GPEs.
It's quite frustraing. Between the white bumps, and now this I'm ready to just do something easy like SPS
:lol:
mfinn, wow, I guess I would now say that I pray that it isn't true. Does anyone have a picture of said pods which consumes zoas? Copepods and Amphipods are in every tank as I said up top with the exception of those who have a Wrasse as mfinn spoke of. Now I'm curious to see a picture and hopefully we can find out the name of this pesky pod. I'm not knocking anyones observation of the zoa eating pods, I just find it so hard to believe, but now I'm very interested in finding an answer.
Will the day come when we must all have a clean up crew that includes a Wrasse as well? Not trying to be funny here either, I'm serious.
With it being as large as mfinn as described, is it truly a pod, or something else possibly? Who knows.
"The way the polyps were dissolving seemed to end." Could this have been a coincidence mfinn? Not doubting you at all my friend.
Jayreefer, you said you witnessed on more than one occasion your zoo/palys getting there skirts ripped off by large silver pods. I'm not splitting hairs here, but do you really mean "ripped" or were they being consumed? I say that because if they were being ripped apart, that's not a pod. Ripping would be a fish, emerald, a Sally etc.
BTW, this is what I mean by a good healthy reef relater discussion where we can all discuss, investigate, participate and learn.
I'd be quick to believe your statement xxtriggermanxx. Very plausible and very true with inverts and fish. acrylic_300 feels the same.
Peter Eichler, don't give up my friend. Don't allow anything in reefing to defeat you. Try to get to the bottom of the issues you have had in reefing. Try and find the answer. Then, if you feel the need to leave, you will always have a positive reason to come back. If you can, purchase a red incandescent light. Turn your lights out early and keep your room completely dark for about 3 to 4 hours. Then come back, lift your hood, if you have one, and turn on the red light over your tank. You can sit and watch everything in your tank. There are things in your tank which we all never knew we had in there until you view it with your own eye under the red light. Not a red bulb, it has to be a red incandescent light. Using a magnifying glass, closely look and see what you can see.
There is an explanation for the white bumps which some refer to as ZOA POX. I have had it and it comes and goes after a very long hiatus. There is a reason my friend for everything that happens in our systems. Most of which can be explained, yet a lot that we will never know since we are replicating, or shall I say trying to duplicate what was created millions of years ago. The ecosystem we have in our homes are only small snapshots of the ocean that we have confined to a couple of square feet. This is why I have and will always advocate knowledge and very educational discussion that will move us all forward in this hobby.
Not trying to sound philosophical either.
I hope someone can shot a pic of the pod predator.
Mucho Reef
Will the day come when we must all have a clean up crew that includes a Wrasse as well? Not trying to be funny here either, I'm serious.
With it being as large as mfinn as described, is it truly a pod, or something else possibly? Who knows.
"The way the polyps were dissolving seemed to end." Could this have been a coincidence mfinn? Not doubting you at all my friend.
Jayreefer, you said you witnessed on more than one occasion your zoo/palys getting there skirts ripped off by large silver pods. I'm not splitting hairs here, but do you really mean "ripped" or were they being consumed? I say that because if they were being ripped apart, that's not a pod. Ripping would be a fish, emerald, a Sally etc.
BTW, this is what I mean by a good healthy reef relater discussion where we can all discuss, investigate, participate and learn.
I'd be quick to believe your statement xxtriggermanxx. Very plausible and very true with inverts and fish. acrylic_300 feels the same.
Peter Eichler, don't give up my friend. Don't allow anything in reefing to defeat you. Try to get to the bottom of the issues you have had in reefing. Try and find the answer. Then, if you feel the need to leave, you will always have a positive reason to come back. If you can, purchase a red incandescent light. Turn your lights out early and keep your room completely dark for about 3 to 4 hours. Then come back, lift your hood, if you have one, and turn on the red light over your tank. You can sit and watch everything in your tank. There are things in your tank which we all never knew we had in there until you view it with your own eye under the red light. Not a red bulb, it has to be a red incandescent light. Using a magnifying glass, closely look and see what you can see.
There is an explanation for the white bumps which some refer to as ZOA POX. I have had it and it comes and goes after a very long hiatus. There is a reason my friend for everything that happens in our systems. Most of which can be explained, yet a lot that we will never know since we are replicating, or shall I say trying to duplicate what was created millions of years ago. The ecosystem we have in our homes are only small snapshots of the ocean that we have confined to a couple of square feet. This is why I have and will always advocate knowledge and very educational discussion that will move us all forward in this hobby.
Not trying to sound philosophical either.
I hope someone can shot a pic of the pod predator.
Mucho Reef
mucho reef i would try to take a picture but the pods that are crawling all over my zoas are so quick it hared to take a picture. these pods remind me of a baby termite. it all white in color and have maybe 10-12 legs and have two antenna. they are only seen crawling around the zoas that are closed up for some reason. i been watching these critter for almost two week now. i shut off all light for a few hours and i use a flashlight and with my magnify glass and explore my zoas colony and only notice they are on two of my colonies and they are the one that have not open up for a few days. they never bother my palys at all only the weak zoas colonies. i know that mandarin eat pods but i can not have a mandarin because my carpet anemone will consume it. i been searching for the seagrass wrasse but has have no luck in finding one,.
ktar, google the scienfic name ( Novaculichthys Macrolepidotus )and you'll find a lot to read.
Mucho Reef
Mucho Reef
Serioussnaps
New member
Got some pink zoas and pods ate through all but about 5 polyps and it started with about 20 polyps on the rock... i couldnt figure out if they were eating the zoas because they were sick(looked fine to me) or if they were eating food that the zoas were capturing(cyclopeeze) and just decided to eat the whole zoa too! It definitely happened to me.
Jayreefer
New member
Mucho,
I have watch the pod actualy pulling the skirt off of the polyp and eating it. It seems to happen to any new PE type I place in my tank. My four line wrasse now keeps them at bay. I had not had any problems for months and then a few weeks ago I placed a frag of new PPE's in the tank and later that week on two polyps the skirts were missing in section.
On that frag I didnot witness the act and now the skirts have grown back. A couple of months back is when I watched in the middle of the day a large silver colored pod pulling the skirt off a RPE polyp. Thats is when I aded the 4-line wrasse that now keeps them at bay. I also witnessed it happening to a small colony of GPE's
I have watch the pod actualy pulling the skirt off of the polyp and eating it. It seems to happen to any new PE type I place in my tank. My four line wrasse now keeps them at bay. I had not had any problems for months and then a few weeks ago I placed a frag of new PPE's in the tank and later that week on two polyps the skirts were missing in section.
On that frag I didnot witness the act and now the skirts have grown back. A couple of months back is when I watched in the middle of the day a large silver colored pod pulling the skirt off a RPE polyp. Thats is when I aded the 4-line wrasse that now keeps them at bay. I also witnessed it happening to a small colony of GPE's
Peter Eichler
New member
I'm not giving up by any stretch. I've been doing this for the better part of twenty years. However, I may start gearing this newer tank towards being a SPS tank if the problems persist. My tank would probably be better off that way since the type of system it is seems better geared towards that anyhow. Zoathids just seem to do best with a little higher nutrients and I know if I were to go that direction the Bryopsis (that was introduced with some of the zoanthids) would rear its ugly head again.
The white bumps are gone, so I've got that going for me... I added a Mandarin today, though I doubt he'll take care of them even if it is pods that are the problem. I'll keep you guys updated and hopefully I can catch one of these bastards and get a macro shot. There was one sitting in a hollowed out paly just a little bit ago. I tried to get him with a pipette but had no luck.
Ken668
New member
I've definitely witnessed this first hand. I had several nice colonies that were slowly shrinking. So I decided to take a look at night.....and what did I see? Pods completely covering the colonies. Now in the previous thread, people were saying.."well the zoas must be dying", but as you'll see in my pic below, the surrounding zoas look healthy, but those too were attacked after the picture was taken.
Just as an experiment, one night after my lights went out, I added a big clump of algae from my fuge to an area next to my zoas. Came back a couple hours later and it was completely covered with pods. By morning there was nothing left of the algae clump. But there appeared to be no noticeable decrease in my nearby zoa colony.
Recently, I've been feeding a little more and the recession has slowed. I truly believe that if the "common" amphipod doesn't have an adequate supply of food, they will resort to other sources.
Just as an experiment, one night after my lights went out, I added a big clump of algae from my fuge to an area next to my zoas. Came back a couple hours later and it was completely covered with pods. By morning there was nothing left of the algae clump. But there appeared to be no noticeable decrease in my nearby zoa colony.
Recently, I've been feeding a little more and the recession has slowed. I truly believe that if the "common" amphipod doesn't have an adequate supply of food, they will resort to other sources.
Azurel
In Memoriam
I have to agree they will eat them if resources are low....If you think about it when you have 100s,1000s of pods in your tank that need food and the food they need is low then they have to resort to something in self preservation. I know they eat algae, and help with detritus but at the same time as we all do and try to keep our tanks as clean as possible there is a reaction to this. They have to feed I have witnessed this on more then one occasion myself and have lost frags due to this....I added a six-line wrasse and the pod population has decreased to the point were the amount of pods does not out way the resources. I do feed my tank corals and fish and have still seen them do this. I never noticed this happening when I had my Mandarin fish and after the loss of the fish it started to happen. I have seen these pods that are bright silver and are much bigger maybe 2-3x the size of a typical pod eating frags of zoas. I have also found orange or rust colored pods lately in my filter media which I have never seen before.....I will say with out a doubt that they will and do eat polyps if the circumstances are right.
impur
New member
I've been witnessing this recently in my tank. Mostly on my orange zoas, and 1 frag of PE type. The polyp is fine then a week later gone. I notice a couple around the missing polyp turn yellowish, kind of like an infection i fought off when i first started collecting zoos. I have so many pods in my tank, I literally have to use the mag float to get them off the glass in an area I want to take pictures of. I'm getting concerned. This week i will be FW dipping all frags that have the yellowish polyps. But the pods eating my zoos are just plain normal ole pods. In my tank they have no predators, and their food source is minimal. Maybe i'll have to add some nori or something for them to eat.
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