Large amphipod destroyed my people eaters? Pictures.

melbell86

melbell86

New member
So over the last 4 days i have noticed that my healthy people eater colony started to turn for the worst. It started with one polyp closing and looking almost like it had chunks taken out of it, and then the next day it was up to 4/7 polyps, and then yesterday ALL of them just looked like they were wasting away. They had just begun to sprout new polyps a few weeks ago. Anyways, i have been researching to death trying to figure out what was going on. I havent changed anything in my tank, parameters are all fine. No signs of white spots, red bugs, nothing.

So on to the good stuff. This morning i turned the light on in my tank and looked at my people eaters and BEHOLD i see this large orangish tan thing on top of one of the polyps. As soon as i realized what i was seeing, BAM, it zipped so fast into the rock. I was so disgusted! it looked like a spider so i started looking up info on zoa spiders and i was for certain that is what i saw. I did a fresh water dip on the entire rock my polyps were on and nothing came out. I looked in one of the holes in the rock and saw something orangish, got my tweezers and pulled it out. a GIANT amphipod.

im confused. i always thought amphipods are good to have, and i have been doing research all morning and some people say they dont eat zoas, others say they can eat zoas, and mostly zoa colonies that are dying but mine were perfectly healthy. Does anyone know if this is the critter that could be causing this damage? Has anyone else had this experience?

Here are some pictures.
020.jpg


022.jpg


Before
042.jpg


After :(
025-2.jpg



Do you think they can recover from this? Is there anything i can do to help them heal? Also to note, all of my other zoas are healthy and look just fine, its only these guys.

thanks for the help and advice, im pretty upset right now!
 
Yes, I have seen amphipods that size eat zoas. Especially in a tank with no natural predetors. I've seen it in my minibow 7 when I had only two juvi clowns in there. In my 75, I had a six line wrasse which eats those. At this point hard to guess if they will make it. If there are no other eating them, they could come back. Only time will tell, imho.
 
the only fish i have in this tank is my 3 inch frogfish so there arent any predators in there that would eat those. thanks for the advice, i just hope they get better now that that giant thing is gone.
 
I'm sure there are more, I have had the same issue in the past. Never thought it was those large buggers though. You need a predator or some sort to keep them in check. Mine peaked when I had to remove all the fish for fallow ich treatment, then they took over with the absence of predators.
 
Odds are others will grow to that size and eat them. I would imagine they don't get that size with out multiplying. my guess. May want to think about adding a wrasse, but then again that frog fish may make a meal of it. Quite a conundrum.
 
yea I really dont know what to do. I have some hermits and a coral banded shrimp but i dont know if he will eat pods. and you are right, if i get any fish, they will be dinner to Bowser for sure. uhg!
 
in my limited experience, my amphipods, that look much like the one you posted, will only eat my zoas/palys if they are already dying. they certainly don't help any chance of recovery once the coral is going down hill. ive seen them attack an aiptasia that i had hit with joes juice or aiptasia x as the anemone died.

and there's a chance they could recover. sometimes i'd use a turkey baster to knock the amphipods off the coral or place them in a little more water flow so the pods have a hard time holding on.
 
Perhaps that type of amphipod is one of those we can find on the sand.
They eat dead organisms and many times they are nocturnal.
Some have luminescent pigments in their cells.
Grandis.
 
I find it hard to believe that those amphipods would attack a group or colony of healthy Zoas. I would guess that EVERY established reef tank has a population of these amphipods. I know that every tank that I have ever kept has had them. I would keep looking for other predators. Spiders, Nudi's etc... are much more likely.

Good Luck - and keep us posted should you find anything else please.
 
I'm pretty sure that in my case it is the water being too clean. I cut my GFO off and after a few days the zoas look happy and healthy.
 
I have the same problem. I had an ich problem and I let the tank go fallow. Its been several months with out fish because I haven't gotten around to setting up a quarantine tank. The amphipods are huge and went from not touching them a few days ago to decimating two zoa's, yellow polyps, and one is eating a ball sponge. I have sat there with a jeweler's magnifing glass and watched them. And no, the corals where not already sick. I think the amph. just out grew their food source with no fish food or fish to eat them. Does anyone know if a coral banded shrimp will eat those big bugs? I have my fav. zoa in a bucket just to try to save the last few polyps. I don't want to put a fish in with out quarantining it and there may not be anything left if I wait that long. They are gammidea amphipods.
 
Last edited:
I don't think the pod killed and ate the zoas. IMO the zoas were probably deteriating already, and the pod was just being an opurtunistic feeder.
 
Casey8 said:
I've never heard the pod ate zoas.
Click to expand...

The title of the thread is "Large amphipod destroyed my people eaters?Pictures.

First reply

"Yes, I have seen amphipods that size eat zoas"

Reply 4

"Odds are others will grow to that size and eat them"

Reply 12
"The amphipods are huge and went from not touching them a few days ago to decimating two zoa's, yellow polyps, and one is eating a ball sponge. I have sat there with a jeweler's magnifing glass and watched them"
 
Jeremy Blaze said:
The title of the thread is "Large amphipod destroyed my people eaters?Pictures.

First reply

"Yes, I have seen amphipods that size eat zoas"

Reply 4

"Odds are others will grow to that size and eat them"

Reply 12
"The amphipods are huge and went from not touching them a few days ago to decimating two zoa's, yellow polyps, and one is eating a ball sponge. I have sat there with a jeweler's magnifing glass and watched them"
Click to expand...

I should have said I agree for what you said
 
Those are commonly called "side shrimp" because you often see them scurrying around but on their sides. They are a very good scavenger of food, but I have never seen them eating any corals. I guarantee you have hundredes if not thousands of those in your tank. In my opinion, I would look for something else as the culprit. I have those shrimp and they are all over everything at night but have never caused an issue (to my knowledge)
 
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