Need help diagnosing problem

markalot

markalot

...
So this may be a water quality issue that I can't measure, or a pest issue, or something else? Either these pods are a symptom or the cause and it's 'bugging' me.

Odd scratch marks, even bite marks, but they do not fit the pattern of AEFW. Bites are scattered, not concentrated. No large dead areas, no eggs, and I've dipped multiple corals multiple times over the past month with no worms found.

But these damn pods are everywhere!

150 gallons setup for 1.5 years
KH 7.8 and steady
Calcium ~400
Mg 1280 ( lower than I usually run it at)
Salinity 1.025 - 34ppt (also a little lower than my target)
PO4 .08
NO3 5
Temp ~78F

Not all acros are effected but I've had some severe Pocillopora dieback, lost some chalices, and some acros have browned. I have dipped a couple of these acros in Bayer multiple times over the past few months with no results and only temporary improvement.

-pic links to larger size-

This first pic is a good example of the panic this issues causes. At first glance it appears to be AEFW bite marks, but look closer and you can see the skin is not missing but rather scuffed up. AEFW bite marks have smooth edges and the skin is gone. Also note the 10 or 15 pods hanging out on the coral.











This is a green digitata and it doesn't have as many pods but showing the same kind of stress.


Slimer showing no stress.


Thanks for any help provided!
 
Some of the marks do appear like as though they are AEFW bitemarks...but I can see the pods. i have read of some reports of amphipods that irritate corals in this way; clearly the digitata is being affected and it couldnt be AEFW affecting it.

What do you have in the way of wrasses?

You might also want to look up coral eating spiders...I've come across them in the past. They cause very similar damage...maybe next time when you dip any coral, keep a look out for ANY critter that falls off and ID it.
 
In the FTS, the white structure(?) in the middle, is that a bridge you made with an epoxy, like JB Waterweld? If so was this done in tank or done outside cured, then added? Reason I ask is that looks like an extremely large amount of epoxy and it could have leached something un-testable into the water. Now I know we all use it in small amounts to secure rocks and mount frags and let it cure in tank, but that looks like a lot.
Your parameters look fine, have you tried running carbon or chemi-pure?
Or maybe a large water change.
I'm sure the pods are causing some stress or irritation, but you stated you have issues with other corals to. So maybe it's a combination of the two.
Sorry I don't have a solid answer, just throwing some thoughts out.
 
Mark,
My LFS indicated that they were going to nuke one of the display's with interceptor the other day, I asked "do you have red bugs?" The reply was no, huge ampipods that are eating at a seritipora and likely the cause of a milli having closed polyps, I never heard of this before, but this is the second time I have heard this in less than a week. Maybe collect all your crabs and shrimp you can and run a dose of interceptor, just a thought...
 
Member No. 1 said:
In the FTS, the white structure(?) in the middle, is that a bridge you made with an epoxy, like JB Waterweld? If so was this done in tank or done outside cured, then added? Reason I ask is that looks like an extremely large amount of epoxy and it could have leached something un-testable into the water. Now I know we all use it in small amounts to secure rocks and mount frags and let it cure in tank, but that looks like a lot.
Your parameters look fine, have you tried running carbon or chemi-pure?
Or maybe a large water change.
I'm sure the pods are causing some stress or irritation, but you stated you have issues with other corals to. So maybe it's a combination of the two.
Sorry I don't have a solid answer, just throwing some thoughts out.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response, those are all helpful ideas. The pod problem is long term, the waterweld is recent to attack a pally issue but it may be causing new irritation. I have started running carbon, I usually don't.
 
Seeing pods cover the corals like that and subsequently seeing bite marks and irritation would tell me they are more than likely linked. I would do a round of ineceptor treatments if I saw this going on in my tank.
 
plyle02 said:
Mark,
My LFS indicated that they were going to nuke one of the display's with interceptor the other day, I asked "do you have red bugs?" The reply was no, huge ampipods that are eating at a seritipora and likely the cause of a milli having closed polyps, I never heard of this before, but this is the second time I have heard this in less than a week. Maybe collect all your crabs and shrimp you can and run a dose of interceptor, just a thought...
Click to expand...

Hi Perry, thanks. Maybe a good backup plan.
 
I'd be doing a round of Interceptor too. I agree that it doesn't really look like AEFW, and those big pods on the Acros looks very, very suspicious. I'm not going to rule out AEFW though. Maybe you have super cool pods that eat AEFW? Weirder things have happened... :eek:
 
Good luck mate. This is what i have keep mentioning in the forum about some kind of new sps eating super bug. I have no solution. I lost my whole tank of over 50 colonies due to them in less than 2 weeks. Bayer and typical coral dip does not seems to take them out. And they eat sps faster than aefw.:( . I tear the tank and sps free for 1 months and they are gone. U can try to find the egg which typically spread all over the sps. Not clustered like aefw. They eat ALL sps except birdnerst.
 
I tried bayer and revive at 4 time dose they still crawl ard after 30 minutes. The eggs are tiny red/brown dots at the dark side of the sps like below the branches. Most sps will retract its polyp, start to rtn after a couple of days of iritation. They chew my two fist size digi in two days.
 
khiann said:
I tried bayer and revive at 4 time dose they still crawl ard after 30 minutes. The eggs are tiny red/brown dots at the dark side of the sps like below the branches. Most sps will retract its polyp, start to rtn after a couple of days of iritation. They chew my two fist size digi in two days.
Click to expand...

Thats unsettling, hopefully mybicelium oxime knocks them out.
 
Wow.. That's scary! I'd bet $1000 it's those pods.. They look like sea lice..
I am on the interceptor band wagon..
If I were you, my first move would be to dose interceptor..
After reading Khiann, maybe a double dose of interceptor..
 
Thanks for the responses everyone.

I have one acro, a nasuta, that is recovering in the face of these pods without any dip so I'm not 100% convinced these are a death sentence but I'm digesting all this info and trying to determine the next step. I've dipped my Lokani 3 times in Bayer over the past 2 months and it's still showing some scratch marks but overall is in good health.

I'm also wondering where these pods live during the day. I have a 2 year old sixline wrasse, only wrasse in the tank (of course).
 
Do you see the pods on the coral during the day? Maybe they don't stay on the coral when you remove it for dipping.
Maybe nighttime dipping would kill more?
 
reefmutt said:
Do you see the pods on the coral during the day? Maybe they don't stay on the coral when you remove it for dipping.
Maybe nighttime dipping would kill more?
Click to expand...

Maybe, I don't know. There are no pods on the corals during the day. They only come out at night. Mostly .....
 
If they hide during the day, I wonder if wrasse would even find them..
What about some of the stag loving damsels..
Maybe they'd pick them off at night..
 
markalot said:
Maybe, I don't know. There are no pods on the corals during the day. They only come out at night. Mostly .....
Click to expand...

Nice reference. :D

I wonder if you could turn off your Sunpower and dim your LEDs, so they're dim enough that the pod things will come out but there's still light enough for the wrasse to see. Perhaps extend your dawn/dusk cycle. Or add enough ambient light to the room. I bet my mandarin would love these things.

I know the target mandarin eats AEFW... I think the Springeri damsel does too? What about a clown goby? Those all seem to be fish that will graze pests.
 
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