Possible New Pest

Like I said, I sent some fairly detailed photos to Ron Shimek and he pretty much said he had no clue. Back when I posted the thread, nobody else had ever seen them either. If I get a chance I will direct Anthony Calfo to the discussion, as I never though to ask him if has seen them before. Do you have a QT tank? If so you may want o move a coral and some bugs over there and prepare to send them off to somebody who can identify them.
 
BeanAnimal said:
Like I said, I sent some fairly detailed photos to Ron Shimek and he pretty much said he had no clue. Back when I posted the thread, nobody else had ever seen them either. If I get a chance I will direct Anthony Calfo to the discussion, as I never though to ask him if has seen them before. Do you have a QT tank? If so you may want o move a coral and some bugs over there and prepare to send them off to somebody who can identify them.
Click to expand...

Setting up a tank for them today. Also have a photographer coming to take some good macro shots.
 
anything like this?
DSC00689.jpg
 
No idea what that is a photo of above, but that is not what was being descirbed by myself and othe OP. The pest we both witnessed is nothing like a flatworm :)
 
Perhaps they are coral-specific (Like the AEFR). Maybe try removing the pocci and stylos to QT in an effort to starve the little ba$tard$ and save the rest of your tank? We are feeling your pain, appreciate the learning, and please keep us posted.
 
Mine actually crashed shortly after they consumed the poci, stylo, and a couple acans. What followed was a nasty outbreak of dinoflagellates.
 
Steve,

I had assumed they were coral specific, as they never left the button polyps (can't remeber if they were zoas or paly) that they came on. That said, I never really gave them the chance.

Bushpig... quickly posting 50 "thats cool" type comments in 2 days will not get you into the buy sell forums.
 
apt220 said:
I never had those before, but I bet that interceptor will wipe those suckers out.
Click to expand...

Kind of reminds me of the red bug infestations some people were having a few years back. Only attacked hard corals and I think interceptor was the only effective treatment.
 
Are you sure these are predatory, and are not simply consuming decayed coral tissue that has died for another reason? Many reefers get this confused.
 
Yes certainly many reefers confuse predation and scavenging of dead tissue. In this case, the creatures in question certainly appeared to be hosting in, and eating the polyps that I found them on. As their numbers (the bugs) increased, the coral health declined. They appeared to cause the polyps stress, causing them to close. This was in an otherwise healthy system and in context to the fact that most zoas and paly's are impossible to kill even when that is the goal.
 
I'm going to be looking out for these bugs/pods/flatworms. My wrasse is such a predator of pods and worms, so maybe a wrasse would help with this population.

Keep us posted on what you find out.....
 
Just to be clear:

The pests mentioned and talked about in this thread ARE NOT flatworms. They don't even come close to resembling a flatworm, so talk of "flatworms" can be abandonded.

The pests in question resemble a small grain of rice at rest and a teardrop when on the move. They are 3 dimensional, not flat and have rounded ends with no points or acute angles. They scoot along very rapidly and appear to be able to swim in a controlled manner (not just riding the current). They are not flatworms :)
 
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