The amphipods desappeared!

[A. Henin]

Hello, I lost all the amphipods in my 15 years old, 300 G, reef with fish, tank. don't know what happened. is there an explanation for this? everything, otherwise, seems to be O.K.
appreciate any help. thanks.

 

[Sk8r]

temperature, nitrate, alkalinity---time to run some tests you may have been relying on the corals to show you...
OTOH, I've known them to all go into hiding after a water change and turn up two days later.

 

[Happyschneider]

I had the same thing. They disappeared just after a flat worm outbreak. Keeping my fingers crossed that will not happen to you!

 

[A. Henin]

Thanks! I tested the water. Everything checks out fine. Except Calcium, it was high (510 mg/L). Turned down the CO2 a bit. Will do a water change this weekend. Should I start re-seeding the tank / refugium? I have a lot of fish that will eat nothing but pods. Could they have just eradicated all the pods? It sound imposable to me, since I keep replenish them every once and a while... and they seemed to be thriving in large number in my system.. This is a first for me.. Always something .....

 

[Darth_Tater]

Mine all disappeared about the time my rocks started leaching phosphate. After starting GFO they are coming back.

 

[A. Henin]

Did they come back by themselves (?), or you "replenished" them by adding new stock? And how long did it take? I am worried about my Dragonets...

 

[Darth_Tater]

I didn't do anything and they started showing up again. It was a couple months after starting the GFO before I noticed them again. I guess they could have come in on a coral frag or they might not have completely disappeared. I kinda hoped they were gone to be honest since they irritated a few small Zoa colonies to death.

Actually, now that I think about it the phosphates started up about the same time I added a flasher wrasse which I no longer have. I thought they were more water column feeders though, so not sure if that's a connection as far as pods are concerned.

Also, my tank just turned 1 year old last month, so... Just an observation I made with no scientific proof to back it up