whats eating my SPS ?

[foxhuntr]

what is eating my acro ? it is eating the skeleton and all.......don't think it is AEFW.....I noticed it on my tierra del fuego...so I took it out and dipped it and got some kind of bug off of it......took a couple pics...can anybody tell me what this thing is ?

 

[Reef Bass]

Possibly an isopod?

 

[twon8]

Can't tell much from that pick. Bad acro crabs will feed off the interior of the acro

 

[Peter Eichler]

Hard to tell from those pics... Perhaps a chiton?

 

[kevin_e]

Is it eating it or eating the dead flesh?

 

[foxhuntr]

it is eating the flesh and also eating the skeleton.....like a couple big holes being eaten right through the skeleton.......it is not dying.... it is actually looking fantastic other than the holes on the main stock

 

[sahin]

That looks like a Chiton. It looks like your coral is suffering from tissue necrosis...post full details about your setup and parameters.

 

[jroovers]

I agree that looks like a chiton. On a local board someone posted the same issue, chiton on their sps, but the jury was out on whether or not the chiton was eating the healthy acro, or simply feeding on dead spots that was caused by other issues. +1 to Sahin, post your parameters. Are any other corals looking off?

 

[Dugless]

That chalice is awfully close. Could be a possible irritant.

 

[Bongo Shrimp]

I posted about this on another forum. First of all it's definitely a chiton and a chiton would not be eating SPS. Maybe its scavenging some dead tissue, but not eating healthy tissue. I think it looks like this was a larger piece that was mounted "sideways" or I mean perpendicular to the way it appears to have grown before being mounted. Note the branches pointing horizontally. With that in mind, it looks like the parts that are RTNing are this which are in shadow or are at least receiving less light than when it was in a different position previously. Kind of like the theory about large wild colonies RTNing from the difference in flow and/or light that they were used to for so long in the wild.