Where did the skirts go on these???

[Reef Junkie]

Most pods do not attack healthy living corals.

I once read that there are certain amphipods that have been known to attack peoples arms when put into the tank and these people were still alive!:eek1:

If they're (pods) eating the coral, it's because it's dead or dying.

 

[Ken668]

I disagree Reef Junkie. I know for a fact that these are good healthy polyps that they are eating. Several of my colonies are attacked at different places in my tank. It seems to come and go for each colony. I'll have brand new polyp growth sometimes and then in an evening or two they will be chewed down to nothing.

Sometimes when they are chewed down to practically nothing, they will grow back to healthy polyps with time. Doesn't sound like it's a dying polyp to me.

 

[twon8]

he said most pods do not attack healthy living tissue, and i agree completely; there are exceptions, but the ocean is a big place.

 

[Ken668]

I believe these to be typical amphipods. Some are of decent size of course. I agree with Jayreefer, they are probably low on food and are looking for an alternative. Don't know how as I feed plenty.

 

[Reef Junkie]

Ken,
I do agree that anything is possible, but...
The chances of an average amphipod or copeopod attacking a healthy coral is very slim.
If that were the case, I would've got out of the hobby a long long time ago because I'd never be able to keep a coral alive from these vorascious predators!

All kidding aside, I'm no expert, but even if I never met with experts in the field over the years that contradict your above comments, my own observations would show the pods don't normally attack corals.

Like bristle worms (except some of the extrememly large or specialized predators), most (99% of the ones in our aquariums) do not attack healthy coral polyps. They will scavange around and on them, but not eat them.

Cheers

 

[EDGRAY]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8125343#post8125343 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reef Junkie
Take a close look and search for hydroids. Notorious stingers that will kill almost anything they touch.
This is not my picture, but a great picture of a Hydroid that is very difficult to see and can hide too.

Some more, again not my pic
http://www.oceanlight.com/lightbox.php?sp=hydractinia_milleri
http://www.sodwanadiving.co.za/Hydroid_big.jpg

If you have them, best way to be rid of them is crazyglue.

uuuuuu now i know i have seen two of those things in my tank .. now i know one killed my loved asterinas so you said crazyglue haaa so put were u see it was comming out ok.. ill try that tomorrow ill spot them tomorrow and glue them tomorrow :lol:

 

[Reef Junkie]

Yes, it takes a very steady hand!

 

[seaduck]

My 10 gal nano has no fish and is swarming with amphipods big and small and also mysis shrimp. I was nursing a bleached frogspawn and hammer coral back to health by feeding cyclopeeze and oyster eggs. Apparently, the overage spawned a infestation of pods. Now that the lps are back in shape I no longer feed them 3 times a week. So what do these pods eat now? u guessed it, my zoas. They are eating 4 different colonies in various locations in the tank. The larger polyps of 2 colonies of met. green and yellow w/skirts are going one ployp at a time and the smaller zoas are going in small groups....everything else in the tank is thriving especially the pods.

 

[Reef Junkie]

Try adding a wrass to your tank, the pods will stop irritating your zoas.

 

[hot4teacher]

They're starting to attach other colonies of zoos in the tank. I watched for hours last night and didn't see a single one, but they are there because they end up dead in my filter sock!!!

 

[seaduck]

Yup, gonna add a six line wrasse and a catalina gobie asap b4 they eat up all my zoas. I hope they recover. If not then I may have another problem.

 

[supraeli]

are you guys sure about this issue? ive never heard of pods eating healthy zoanthids - pods like to hide and hunt around zoanthids, perhaps one may be mistaken as to thier true actions?

many zoa predators are extremely difficult to find, many burrow into the flesh. i would not jump to conclusions about pods - at least the run-of-the-mill pods; i cannot say as to whether yall are unlucky enough to find a specific species of pods that preys on zoas.

 

[Reef Junkie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8137526#post8137526 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by supraeli
are you guys sure about this issue? ive never heard of pods eating healthy zoanthids - pods like to hide and hunt around zoanthids, perhaps one may be mistaken as to thier true actions?

many zoa predators are extremely difficult to find, many burrow into the flesh. i would not jump to conclusions about pods - at least the run-of-the-mill pods; i cannot say as to whether yall are unlucky enough to find a specific species of pods that preys on zoas.

Supra,
I tried explaining this, but when in Rome...

 

[Ken668]

At the same point, why is it so difficult to think that pods, if not fed properly, won't find other food sources? Even if they are our prized corals.

 

[Reef Junkie]

Well, it's almost like imagining beetles running out of leaves in your yard and instead eating people when they went outside to Barbeque. While there are plenty of bugs that do eat us when we barbeque, beetles usually only crawl on us.

 

[Jayreefer]

It might not be the pods, but I have actualy watched a large pod attack a healthy polyp. It riped the skirt off in they middle of the day. As the polyp closed the pod was reaching inside to get more skirt.

 

[cardgenius]

I would have to agree with those who say pods ate there zoos. I had this happen to me with the first frag of RPEs I had. About three days after I put the frag in I noticed a couple polyps looking like that pic that was posted earlier. I then broke out the flash light that night and literaly watched as the pods ripped the lashes off the RPE. This happend to all 6 polyps on the frag and they later died. Havent had this problem since adding my sixline though.

 

[Reef Junkie]

Ah, good old sixline, they keep those gangsta pods in check!

Is it possible that these zoas were already declining?
I'm not totally against the idea that a pod could do this, but it's rare. Yet, not impossible I'm sure.

 

[cardgenius]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8140944#post8140944 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reef Junkie
Ah, good old sixline, they keep those gangsta pods in check!

Is it possible that these zoas were already declining?
I'm not totally against the idea that a pod could do this, but it's rare. Yet, not impossible I'm sure.

Damn them gangsta pods! Who do they think they are trying to take over my turf! :lol:

From what I saw they were very healthy. I saw them grow from 1 polyp to 6 in the couple months that they sat at the LFS. It was only a couple days that they were in my tank and this started. The RPEs were the only ones affected, but its hard to say if this would have continued on to the other zoos since I added the sixline shorlty after I saw the pods eating them.

 

[hot4teacher]

How are Flame Angels in handling pods? I hear they can do pods, but also can terrorize corals depending in the individual fish.

Dana