Zoa's and Amphipods

Stanton

Stanton

New member
I just wanted to share something going on in my tank to back up all the talk and threads on pods eating zoa's. I lost my golden wrasse two weeks ago. Three days ago I notice two polyps on my monster lips looked ragged. For the last two nights I have watched large amphipods eating away at the skirts. I've lost about five polyps in three days now. My manderin doesn't eat these big guys so I'm in search of another wrasse to knock the big guys numbers back down.
 
Heres one caught in the act. Note the polyp behind the the pod that has been eaten away.
33994pod.JPG
 
You notice them more at night, typically like on my tank when they wiped out several colonies... they acted like a swarm of bees... all over a colony... around 50+ large and small ampipods on a colony... you can see them ripping at the skirts and polyp or actually digging into the zoo's mouth and center....

These large ampipods will actually predate on your copepods stock... as I saw a large bloom in ampipods, my copepods actually dissapeared... but now with a smaller amount of ampipods my copepods are starting to make a come back... they also wiped out my 3 bottles worth of tiger pods...

It wasn't my mandarin as I was droppin the pods into the sump where there were huge ampipods were as well.
I got a mandarin ( for the smaller ampipods ) a sixline for the larger ones. they've cut them down pretty good but no longer to plague type proportions like they were before...
 
I noticed the same problem just now, large pods preying on my zoas.

I don't have any fish in yet, so my best bet is a sixline wrasse?


55 gallons and my original plans for fish was 2 clowns, one coral beauty, maybe a pair of banggai cardinals and a goby/blenny of sorts.

Any of those likely to catch those large pods?
 
They have almost wiped out my copepods as well. It's weird how some people have never had a problem with them in thier tanks and some like several of us have to keep them in check.

Are we creating this problem some how?
 
I have the same problem. Amphipods are decimating my zoo's. Stanton's pic above is all too familiar of a scene for me.

My hawaiian flame wrasse hasn't made a dent. I'm looking for success stories - what fish can stop the evil amphipods???
 
1 ampipod is nothing, my problem was 30-50 ( NO Exagerating either ) large ampipods ranging from 1/4 to 3/4 of a CM long all swarming several colonies at a time... this was viewed late at night for weeks with a red light.....

I think as your system gets fuller with organisms, some oraganisms get out competed and therfor have to result into feeding upon other easier prey which is plentifull and dosn't fight back... ( ZOO's and Palys ) as we put more beneficial cleaners in our tank ( cleanup crews) and the tank matures, maybe the food the typical Large ampipod decreases starving and forcing them to other food sources... just my guess here.
 
Mystery wrasse watches my zoas like a hawk always darting into a patch and coming out with a snack... I leave him hungry and he takes care of the tank... He will hover over a patch of palys and in the blink of an eye its over except him snacking... he said they are lip smacking good... heheheheeee...
 
Is a mystery wrasse the same as a five bar wrasse? I have many large ampipods too. I just got my first zoas today and I don't want to loose them.
 
There are LPS that will eat amphipods. Don't feedyour fish for a few days, if you have damsels clowns, basslets, cardinalfish, dwarf angels, or any other fish with relatively small mouthes (reef safe) that eat any food you add they will start picking off amphipods.
 
6line is THE most aggressive of all REEFsafe wrasses...

As for ampipod eating, most fish will eat pods when they see them, problem is that most pods/ampipods will mostly show at night when the lights are off and most fish are asleep.
 
bastards..

bastards..

so i was leaving for work and couldn't help but take a peek at the tank
stanton has a pic of a copopod above...
so i see this...bug and get closer and sure enough its the same bug
from his pic...only bigger...and hes sitting on the highest rock in the
tank..fully out in the open...cleaning himself...laughing at me...just sitting there...i couldn't believe it...still cant...tried to take sum pics but he was too far back in tank for camera to focus....bastard...he prob had a belly full of zoo...
 
I've had a problem with those little monsters and ended up moving my corals off the sand bed/rocks to an egg crate rack. Things have gotten better but not amazingly better. I also added a black leopard wrasse recently, but only because I like the way it looks, but hopefully it will take care of some of the little buggers anyways.

My next battle is with starfish. I have caught two in the past week wrapped around polyps in what looked like a bear hug. When I pulled it off there was a black area where he was attached.
 
Leopard wrasse will definitly aid in killing the large ampipods.. plus there pretty much reef safe and beautiful.

if you have tons of stars ( asternias ) people have started using harlequins to control them...
 
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