Zooanthid Pest ID?

[mwp]

OK guys, they've been on some larger zoos (not good with my names on the zooanthids...but the larger types with long tentacles that LIKE to eat lots - think "button polyp" style and then put 'em on 'roids).

The bugs haven't killed them outright, in fact the zooanthid colony is still expanding by leaps and bounds. However, all the LONG tentacles are gone and the polyps only partially open..so yes, these pesky things are definitely causing damage.

This was shot simply with the macro on my Nikon CP5700. The blob is indeed the bug. Looking at it with a 10X loop, it appears to have the following unremarkable features.

1. two faint eyespots at the front
2. a tiny pointy tail at the end.
3. It moves FAST and appears to have some sort of external cilia or other form of propulsion as the "blob" just motors around. When on the microscope slide, I could observe little currents coming from both sides of the creature.

It's NOT a flatworm, at least not the typical flatworm that so many of us have to deal with. It SEEMS to be highly specific and targets only these large brown and green zoos - I have yellow polyps in the tank as well and they remain untouched.

Also, FWIW, the only fish residents currently are a mated pair of mandarins and 3 seahorses...the mandarins don't touch these things...heck I'm not even sure they notice them.

Any ideas?

Matt

 

[msman825]

Pic is not there??

 

[MinibowMatt]

try zoaid, whodah has a section on pests...

 

[mwp]

Matt, at first I couldn't figure out WHAT you were trying to communicate - zoaid, whodah? Googling figured that out - http://www.zoaid.com/index.php?module=pnGallery2&func=main&g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=384

Nothing like what's pictured above is there. I'm still clueless.

MP

 

[twon8]

sort of looks like a stomatella. is there a shell on the other side? not a full snail type shell, more like a helmet.

 

[mwp]

I have stomatellas all over the tank...these look nothing like them. No shell, and they're never larger than < 1mm..these things are tiny bugs. Under normal lighting they kinda look like a shiny gray.

Matt

 

[mwp]

So, no one else have any ideas (or even better, actually KNOWS what this thing is?) FWIW, I've been siphoning them off the polyps but they just keep showing up. To make matters worse, we've had some tongan bullseye mushrooms in another tank that have been looking bad...took a really close look yesterday and guess what I found on them - THESE SAME LITTLE GRAY SLUGBUGS (for lack of a better term)! Definitely not a pest limited to Zooanthids. HELP!

MP