billharrison Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Have thousands of these little guys, started with a few, now literally everywhere! They are clear, with almost like praying mantis like arms, and splayed legs in the back, they almost like run sideways on the glass and stuff. Thousands of them ranging in size from almost microscopic to 1/4 inch or so. They I think killed my small pulsing xenia and now they are attacking my other stuff as well, looks like they killed one head of frogspawn and pick at my zoanthids so much they never open. What can I do? What eats these guys? Can I put in a fish for a short while (Small tank 1.5 gallon) just to eat them? I have 1 sexy shrimp, one hermit crab, and a few snails, they seem to be irritated by all of them, but they don't eat them. HELP! Link to comment
altolamprologus Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Your description sounds more like amphipods than isopods. Amphipods sometimes bother zoas and occasionally pick at them, but they don't "attack" coral like you are describing. It sounds more like something else is kiling your coral and you are just assuming it's these guys because they are the only things you see. Have you witnessed them actually eating the coral, or just moving around on it? Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Many pods are scavengers and will eat the dying/decaying flesh of coral. You most likely have another cause of coral stress and these pods are simply eating parts of the coral that are already dead. Link to comment
billharrison Posted September 14, 2011 Author Share Posted September 14, 2011 Many pods are scavengers and will eat the dying/decaying flesh of coral. You most likely have another cause of coral stress and these pods are simply eating parts of the coral that are already dead. Hmm, I dunno, whatever it is I have SOOO many of these guys thats all you see. Should there be that many? Link to comment
Woogalie Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Many pods are scavengers and will eat the dying/decaying flesh of coral. You most likely have another cause of coral stress and these pods are simply eating parts of the coral that are already dead. ^++ Pods are great. I have thousands of them in my sump now. They eat detritus. They will also eat coral that is dying from bad water quality or aids Link to comment
altolamprologus Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Hmm, I dunno, whatever it is I have SOOO many of these guys thats all you see. Should there be that many? Take a pic so we actually know what it is Link to comment
billharrison Posted September 14, 2011 Author Share Posted September 14, 2011 Take a pic so we actually know what it is Whats a good place to host a pic to post here? Or i might put a video on youtube and link it... that might be easier Link to comment
altolamprologus Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Whats a good place to host a pic to post here? Or i might put a video on youtube and link it... that might be easier A vid would work. For a pic, photobucket and tinypic are the most popular Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Hmm, I dunno, whatever it is I have SOOO many of these guys thats all you see. Should there be that many? How old is the tank? Pods usually go through a "boom" period soon after a tank is started. It's not unusual to have literally thousands on the glass and rocks for a little while. However, with good water quality, the population subsides once they consume available food sources such as algae and leftover fish/coral food. Link to comment
Amo2011 Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 i see the pods out at night.... and yes they seem to head towards the zoas which in turn stay closed. Dhaut is right. limit the food source and they will go down to a manageable size. I was over feeding which created a huge population. Link to comment
billharrison Posted September 14, 2011 Author Share Posted September 14, 2011 Here is a link to the video I just took on youtube: Link to comment
altolamprologus Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 All I can say is wow...I have never seen that many amphipods in that small of a tank. It looks like overfeeding is what's causing them to overpopulate because it looks like you're having issues with algae too, which is caused by overfeeding. You should cut your feeding in half and , if you want to, manually remove them. Catching them is difficult but a trap might work. BTW your "frogspawn" is a hammer coral Link to comment
Woogalie Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Did you have the flow turned off on your tank during the video... Didnt see the euphelia move at all during the video Link to comment
enigma70x7 Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Do you have your pumps off? It looks like you have almost no flow and that may be what is killing your coral. Link to comment
billharrison Posted September 14, 2011 Author Share Posted September 14, 2011 Did you have the flow turned off on your tank during the video... Didnt see the euphelia move at all during the video All I have is the whisper quiet that came with the tank it's a 1.5 gallon tetra wonders. Would more flOw help? I have little free space in the tank. Link to comment
altolamprologus Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Do you have your pumps off? It looks like you have almost no flow and that may be what is killing your coral. +1 Low/no flow kills most corals then your amphipods eat the dead tissue. Link to comment
Ezsharkman Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Dang.... I would bet your water parameters are way out of wack... To much feeding and not enough water changes. I see you have a magfloat... I would use it once and and a while. And those are some of the biggest amphipods I have ever seen Link to comment
billharrison Posted September 14, 2011 Author Share Posted September 14, 2011 Dang.... I would bet your water parameters are way out of wack... To much feeding and not enough water changes.I see you have a magfloat... I would use it once and and a while. And those are some of the biggest amphipods I have ever seen I tested with that concern but params are ok I do weekly changes. Link to comment
altolamprologus Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 I tested with that concern but params are ok I do weekly changes. How much flow is in the tank? Were the pumps off during the vid, or is that the way it normally is? edit: what do you mean by params are ok? Give specific numbers please Link to comment
billharrison Posted September 14, 2011 Author Share Posted September 14, 2011 How much flow is in the tank? Were the pumps off during the vid, or is that the way it normally is? edit: what do you mean by params are ok? Give specific numbers please Well don't have numbers per se but I have the test strips and all are in specs ammonia nitrates ph etc. According to the strips. Link to comment
altolamprologus Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Well don't have numbers per se but I have the test strips and all are in specs ammonia nitrates ph etc. According to the strips. To put it bluntly, the strips suck. They are horribly inacurate and will tell you 40 ppm nitrate is acceptable when it most certainly is not. Get the drop test kits. API is good for the money but salifert and others like it are much better. Link to comment
billharrison Posted September 14, 2011 Author Share Posted September 14, 2011 To put it bluntly, the strips suck. They are horribly inacurate and will tell you 40 ppm nitrate is acceptable when it most certainly is not. Get the drop test kits. API is good for the money but salifert and others like it are much better. Hanks for the advice! Would I be better with a small powerhead or a bigger filter / refugium thing for flow? Also I will upgrade my kit to the liquid for testing. I will cut back on feedings till the beasties croak. Link to comment
altolamprologus Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Hanks for the advice! Would I be better with a small powerhead or a bigger filter / refugium thing for flow? Also I will upgrade my kit to the liquid for testing. I will cut back on feedings till the beasties croak. Add a small powerhead. You can upgrade the filter as well. How many GPH is it now? And be prepared for nutrient spike when the amphipods start dying. Link to comment
driftsaru Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 God damn, somebody get this guy a nano mag and some newly mixed RO; this tank is dirty as ballz. Link to comment
Builder Anthony Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 It could be a algae problem covering up corals and then the pods moving in but the biger pods are the safe ones from my experience.If your zoas get to much algae on them they will start to decline.A thin sheet of algae forming on them will casue a slime up then they will start to disenregrate. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.