ShawnM Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 I have a bunch of pods in my tank I believe they are amphiopods. I have started to lose zoas and the only thing I can ever find is the pods at night rapped around the base of them and a bunch of pods around the frag. Has anyone seen this? I lost a small frag of zoas and now starting to lose another one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Some amphipods are predators to coral, inverts, and even fish. Hard to say if they're the problem or just eating dying tissue though. How large are they? I pulled a 1/2" one off a frag a few months ago. Still no way to know if it would have been bad though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckyuv Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Are you sure they are pods? Are you able to take a pic or do you have an iPhone also lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 I have only experienced pods eating dying zoas... they are like the janitors of my tank. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esacjack Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 I have only experienced pods eating dying zoas... they are like the janitors of my tank. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnM Posted March 21, 2013 Author Share Posted March 21, 2013 That is what I thought but I can not see anything else on them. I do have an iPhone so pics are that good. Any ideas? The first colony u had u took out two time and dipped in revive. Are peppermint ash rump known to eat zoas. In my opinion it is one of these two things or a little predator that the human eye can't see or they are very well camoflauged Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+o0zarkawater Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Asterina stars are my main killer of zoas. Pods are normally scavengers and will only clean up already dying tissues. But I don't think asterinas are your problem, because its easy to see them draped over a zoa eating it. They dont mess around. I recently saw one of my peppermint shrimp cutting off and eating a tentacle from my RBTA. So while I have no experience with them eating zoas, I woulnd't put it past a hungry enough Pep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Peppermints have definitely been known to eat them. But it still doesn't sound like the case here. They eat them and there's nothing left to scavenge. Is this happening on multiple colonies, or certain similar colors or shapes, etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 I would be looking at something environmental over 'pods. (My first inclination is lighting, different species want different lighting conditions.) How long have you had the zoa colonies, were they showing growth and then declining or just looked good for a week or two then declining? To rieterate Jesteps questions is this happening on multiple colonies or just specific ones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnM Posted March 21, 2013 Author Share Posted March 21, 2013 It seems to only be happening to one colony at a time. First it was my radioactive dragon eyes. Once it was down to the last polyp and it was showing signs of it deteriorating I took it out. Now it is happening to another one I have had it for about a month and it looked real good. A couple of days ago it started to wither away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innate1 Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 zoa eating nudi's look just like the zoas they are eating. They are very hard to see, use a flash light a few hours after lights out. I've had em and they are a booger to get rid of. I'm not saying they are what you have just a possibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnM Posted March 21, 2013 Author Share Posted March 21, 2013 So this whole area was covered in zoas Here is some more of the pods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esacjack Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 have you checked for stray voltage? maybe a nudi has been munching on them? What are those black things in the photo of the pods? Shells? Because they dont look like pods to me.. Lastly, zoa pox? have you checked for any discoloration, bumps, or anything? Any changes in light intensity? Do they appear to get worse over night? If so, it may be time to break out the red lens on the flashlight and poke your head in the tank at about 3am. You say it started with your radioactive zoas, what zoas are currently deteriorating? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faron Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 There is quite a plethora of probably causes ranging from creatures, water chemistry, flow, lighting, diseases and so on....I would monitor your colony very closely! There are several good reads about any number of these and the possible side effects and solutions. They look like they melted according to the picture. Despite being labeled one of the easier corals to grow....its quite the opposite! I agree with Timfish. I dont think its a predator, it could be, but I dont think so, they will typically consume the entire polyp(s). I would try moving them around preferably lower...if theyre as low as they can get....try some shaded areas. Did you do a water change or dose anything prior to the colonies shriveling? Some zoas are very sensitive to parameter changes, especially alkalinity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 If it's moving from frag to frag, I would probably be comfortable assuming something is eating them. Night time UV or red light search might be a good start. There are amphipods that eat zoas as well, so your original assumption may still be correct, it's just pretty rare to get those types. I do agree with zoa difficulty. I've had several varieties that just don't like my tank or will arbitrarily melt even after months of good growth. Some of the varieties are a lot more finicky than people give them credit for. You get a lot of feedback with sps, within a day or two of adding something. It's going to thrive, it starts bleaching so move it, or it starts to RTN/STN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnM Posted March 21, 2013 Author Share Posted March 21, 2013 The black thing in second pic is little cerith snails. They started to go away right before I did a water change. They r a little lower than half way up the tank under t5 I don't dose anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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