desperately need help w/ an ID....

[joekr]

Tank is coming up on 6 months and I have some blue pod like creatures that are attacking my polyps and zoos. Heck, I just saw one on my Xenia, but it did not appear to like it.

Everything is still holding on, but I fear the worst.....here is a picture:

there are ALOT of these things on the polyps pictured and the polyps are all closed up and looking in bad shape. I was hoping that the pods were just eating dead tissue off the polyps going through a change. It does not appear to be the case.

There's no nitrate, salt and temp are 024 and 80 degrees. 96 watts of PC is the lighting.

any help would be greatly appreciated as to how to get rid of these things!!!!

 

[Anonymous]

First of all, welcome to RDO, joekr!

Does the "pod" has legs like insect/isopod, or it is all soft-body like a worm? Interesting issue to look into...

 

[joekr]

dupaboy1992, thanks for the reply! they have no legs and is more soft bodied like a worm. I pulled one out of the tank this moring with my turkey baster and easily squished it....

I'm just getting really concerned, because I saw a couple on my zoos this morning..those polyps in the picture are from a couple of weeks ago and are now all closed up...

very frustrating!! thanks for the help..

Joe

 

[Anonymous]

coral eggs? :?

Pods are "crusties," and they have legs and appendages. I don't think your are pods, and it surely don't look like one.

Can you get better pic?

 

[joekr]

I can try. They have been on the move and I noticed some nosing around my zoos. I will take another picture this afternoon and post it here...

 

[Anonymous]

Also, how are the polyps "looking in bad shape"? - Are there any obvious signs of predation such as areas that appear eaten out of the polyp?

Can you also post a pic of how the polyps have degraded?

 

[joekr]

actually, here is another shot. still not great, but the whole colony looks something like this:

also, just so you guys know, I did a fresh water dip on one of the frags and these things came back. This morning I added another powerhead to up the flow near the bottom where these guys are located. checked nitrate and it was zero. Temp and salt have been normal 024/80 degrees..

Thanks all!!

 

[Anonymous]

Don't bother with checking the nitrate, since I don't feel it is the cause of the blue goofy balls.

Does freshwater dip kill the bluegoofyballs? When you say they came back, do you see where is the source? Is there any sea urchine (some make poop that looks like a goofyball, but usually brown, and not blue...).

 

[Modo]

Do these things swim? Do they move around or do you just see them in a one spot?

Can you take one out and get a pic on a solid backgroud. Try either a blank sheet of white or black paper.

Odd. :?

 

[joekr]

they do move. I went to my lfs store about an hour ago and described these things to the owner. He said he has seen them and they appear to be some kind of slug (at least that's what he named them for lack of a better word)

I posted this question @ saltwaterfish.com's bbs and one guy said he had them and a peppermint shrimp took care of them. I may have to give one a try. My main problem is that my bioload is getting heavy for a 20 gallon and I feel like I am starting to max the tank out....

thanks for the input everyone!!!

 

[Mouse]

They look like coral eggs to me.

 

[joekr]

they are moving, so I don't think that they are coral eggs....

They were all over the place on my primary colony, but after redirecting flow and using the turky baster to blast them off, there were only 2 visible ones this morning when I turned on the lights...when I get paid Friday I'm going to grab that shrimp and unleash him....

Hopefully these things will go away on their own or the shrimp will eat em'

Thanks for all the assistance guys.!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Without better pics my first guess would be a species of Flatworm.
Do they move fast or slow? Are they attracted to light?

Regards,
David Mohr