HELP! Acros bleached in 24 hrs!

Jmcdaniel0 · Jan 13, 2016

Jeez. I don't know.

KJ · Jan 14, 2016

BlueDevil said:
A little bit of an update. This evening, there doesn't seem to be any further damage since I removed the affected pieces last night. One stick has a faded spot on its main stalk that I'm keeping an eye on. It was the same yesterday so I'm not sure if it is also RTN. I will check it again tomorrow and if it seems to have grown I will take this piece out as well. I hate to jump the gun on it since it is not a piece I can cut and essentially lose all of it.

One other update: while I was looking over my tank, I noticed a couple of worm looking things running around the base of a couple of corals. I know without a picture it will be like throwing darts in the dark. However, the best I can do is describe it. They are extremely slim and about 1 cm long. Black body. And they move very quickly. After several attempts I was able to suck one up using a baster. I tried to take a picture of it but all it looks like is a spec of dirt in the water. I would need a microscope to be able to get a good image of them. I know they are not red bugs as they don't look anything like them. In the absence of luckily knowing what they might be, can y'all throw out some names of common pests, especially to acros besides red bugs and AEFW. I can maybe look them up to see if any of them look anything like what I saw on the rock. I'm hoping they are just harmless critters.

Amphipod?

BlueDevil · Jan 14, 2016

KJ said:
Amphipod?

I'm hoping it's just pods though it's hard to tell since they are so tiny at this point. Can't tell if their bodies are like the typical copi/amphi pod bodies or not. The only thing that concerned me was that they seemed to be concentrated on the same rock where I had two aros RTN. Now, maybe they're just cleaning up the tissue bits that might be left over after I suctioned what I could. There aren't that many of them. I have to stare at the rock for 5 minutes and I might see one or two dart in and out of the rock.

Jmcdaniel0 · Jan 14, 2016

Maybe try a cheap jewelers loop? Next time I'm around you, I would be glad to take one and pop it under a microscope at my chemistry Lab.

BlueDevil · Jan 14, 2016

No further damage on day 2!

I did manage to take a grainy video of the bugs I mentioned earlier. It was practically impossible to get a picture, and I had to zoom in all the way on the video. So it is very grainy but at least you can see what I am referring to. In the first video you will see them running down the stalk of the acro. In the second video, look at the area on the rock bottom right below the frag disc. You will see the critters running around there.

If you are able to figure out what they might be from the poor quality video, do let me know!

@KJ - pods??

Rob.D · Jan 14, 2016

I've never seen amphipods move like that, but I have never seen a pest look like that either.....I'm no help at all :-(

BlueDevil · Jan 14, 2016

Rob.D said:
I've never seen amphipods move like that, but I have never seen a pest look like that either.....I'm no help at all :-(

What good are you for then, Rob?! Ha! Just kidding. Of course I would be the one to end up with a mystery bug!

I forget who it is on R2R that is the guru about all things bugs. Does anyone know their name so I can tag them in this post?

CastAway · Jan 14, 2016

@Lionfish Lair!

BlueDevil · Jan 14, 2016

CastAway said:
@Lionfish Lair!

Thanks Jeff! Hope they have an answer to this mystery!

@Lionfish Lair - I would appreciate it if you could help ID these creepy crawlies in my tank. Can't seem to figure out what they are or if they are good or bad. Sorry about the grainy videos. That's the best I could do with how quickly they move and how small they are. Thank you!

Lionfish Lair · Jan 14, 2016

They're not munnid isopods?

BlueDevil · Jan 14, 2016

Lionfish Lair said:
They're not munnid isopods?

I'm not sure to be honest with you. I looked up some pictures of munnids and it's hard to tell if what I have look like them since they're so elusive and fast moving. The only thing that concerns me is if this is a bug that could be attacking my acro in any way. I only see them on or around a couple of acro frags. There aren't any elsewhere on the rocks.

BlueDevil · Jan 14, 2016

I did read one comment on a Google search that mentioned the munnids scurry around like ants. Know me look exactly like ants! The only think I can't tell is if their bodies are white/clear like munnid or more of a darker grey/black.

Lionfish Lair · Jan 14, 2016

Where they are all over the rock, I wouldn't expect them to be honing in on the coral. If they're after the coral, what would they be eating on the rocks, you know what I mean? I can't see them clear enough to ID, as I'm sure you know. I'm just watching their behavior and trying to match it up with known pods. Munnids run like that and are that size, that's why I was suspecting them.

Is that frag glued in place? Can you move it to an area without any of these critters and see if they follow? Do they leave the rock when the frag is removed, or do they stay?

Is there a way to turn off the blue light and get more video?

Lionfish Lair · Jan 14, 2016

BlueDevil said:
I did read one comment on a Google search that mentioned the munnids scurry around like ants. Know me look exactly like ants! The only think I can't tell is if their bodies are white/clear like munnid or more of a darker grey/black.

They don't necessarily look clear when they are on rock like that. They're clear when seen on glass, as most pictures are taken.

If it is them, something is creating a little environment so they are having a little population explosion. Such numbers can irritate.

Lionfish Lair · Jan 14, 2016

Now, you have to imagine you're looking at them from the other side and against a rock, not clear glass..... In the video we're looking at their belly. It's more to get an idea of how they are moving.

Lionfish Lair · Jan 14, 2016

I am having a seriously hard time finding video. Can you catch a couple and throw them in a container with some water?

BlueDevil · Jan 14, 2016

Of course when I tried to spot them now there were none to be seen. I did manage to get a good look at one though and it clearly had a whitish body. Moves just the ones in the video you posted. I'm almost 99% sure they are munnids.

As far as what they might be feeding on, what is their normal diet? The only thing I can think of why they suddenly appeared is because of my recent acro loss (earlier part of this thread). I tried to vacuum up as much floating dead tissue as I could but there might be some residual left if that might be something they're feeding on? The rock they're on is where two acro stocks RTNed. Not a single other rock has any sign them.

I can keep and eye on the rock this weekend and see if I am able to suction any for a better ID. They are elusive little buggers though. As soon as my baster got anywhere near them they'd sneak into a rock crevice.

Thank you for all your help! I will post an update if I see them really increase in numbers or if I am able to trap any.

Cheers!
Yash