Pods are destroying my zoas...

[Nano sapiens]

From past personal experience, gammarus amphipods can be completely eliminated from a system by using a nocturnal fish predator (amphipods are naturally most active at night). Daytime predators, such as wrasse, are good for control, but not total elimination.

I used the Black Barred Convict Goby (Priolepis nocturna) ~5 or 6 years ago to completely clear my 12g nano of these zoa-munchers and I haven't seen one since ;Happy

 

[king aiptasia]

If this was in the DT, I already would have... but this is a NO FISH tank (quarantine for ich/pests/etc). Hoping there is an invertebrate that will eat them?!

some Eunicidae eat amphipods

 

[king aiptasia]

I don't talk about this much because amphipods as a group are extremely stigmatized, but there is a couple true coral eating amphipods, they are almost never encountered and often have strange eyes and unique colors.

have they been bothering the zoas from day one or was it a behavior that arose later?

 

[Revnobody]

Please allow me to share my experience and research over the past few years with this issue.

I am 100% certain that anthropods eat zoas. I have a very small 5 gallon desktop aquarium and I have lost dozens of zoas to pods. With my own eyes I have seen the anthropods eat a ring around the base of the Zoas until the Zoa heads detached and floated away! Utter Chaos Zoas have truly lived up to their name in my tiny tank. After such a loss I explored the issue intently. Here's what I've discovered through research and primary research and experience.

I believe what happens is they establish off over feeding and over populate in a tank. Some varieties get a taste for Zoas. I have seen them eat other corals, but Zoas are their major preference. These anthropods do not just stop at the dead tissue. After months of wondering why my injured Scolymia wouldn't continue to heal, I found four very fat and plump pods living in the base of the coral - in quarantine! At night the pods would eat a ring around the apron of the Scolymia. There were multiple Zoa species in the quarantine tank too. Strange and frustrating!

This is a similar feasting pattern anthropods have on Zoanthids, where the mat of the zoa base is the first attack, shuffling along the edge of the mat as they eat. They can complete entire rings, as per my experience above.

Other corals where they devastated the tissue are Favia, GSP, Acanthophyllia, Blastomussa. Anything soft has been witness to the voracious appetite of pods. They have tried to eat Palys. It seems Palytoxin is a great natural defense. Kenya Tree and Riccordea and Yuma mushrooms are also unaffected.

This variety of anthropod appears to be a different species than the common "good" anthropod. Their sizes range from 1mm to 2cm and are able to hide in the tiny crevices of any porous surface. Several comments over many forums in my research describe how much larger they appear than another reefer's experience.

Wrasses are their natural predator I am told! But try keeping a wrasse happy in a 5 gallon barebottom with 6 lbs of rock! I've tried to starve my tank but it has been impossible - other species of life must eat, too, IMO. I built an emergency quarantine tank out of a plastic food-safe container and I dip every 3-5 days. The pods still exist as some coral structures are very porous as in the base of a Scolymia. Finally, in a small mug I hand dipped 20 individual frags with a small pippet and knocked out the last few after two months of quarantine.

My proof is that they will turn to the colour of what they eat - purple (zoas), pink (Vitalis pellet food), red (favia), or green (favia). They are well fed when they are dark and plump and go pale and transparent when fasting. This variety of anthropod can handle months without food in a small bare-bottom tank. They will sustain on any detritus until a preferential food source is found.

Many established reefers will swear that pods only eat dead tissues - but after 10 years in the hobby and my own disaster with them the conversation needs to change. Pods definitely can get a taste for, and wreak havoc on, zoas and soft tissues in general.

In all the years I have spent in this hobby, I have mostly believed that amphipods were not the cause of coral destruction. I have seen many posts over the years claiming that pods were eating their coral. Rubbish.
Let me just say I have changed my mind. I am currently dealing with these coral-eating amphipods. I have watched them actively eat my soft coral. They seem to have the most devastating effect on zoas but have also eaten a chunk out of a toadstool leather. I agree the conversation needs to change.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

Have you tried blowing them off?

 

[Revnobody]

Just for reference. Here is a photo from Friday and another from today (several polyps destroyed). If you look close you can see one on the middle polyp of the second photo. I tried to grab a photo with my macro of them with pieces in their mouth but they scatter as soon as I light it up to take the photo. But I can assure you they are eating otherwise healthy colonies from the stalk up.

 

[king aiptasia]

In all the years I have spent in this hobby, I have mostly believed that amphipods were not the cause of coral destruction. I have seen many posts over the years claiming that pods were eating their coral. Rubbish.
Let me just say I have changed my mind. I am currently dealing with these coral-eating amphipods. I have watched them actively eat my soft coral. They seem to have the most devastating effect on zoas but have also eaten a chunk out of a toadstool leather. I agree the conversation needs to change.

picture of the animal?

 

[ELChingonsReef]

Please allow me to share my experience and research over the past few years with this issue.

I am 100% certain that anthropods eat zoas. I have a very small 5 gallon desktop aquarium and I have lost dozens of zoas to pods. With my own eyes I have seen the anthropods eat a ring around the base of the Zoas until the Zoa heads detached and floated away! Utter Chaos Zoas have truly lived up to their name in my tiny tank. After such a loss I explored the issue intently. Here's what I've discovered through research and primary research and experience.

I believe what happens is they establish off over feeding and over populate in a tank. Some varieties get a taste for Zoas. I have seen them eat other corals, but Zoas are their major preference. These anthropods do not just stop at the dead tissue. After months of wondering why my injured Scolymia wouldn't continue to heal, I found four very fat and plump pods living in the base of the coral - in quarantine! At night the pods would eat a ring around the apron of the Scolymia. There were multiple Zoa species in the quarantine tank too. Strange and frustrating!

This is a similar feasting pattern anthropods have on Zoanthids, where the mat of the zoa base is the first attack, shuffling along the edge of the mat as they eat. They can complete entire rings, as per my experience above.

Other corals where they devastated the tissue are Favia, GSP, Acanthophyllia, Blastomussa. Anything soft has been witness to the voracious appetite of pods. They have tried to eat Palys. It seems Palytoxin is a great natural defense. Kenya Tree and Riccordea and Yuma mushrooms are also unaffected.

This variety of anthropod appears to be a different species than the common "good" anthropod. Their sizes range from 1mm to 2cm and are able to hide in the tiny crevices of any porous surface. Several comments over many forums in my research describe how much larger they appear than another reefer's experience.

Wrasses are their natural predator I am told! But try keeping a wrasse happy in a 5 gallon barebottom with 6 lbs of rock! I've tried to starve my tank but it has been impossible - other species of life must eat, too, IMO. I built an emergency quarantine tank out of a plastic food-safe container and I dip every 3-5 days. The pods still exist as some coral structures are very porous as in the base of a Scolymia. Finally, in a small mug I hand dipped 20 individual frags with a small pippet and knocked out the last few after two months of quarantine.

My proof is that they will turn to the colour of what they eat - purple (zoas), pink (Vitalis pellet food), red (favia), or green (favia). They are well fed when they are dark and plump and go pale and transparent when fasting. This variety of anthropod can handle months without food in a small bare-bottom tank. They will sustain on any detritus until a preferential food source is found.

Many established reefers will swear that pods only eat dead tissues - but after 10 years in the hobby and my own disaster with them the conversation needs to change. Pods definitely can get a taste for, and wreak havoc on, zoas and soft tissues in general.

I've seen them eat my acans..so how do I get rid of them..I hate those bugs!. Thats probably what's killing my scollys. I've lost 4 this year..1000$ in scollys lost in 2021

 

[Goaway]

I would say that your zoas are dying and the pods are consuming dead/dying tissue... I have thousands of them in my DT and they don't bother anything that is not dead/dying.

There are pod species that will eat healthy corals, no one seems to know the name of these striped pods. You can find plenty of footage of the ones that eat corals, they look like the ones in the videos of the OP. Also , they look like miniature mantis shrimp.

 

[Goaway]

I've seen them eat my acans..so how do I get rid of them..I hate those bugs!. Thats probably what's killing my scollys. I've lost 4 this year..1000$ in scollys lost in 2021

Get a wrasse 6line

 

[LRT]

From past personal experience, gammarus amphipods can be completely eliminated from a system by using a nocturnal fish predator (amphipods are naturally most active at night). Daytime predators, such as wrasse, are good for control, but not total elimination.

I used the Black Barred Convict Goby (Priolepis nocturna) ~5 or 6 years ago to completely clear my 12g nano of these zoa-munchers and I haven't seen one since ;Happy

I know this is old post but how was the black barred goby with soft corals?

 

[Nano sapiens]

I know this is old post but how was the black barred goby with soft corals?

No problems with any coral. They are only interested in meaty foods like juicy amphipods.

 

[Tired]

Black barred gobies are ambush predators. Pretty much all gobies will ignore corals, but particularly any with the "eat everything that moves" style of mouth.