amphipods eating/bothering my zoas?

beerdrinker · 04/15/2006, 10:12 PM

Does anyone else have this problem? My zoas have been losing their "lashes" and staying retracted. Over the same time I have seen a lot more pods running around them constantly. Is it them or just coincidence?

coralfarm123 · 04/16/2006, 10:38 AM

I have witnessed them eating the lashes off my PPE several times. I am not sure why they do it, but it seems to be when I have not been feeding much or maybe when they are keeping a colony clean a couple of them may get a taste for the polyps and see it as food. I have seen them clean an entire polyp of its lashes. Usually they grow back in about a month unless the polyp was really small and can't handle the stress. That tank only had one fish. I added a mandarin to keep the pod population under control and have not seen them doing this since. Before adding the mandarin, I could see amphipods all over the place especially running between my polyps.
In general, I think amphipods are very beneficial to a tank, but only as long as their population is kept in check.

beerdrinker · 04/16/2006, 05:40 PM

Thanks for the response, it seems the pop. of my pods took off. Some of those guys get pretty big, and the y almost cover my zoas. I was half thinking of getting a mandarin but heard long term they do not do well. I think my tank gets plenty of food, the pods must just like the zoas. Thanks again.

Stixbaraca · 04/16/2006, 06:32 PM

I have always noticed pods eating my zoos that are dying off...but haven't seen them eat healthy ones.

coralfarm123 · 04/16/2006, 08:02 PM

You are right about them usually only eating decaying tissue, but I am 100% positive the polyps were perfectly healthy on each occasion until they became a snack. I was shocked myself when I first saw it. I noticed some lashes missing and then I saw one of the amphidpods take a chunk out of one of the remaining lashes. I could see the neon green flesh he ripped off glowing in its mouth and go down his throat. I have witnessed this on a few seperate occasions spaced out over a 6-8 month period. I notice the problems would occur mainly after a week or more without feeding the tank and most damage done at night by always by a single large amphipod. Luckily, each time I was able to remove the offending amphipod with a turkey baster, and no more polyps would be affected after it was removed for several weeks or months. The first one was the hardest to catch and probably snacked on half a dozen polyps before I nabbed him. This leads me to believe that they don't do this on large scale and only a few tend to turn on healthy polyps.

Beerdrinker,
Mandarins are difficult to keep long term unless you can provide them with a quality source of live pods and are probably not your best bet.

There are several other alternative stalker type reef safe fish available that will control your pod population no problem. Most reef safe wrasses would work and would probably be faster than a slow poke mandarin.

I am not saying positively that this is your problem and it could be something else eating the lashes, and maybe you are just noticing the amphidpods because the polyps are retracting. I would still suggest trying a reef safe wrasse or other fish to reduce and naturally control the pod population. It wouldn't really hurt. The worst thing that would happen is having another mouth to feed. Good luck, I hope you find the source of your problems whether this is it or not.

CoralNutz · 04/17/2006, 11:39 AM

I have TONS of pods in my frag tank and no fish in there either... I have lots of zoa frags in there and while I see the pods cruising between polyps I have never seen them eating anything that isn't dead already.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

flex13 · 04/17/2006, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Stixbaraca
I have always noticed pods eating my zoos that are dying off...but haven't seen them eat healthy ones.

I have noticed the same thing.

beerdrinker · 04/17/2006, 06:02 PM

Thanks guys. I hope it is not my zoas dying though, they were multiplying like crazy when I put them in. I was going to get a wrasse anyways, maybe I will just get him sooner.

milkshake · 04/18/2006, 11:02 AM

What is a good hardy wrasse of choice to lightly control a pod
population in a 40gal reef tank?

04/15/2006, 10:12 PM	#1
beerdrinker Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Indianapolis, IN Posts: 165	amphipods eating/bothering my zoas? Does anyone else have this problem? My zoas have been losing their "lashes" and staying retracted. Over the same time I have seen a lot more pods running around them constantly. Is it them or just coincidence?

04/16/2006, 10:38 AM	#2
coralfarm123 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Indiana Posts: 590	I have witnessed them eating the lashes off my PPE several times. I am not sure why they do it, but it seems to be when I have not been feeding much or maybe when they are keeping a colony clean a couple of them may get a taste for the polyps and see it as food. I have seen them clean an entire polyp of its lashes. Usually they grow back in about a month unless the polyp was really small and can't handle the stress. That tank only had one fish. I added a mandarin to keep the pod population under control and have not seen them doing this since. Before adding the mandarin, I could see amphipods all over the place especially running between my polyps. In general, I think amphipods are very beneficial to a tank, but only as long as their population is kept in check.

04/16/2006, 05:40 PM	#3
beerdrinker Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Indianapolis, IN Posts: 165	Thanks for the response, it seems the pop. of my pods took off. Some of those guys get pretty big, and the y almost cover my zoas. I was half thinking of getting a mandarin but heard long term they do not do well. I think my tank gets plenty of food, the pods must just like the zoas. Thanks again.

04/16/2006, 06:32 PM	#4
Stixbaraca Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 2,994	I have always noticed pods eating my zoos that are dying off...but haven't seen them eat healthy ones.

04/16/2006, 08:02 PM	#5
coralfarm123 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Indiana Posts: 590	You are right about them usually only eating decaying tissue, but I am 100% positive the polyps were perfectly healthy on each occasion until they became a snack. I was shocked myself when I first saw it. I noticed some lashes missing and then I saw one of the amphidpods take a chunk out of one of the remaining lashes. I could see the neon green flesh he ripped off glowing in its mouth and go down his throat. I have witnessed this on a few seperate occasions spaced out over a 6-8 month period. I notice the problems would occur mainly after a week or more without feeding the tank and most damage done at night by always by a single large amphipod. Luckily, each time I was able to remove the offending amphipod with a turkey baster, and no more polyps would be affected after it was removed for several weeks or months. The first one was the hardest to catch and probably snacked on half a dozen polyps before I nabbed him. This leads me to believe that they don't do this on large scale and only a few tend to turn on healthy polyps. Beerdrinker, Mandarins are difficult to keep long term unless you can provide them with a quality source of live pods and are probably not your best bet. There are several other alternative stalker type reef safe fish available that will control your pod population no problem. Most reef safe wrasses would work and would probably be faster than a slow poke mandarin. I am not saying positively that this is your problem and it could be something else eating the lashes, and maybe you are just noticing the amphidpods because the polyps are retracting. I would still suggest trying a reef safe wrasse or other fish to reduce and naturally control the pod population. It wouldn't really hurt. The worst thing that would happen is having another mouth to feed. Good luck, I hope you find the source of your problems whether this is it or not.

04/17/2006, 11:39 AM	#6
CoralNutz Moved On Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 741	I have TONS of pods in my frag tank and no fish in there either... I have lots of zoa frags in there and while I see the pods cruising between polyps I have never seen them eating anything that isn't dead already. Good luck with whatever you decide.

04/17/2006, 06:02 PM	#8
beerdrinker Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Indianapolis, IN Posts: 165	Thanks guys. I hope it is not my zoas dying though, they were multiplying like crazy when I put them in. I was going to get a wrasse anyways, maybe I will just get him sooner.

04/18/2006, 11:02 AM	#9
milkshake Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Millington,TN Posts: 577	What is a good hardy wrasse of choice to lightly control a pod population in a 40gal reef tank?