Biodiversity? I think not..

meanbaby01

meanbaby01

Member
Here's the scoop.. I started noticing these weird little "bug" critters in my tank from the beginning. I was told they were good little critters, and not to worry about them. Well, now those critters are getting huge, some are probably 1/4 inch long at this point. However, there are others that are teeny tiny, and are all over the glass. It looks like my tank has lice almost. Its gotten so bad that they run through my Zoos, and piss them off, so they hardly ever open anymore.
What the heck are these "bugs"? And should I start thinking about trying to get rid of them? Does anything eat them?
Please help me out, the tank "bug" is starting to worry me a bit.
Steph
 
my way

my way

Active Member
Most likely the smaller ones are Copepods and the larger ones are Isopods. They are beneficial, I would leave them alone. My tank is crawling with them, they are interesting to watch if you ask me.
 
meanbaby01

meanbaby01

Member
They are really interesting, I give it that, it just seems like there are too many of them. My Zoos don't even open anymore because of them. I was just hoping there was a way to trim them down a bit.
 
sagxman

sagxman

Member
Many fish will eat them. I catch my purple back psydochromis picking at the rocks from time to time. If your tank is large and fairly established a mandarin will eat them, however don't get a mandarin unless you know for sure you have enough to keep populating because that is all that fish likes to eat.
 
my way

my way

Active Member
Are you sure they are the reason you Zoa's don't open? My pods climb all over my Zoa's without bothering them.
 
meanbaby01

meanbaby01

Member
Well, its seems like my Zoa's are really sensitive to movement. And lately they haven't been open much. I just attributed it to the "bugs" because they run around them all the time. There could be something else wrong, who knows..
 
meanbaby01

meanbaby01

Member
Tank has been going since April. And its been at least a full week since I've seen a single Zoa open up. Are they going to die? What could I get that would help cut back the buggies?
 
hot883

hot883

Active Member
Originally Posted by MeanBaby01
Tank has been going since April. And its been at least a full week since I've seen a single Zoa open up. Are they going to die? What could I get that would help cut back the buggies?
How large is the tank and how much live rock?
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
Originally Posted by MeanBaby01
30 gal, with about 15 lbs of LR.. I had to start small..

Not enough to sustain a mandarin, so I wouldn't go that route.
As far as the zoos not opening, what are your water parameters?
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Your salinity is definitely quite low for invertebrates/corals. That is something I would definitely correct, IMO.
 
meanbaby01

meanbaby01

Member
Wow, they've been doing fine at that level of salinity since I've had them. It dropped a little bit, and that's when I noticed them not opening as much. With this last water change, I brought the salinity back up to 1.022. Any suggestions as to what exactly the level should be?
Steph
 
teen

teen

Active Member
1.024-1.026 should be good, but i wouldnt go any higher. i really dont think the pods are the reason for your zoas not opening. ive got hundreds of pods on my zoas, and no problems. my zoas barely close up if a hermit or something walks over them. you should check for whelks, sundial snails, and zoa eating nudibranch. maybe even do a fresh water dip with RO water the same temp as your tank.
also, this is just an idea, but sometimes zoas can get bacteria on them that will kill entire colonies. a possible cure for this is to take the whole colony out of water, and let it drie up a bit for say half an hour. this shouldnt casue any damage to the zoas since in the wild they are often left baking in the sun for hours during low tide. by letting them dry out, you can possibly kill the bacteria. i did this on a colony i had that a lot of the zoas were dying off, followed by a fresh water dip, and within a week, they seem to be doing a lot better. again, this is just a little something i read on another forum and i decided to try out.
 
tx reef

tx reef

Active Member
Try a six line wrasse. I had one in my 20 gallon and he really tore into the pods.
He also ate anything that I put into the tank, so you don't have to worry about him starving if the pod population dwindles.
 
meanbaby01

meanbaby01

Member
Little update to those that were helping out. The zoas have not opened since I last wrote. I slowly upped my salinity level to 1.025. That still hasn't helped. I still have normal parameters for the water as well. I noticed a tiny little spiral snail on them, which I plucked and smashed. It didn't look like the kind of "bad" snails you guys were talking about, but I didn't want to take any chances. The only nudibrance I had was a lettuce, and it disappeared during a cleaning one day. I had a weird looking critter spawn in there, but it too looks like a nudibranch, only with lots of little branches. It too has disappeared recently. The zoas don't look to be diminishing, but they do not open at all. I suppose I can let them sit out for half an hour, and see if that helps at all. I'm really dissapointed that they wont open up, they are so pretty. Anyhoo, if anyone else has any advice, please let me know!!
Steph
 
meanbaby01

meanbaby01

Member
I have two 96 watt bulbs, one is a dual daylight, and the other is dual actinic. I have a low current powerhead on the opposite side of where the zoa rock is. There is also a hanging filter that creates current on the other half of the tank.
 
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