Flowerpot invader

[will l]

Hi, haven’t posted in awhile but I have a problem... My flowerpot wasn’t looking to good and anyway I lift it up and it has a tunnel dug straight up it. A while earlier a crab had been eating it, now a smaller crab is missing and I can only assume it has eaten its way up. How do I get it out? It’s already halfway through. :nervous:
I will post a pic later, those always help

 

[offshore80]

WHAT!!

 

[will l]

OK so actually it wasnt the crab, its some sort of mites...
Here its is tiped on its side, if u look close u can see one of the flea things

 

[ophiura]

I would say it is most likely an amphipod, a very common and very good thing to have in the tank. They are fairly commonly found "under" things like that, but will certainly help clean up a dying coral or other animal. In all likelihood it has nothing to do with the demise of the flowerpot coral.

 

[will l]

Well the problem is my flowerpots not dead and I know they tend to have limited life spans but it was flourishing before this. I'm relatively sure the amphipod are to blame, several are in there. And its not dead yet...

 

[ophiura]

It is tough to tell from the picture, a bit too small to tell....IMO, a healthy tank should be CRAWLING with amphipods. They are very good scavengers. When you buy a sand bed booster package it usually contains amphipods. Highly desirable...if for no other reason than eating off decaying/dead tissue and detritus, etc. But they will be found crawling over rocks and things...in and of itself, its presence on the bottom of the coral (assuming that is what it is) is not a concern. You may want to do a search for amphipod...there was a fantastic picture of one recently I think in the new hobbyist forum. See if that is what you have.
Flowerpot corals typically "do great" and then start to look bad without clear reason, part of the difficulty in keeping them more than a few months, in most cases.

 

[will l]

I’m mostly concerned about the fact that there is a growing hole inside my coral, i know these buggers are good but they need to leave my coral. I was thinkin of a fresh water dip (half way) and gluing it down or using putty to attach it to a flat rock to prevent future incidents, and thank you for your comments.