I have a problem with pods eatting my zoanthids?

[jlam]

Hi, everyone!

I came to my first maast meeting last month and I purchased some zoanthids and some star polyps. I really liked them they opened up almost as soon as I dropped them in the tank. Then after about 2 or 3 days I started to notice the zoanthids started to close and would not come out. So I started looking in the tank when it was dark and to my shock, I saw hundreds of pods swarming around the zoanthids. Now after almost a month the zoanthids are almost gone, when I purchased them it was covered. My question is has anyone heard of pods eatting zoanthids? Also I have 6 other groups of zoanthids and the pods don't seem to be touching those and they are even spreading. Other corals like the star polyps, frogspawn, candy cane, flower pot do not seem to be touched.

I keep trying to take pictures of them but they are so small and my camera is crappy that I can't seem to get a good one of them, but they look like small shrimp like pods that are about 1/2 inch for the largest of them. Most of them though are only about 1 to 5 mm long.

Thanks,

Jason

[CD]

Pods really don't attack healthy zoas. How do you acclimate your new corals and polyps? Do you test the salinity between the bag water and your tank? Are your tank params OK? Reason I ask, is that it sounds as if your new frags could have been either dying or severely stressed. The fact that the 'pods are not attacking any of the other zoas is the main thing that leads me to believe that this is what happened. 'Pods are scavengers, and very helpful to your tank. What you are describing sounds like an amphipod. Do a search on google and you should find a picture fairly quickly...LMK if this is what you have?
Oh - FYI, there *is* a type of snail that will eat zoas. I'll try to find you the thread that describes it...found the info on Wet Web Media. ;)

Wendy

[jlam]

CD I slowly put water into the bag that they came in while floating in the sump. My tank params are great PH 8.14, cal 405, salinity is 1.024, ammonia,nitrite,nitrate all 0.

I have asked quite a few people and they never heard of it and I have been keeping reefs for more than 10 years and have never seen it either.

Jason

[Instar]

Jason,
I agree with Wendy. Pods of all varieties and sizes will get rid of anything if it doesn't do well. Perhaps something fell on those zoos or they got stung by something and it did them in. Down current from a rock anemone that takes a wild poop in the middle of the night will destroy a colony of zoos that are not established. Sounds like something got to that rock in your tank and then the pods cleaned it up. I did have an established colony of palythoa go like that once for no apparent reason. They got sick and slimed up, then died. I figure anything I get is some kind of risk, especially in the beginning.