[ksreefbuilder]

Ok, about 3 weeks ago I bought a larger 6+ inch piece of green stare polyps or GSP from my LFS. The past week I have been noticing the GSP have been staying open all day and all night from what I can see. Well this morning they were all closed up and I was amazed to see a 1 inch size hole in the center of it. The lunar lights were still on, so I grabbed my flashlight to look closer and I see several little white bugs crawling on it and they quickly ran into the new hole when they seen my light. I seen some of their brain corals had holes in them as well, are these bugs normal or do I have something bad? Please let me know what I should do. Thanks

[rlcline76]

When I read this I was thinking about pods.

Holes in the brain coral? Are you sure those opennings are not the mouths?

Are you noticing anything on your corals at night outside of the GSPs?

What else do you have in your tank? What does your CUC consist of?

Water parameters?

[ksreefbuilder]

No, I dont think they are pods. They are little white shinny things though, about the size of a little knat.

Yes, the LFS has a few brain corals with little half inch brown holes in them with bugs inside. I ask and they said it was a brain worm and they live together, but I seen the same little white bugs in it.

I only have a large colt coral, sand polyps, and some anemones right now, but they are all fine. I think these just eat the harder corals.

I have 2 clown fish, pink spot goby, 2 pencil urchins, 2 pincushion urchins, a long spine urchin, nassa snails, 5 red leg hermit crabs, 5 blue leg hermit crabs, and the corals/polyps mentioned above.

parameters are all fine.

[rlcline76]

All I could find is that a brain worm is a type of coral.
Anytime you see a pest you don't know about at the LFS...that STAYS at the LFS. No exceptions.
That being said. We all need to be researching dips for our corals before we introduce them to our tanks.

[ksreefbuilder]

yea, my lights have now been on for an hour and only a few of the GSP have opened. They usually know when the lights are coming on and are waiting fully open. Also the polyps open so large I was not able to see the hole until this morning when they were all closed. Please let me know what these things are eating it and what I should do.

[rlcline76]

I'm looking at those urchins. What are they eating?

[ksreefbuilder]

The urchins are only about 3/4 inch in total size and dont get near the polyps, and this is a nice round 1 inch hole all the way into them. I dont know what could cause it, but those little bugs were eating on it this morning.

[emccullough1]

I have been reading all day trying to find a answer for you. I'm not saying this is what you have but it sound a lot similar. I would try to take a turky baster and see if I could suck them out. I found this at this site.

And Along Came a Spider… by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com


Sea spider predation or parasitism is a potential threat to all corals, soft corals, and sea anemones that are kept in aquaria. If an aquarium system gets infected, just how easy it is to control the pest species will really depend on the type of pycnogonid that is present. The large forms are typically slow, and readily apparent, and may be easily removed from aquaria. The small forms, on the other hand, may be quite difficult to see, as they may be as small, or smaller, than the polyps of small-mouthed corals. Additionally, they may live under the coral mucus layer, and this would further obscure them. They do not appear to be easily removed by "dips," poisons, or potential predators. Frankly, if they are found on corals in any tank, the best option would likely be to remove the coral from the tank, and simply dispose of it.

[ksreefbuilder]

this link is interesting, but not what was eating my polyps. After reading all day myself I have found nothing, but they look like a very small clear shiny termite that is 5/10 of a CM. They are not pods either, any other ideas?

[emccullough1]

No I dont but like I said I would try to suck them out.

[robe25m]

No clue whats going on with your GSP, myself i had a large chunk of GSP, well after 3 great weeks polyps never opened again, so I got to playing..

I pulled the GSP mat of the rock it was attached too and the underside of the GSP was covered with a type of tube worm? I figured this was the cause..

I then placed the mat of GSP on some rock now of few polyps have opened again, hoping for full growth again in a couple months...

good luck thats a hard one...

[mtfabel]

Well I hate spiders so that link really disturbs me. Very few things in this world has been enough to bother me but I really hate arachnids.

[ksreefbuilder]

Ok, tonight I just found the hungry little eater, ITS A CRAB of some kind!!! I cought it just eating away, and by the time I lifted the canopy it was gone, but I will be watching for it. He is less than half an inch in size and solid white and hairy. Any idea on what it might be?

[emccullough1]

Any thing like this guy.



Photo William Tan
Species: Polydectus cupulifer

Here is another Hairy crab.



I'm gust guessing but from your description I googled white hairy CRAB. and this is what I found so far.

[ksreefbuilder]

no, it is not that hary, lol. It looks like a solid white decorater crab or something, but it did not have anything attached to it, just clipping away at the inside of the star polyps, and even has tunnels dug through the inside of them.

[emccullough1]

Have you looked here?
Crabs
They have allot of pic's or crabs and names

[ksreefbuilder]

It looked kind of like this, but I only got to look for a minute.