Can/Do Amphiods eat Zoa's

[phunkie99]

I have lost and seem to be losing Zoa's. At night when I inspect them with a light I see Amphipods http://www.melevsreef.com/id/amphipod.html all over them I don't know if they are eating dead tissue off of them or just straight up eating them anyone heard of such a thing?

[kau_cinta_ku]

never heard of pods eating them but nothing is impossiable I guess. check out these and see if you also have any of these around.
http://www.zoaid.com/index.php?module=Gallery2&g2_itemId=384

[phunkie99]

I have seen some spionid worms in my sand and on rocks

[phunkie99]

how do you get rid of spionid worms?

[phunkie99]

bump

[Achapman]

Yes I believe once the zoa's get sick, the pods do pick them off. I've noticed it several times.

[Tswifty]

As stated above... I've never heard of pods getting them.

But these guys sure will!!!

I noticed that my zoas had been declining in appearance over the past few weeks, and assumed it was the upgrade in lighting and they were still adjusting.

It wasn't until I accidently knocked one of the frags over that I found these guys :eek2:

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll128/tswifty8/spider6.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll128/tswifty8/spider01.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll128/tswifty8/spiders5.jpg

[Tswifty]

I have the frags in a BB QT setup so I can remove any more spiders or hatchlings that may appear.

It's only been a few days, but the frags seem to be responding nicely thus far.

[Flightpipe]

What are those things?!?

Just tagging along on the thread

[Tswifty]

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-01/rs/index.php

[seapug]

Sea spiders can cause problems but I think the stories about amphipods are delusions of paranoid over-obsessive hobbyists who stare at their tanks with magnifying glasses too much. Like bristleworms, typical Amphipods will probably eat diseased or decaying tissue on sick polyps, but are not likely to consume healthy corals. I have countless amphipods in my tanks and have never had a problem with them eating my zoas or any other corals in the tank.

[phunkie99]

while I might be a little "over-obsessive" I have not seen any Sea spiders but like I mentioned before I have seen spionid worms around and a few near my zoa's so I think they are my lead suspect. How do I eradicate them?

[LeslieH]

Spionids are detritus feeders that pick up particles with their 2 feeding palps. The only way they could possibly eat zoas is if the zoa flesh had already decayed into fine particles. If you see spionids palps touching zoas or other animals it's only to pick off detritus.

[Skeptic_07]

If you ask this Q in the zoanthids section of this forum you'll get a multitude of responces. Some people swear they eat them, others aren't so sure. My tank is full of zoas and i have plenty of amphipods and they never seem to eat anything desireable, zoas or other. I've noticed that in a SW aquarium, when you see something eating something else, it usually isnt the thing that killed it. just my .02

[Joy_42]

I thought sure that amphipods were eating my zoanthids. I saw them chew off pieces when my polyps started disappearing literally overnight with no signs of stress during the day. HOWEVER, they were probably eating distressed tissue overnight which is why I never saw a problem during the day. I've been told that it was adding ricordia and mushroom corals to my small tank that did in my zoas... maybe "chemical warfare" is what's causing your problems too??

[phunkie99]

I don't think that the spionid worms are "eating" my zoa's I think what might be happening is that they are irritating them so they dont open and don't get enough light or food . What do you think? possibility?