Black bugs??

[ReefRaf]

I have an encrusting monti or porites, hard to tell, thathas what appears to be pepper like dust all over it. Upon closer inspection, I could see these things moving. I removed the coral and put it under the microscope, and found dozens of what appear to be cousins of red bugs. They are black or very dark brown, their eyes shine white under he light of he scope, and they have pronounced anttanae. Their back end curls under their body more than the red bugs, but a similar size to the reds.
Anyone have any leads on what this might be? Thanks

[Dizzyswimmer]

Might want to post a picture here or in the ask Dr. ron forum.

[newmoon]

a pic would be great

[ReefRaf]

no way to get a pic, way too small for my camera. I figured this forum was better, just because we spend so much time staring at our SPS

[newmoon]

What size are the bugs? Same size as Red Bugs?

[ReefRaf]

Originally posted by newmoon
What size are the bugs? Same size as Red Bugs?

I'd guess just a tiny bit smaller.

[Chin_monster]

There are supposed to be black bugs similar the the dreaded red bugs for acros that live on pavona sp. It would be quite likely that there are similar "bugs" for other sps types as well.

[Acro]

Hey Brad,

Anything new to report?

Thanks

[fishdoc11]

Just so you know you are not alone.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=473096
Chris

[Acro]

Thanks Chris, I believe we are talking about two different things though. What Brad was saying as the thread starter is referring to black bugs on porites/monti's.

I've noticed a few on one of my porites. At first I thought is was carbon dust as I was using some carbon that had a habit of breaking up easily if the flow was to high. After closer inspection as Brad has reported they are in fact bugs moving on the coral.

I'll have to remove the coral and put it into a container to try and get a photo. So I'll attempt to do that today. At that time I'll likely throw in some interceptor to see how that effects them. From the little I've seen I havn't noticed any problems with the coral other then it's having a hard time coloring up the way I'd like, but that may just be my problem.

Anyone else that have noticed these bugs please join in.

[jackson6745]

I noticed those black bugs on my caps at the time I was infested with red bugs. Interceptor killed them all

[Acro]

Hi Richard,

Did you observe them long enough to have formed an option regarding their effect on the host coral?

[jcm1229]

I observed the black bugs on my orange monti-cap. Had no ill effects on it.

[fishdoc11]

I have only noticed them on dead tissue but have seen them on montis and caps. I haven't seen any in my curet display that was treated for red bugs over a year ago. I mainly noticed them in an old 55 I had setup a while back and performed no QT or dips before adding corals to that tank.
FWIW, Chris

[Acro]

jcm1229, Thanks for sharing.

Chris, I'm still not convinced we are talking about the same thing. I believe I understand what your talking about I'm just not sure if it's the same thing or not.

Here are a couple pictures. Sorry but it's the best I could get. Time for a camera upgrade. hmmmm.. But honey the guys need better pictures Ah forget it.. it'll never work.
FWIW I removed the coral from the tank and put it in a container. So that would explain the lack of polype expansion.





There doing the interceptor dance now. We'll see what happens.

[fishdoc11]

Chris, I'm still not convinced we are talking about the same thing. I believe I understand what your talking about I'm just not sure if it's the same thing or not.

You are correct, that's not the same thing. The ones I saw were much smaller. I was basically just trying to relate my experience as you don't hear about black bugs too often
Chris

[rcmike]

Interesting. Do they seem to move around much? I remember seeing some black specks on some of mine when I had some problems with my montis a while back.

[jackson6745]

Originally posted by Acro
Hi Richard,

Did you observe them long enough to have formed an option regarding their effect on the host coral?

The caps didn't seem to mind. Looks just like the ones in your pic.

[jcm1229]

The ones I had appeared to be smaller. Looked like pepper grains through a magnifying glass. They moved slowly, but stayed in the same area on the bottom of my monti-cap. Then (after I observed them for over a month) one day they were gone.

I never saw them grow in numbers either.

Hope this helps.

[Acro]

Originally posted by fishdoc11
I was basically just trying to relate my experience as you don't hear about black bugs too often
Chris

Yeah you got that right. This was the only thread that came up after I did an rc search.

Michael, At first glance one would say they don't move but after watching them for a bit you'll see them moving.

Thanks for sharing your experience guys.

I ended up giving the porites the interceptor bath once I took a few pics. I'm not sure what the concentration was. I simply put some system water in large plastic bowl with a mini jet then a couple of the salifert spoonfuls of interceptor and finally the coral for 3 hours. Visually the bugs appeared dead and no longer adhering to any surfaces. I then put the coral back in the display. I'm not expecting that to eradicate the bugs but just wanted to see. I did think the coral polyped out rather fast once it was back in the display. We'll see what time tells us.

[ReefRaf]

Hey Jamie, sorry for the delay, I was on holidays. Yes, those look like what I reported orignally. I actually just left them alone, and they disappeared shortly after. I haven't seen any since. I also did not notice any ill effects while they were present.

[Acro]

Holidays eh!! Must be nice. Thanks for the update.
Shoot me an email and tell me about the holiday venture.