HELP Something on my Button Polyps

[Trek2]

I have a medium sided cluster of some mixed Polyps that has been doing well until about a week ago. Now they are all closed up and typically will not open at all. If I look real close I can see small bug looking things crawling around on them. I looked in all my books and can’t find anything that describes them. If I have to compare what they look like to something I know I would say it looks like a rose bush that has an aphid problem. They look like little bugs very small mostly white with maybe a little red or brown. Does anyone know what these are and are they killing my Polyps? What I’m really concerned about is if they will spread to my other corals if I don’t do anything?

Please help.

[Trek2]

Here is a picture some of these critters

[Ninong]

There are several possibilities. Among the thousands of species of copepods, amphipods and nudibranchs, there are quite a few they prey on polyps. Even if you had a micrograph to post, it may be difficult to correctly identify this particular pest. Whether it will bother anything else in your tank is an open question. Most of these creatures have specialized feeding habits and are prey-specific.

[Ninong]

I just looked at your picture but my eyesight isn't good enough the make out what you have.

It may not be possible, but if you could remove one of them and photograph it at a high magnification, that might help???

[Trek2]

I just looked at your picture but my eyesight isn't good enough the make out what you have.

It may not be possible, but if you could remove one of them and photograph it at a high magnification, that might help???

Thanks,

I was hoping to identify them before I try and pick one off. I’m afraid of knocking them loose and haveing them moving around the tank.

I took a closer look at one of the larger ones and it is moving about much like a nudibranch. It is somewhat reddish brown with two rows of large spikes on its back.

[Trek2]

It may not be possible, but if you could remove one of them and photograph it at a high magnification, that might help???

I used a siphon to such a few of them off, sorry but I think this is the best I can do for magnification.

[j_man]

polyp eating nudi I believe.

[Ninong]

Looks to me like it might be some sort of nudibranch. All nudibranchs are predatory but they usually specialize in their prey. So chances are that it likes your polyps, it won't bother anything else in the tank.

[Bobby]

I've Had The Same Thing In Green And Yellow. Best To Get Them Out Asap. The Ones I Had Already Had What Looked Like Eggs On Their Backs.

[zhenya]

It may be some type of Aeolid Nudibranch, some more information can be found in this article
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-05/rs/index.php