Attack of the killer pods (oh the horror!)

ColdinCanada · 10-15-2001, 12:30 PM

Well the problem continues. For the past nine months I've been allowing my sand bed and refugium/algae tank mature without any fish in the system. I thought I had developed a healthy pod and worm population. Last week I added a cuke, a coral banded shrimp and a serpent star to the reef. All are now gone. Eaten alive by killer amphipods in three days. I got the cuke out before he poisoned the system. It was quite a stressful weekend. I don't think I'll ever tell my wife again when I add a new animal to the system. She was horrified at the carnage. Anyway, so far the mandarin and royal gramma that I added are fine. Hopefully they can make a big dent in the pod population. I was wondering if maybe I need a bigger fish to take out some of the larger pods. The mandarin's mouth looks a little small to handle some of them and I'm not sure the royal gramma is eating them. Some of the pods are close to 3/8" long. I would like to have some shrimp in the system eventually so I guess a hawk could be a problem later.
Any Ideas?

Thanks,
Jay

MarkS · 10-15-2001, 01:59 PM

Pods are detrivores. They eat dying, dead and decaying stuff. If they "attacked" your cuke, then your cuke was either dead or dying. This is a very good thing.

Mark

organicreefer · 10-15-2001, 11:28 PM

cic,all of the animals you lost are sensitive to water parameter changes,i suspect a problem either with youre supplier or youre acclimation proccess.
there are parasitc isopods,but they are usually attached to the host. SOMETIMES,some species of amphipod MIGHT get a taste for flesh,particularly if there is a large number of amphipods in the tank.the cbs and serpent star arent things i would expect them to attack in any case,the cucmber MAYBE.im not suggesting you eliminate the amphipods ,but ,you MAY have done youre tank a service by adding the fish to reduce their numbers.
in general the proliferation of amphipods is a good sign of a healthy tank.
keeps us posted,this is interesting.

ColdinCanada · 10-16-2001, 05:55 PM

Organicreefer, My acclimation process was a 2hr drip. Neither the cuke nor the star were exposed to the air when introduced. I have several sps colonies doing very well in the tank so I don't think I have any water quality issues. Ammonia=0, Nitrites= 0, nitrates=0, pH 8.3, T= 82F, Ca=470, 12dKh. I guess it's possible that the LFS had some water probs that could have pre-stressed the critters. Trouble is I'm reluctant to sacrifice another animal to find out. It's a heck of a way to die. The poor star lived for several days as he was basically eaten alive. I was amazed that the central disc was eaten away by almost half and it was still alive and able to evade my attempts to capture it.
The pods look like many I've seen posted in pics on this site, small, white with curled under tails. They have a pair of turned under forward pinchers like a mantis. They are definitely not mantis shrimp though, I've seen plenty of those before in other tanks I've had over the years. If I were to introduce another CBS, Star or Cuke which do you think would have the best chances?
Thanks,
Jay

organicreefer · 10-16-2001, 11:11 PM

prior to adding fish ,did you feed youre tank?is there any algea for the pods?
if i were in youre shoes,i would add the cbs(well actually i wouldnt since they are not really reef safe imo),he has an exoskeleton and would probly eat the pods i would think.....then again they usually molt soon after introduction to a new enviroment so......??????.perhaps you could let the tank be for awhile and let the fish reduce their population so they arent starving,and try again.

ColdinCanada · 10-16-2001, 11:30 PM

Organicreefer, Yes I did feed the tank daily since I set it up. I think that's why the pods have proliferated to the extent they have. I think I'm just going to hold off adding any "delicate" animals to the tank for a month or so and see what happens. Then I'll check the pod population by adding a piece of shrimp and see if they go for it. It's funny they haven't gone after any coral frags I add to the system. I was hoping to add a couple Tridacna clams this week. I think they would be safe. There are a few scallops in the tank that came in with the seed rock 8 months ago that are doing well. What do you think?
Thanks,
Jay

organicreefer · 10-17-2001, 12:04 AM

clams are not a good idea as they are the only thing ive ever heard amphipods might attack/eat.usually if something is gonna get eaten in a reef tank,its the clams,they must be tasty

organicreefer · 10-17-2001, 12:57 AM

one particular amphipod species, parapleustes pugettensis,is often associated with feeding on cucumbers,and is also known as the man eating amphipod

lucky for you they arent in youre tank

i was just browsing shimeks article on amphipods and re read that thought id pass it on ,along with the rest of the article its here:http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish/li...e&RecordNo=331

ColdinCanada · 10-18-2001, 11:44 AM

Organicreefer. thanks for the link. The pods in question look like either maera mastersi or gammarella berringar. Obviously, their appetites differ from those described in the article. They definitely swarm their victim but avoid the light. They work at night and scatter when I shine a flashlight on them. Maybe these guys didn't read the article.
Thanks again for your help.
Jay

10-15-2001, 12:30 PM	#1
ColdinCanada Just Moved In Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Burlington, Ontario, Canada Posts: 23	Attack of the killer pods (oh the horror!) Well the problem continues. For the past nine months I've been allowing my sand bed and refugium/algae tank mature without any fish in the system. I thought I had developed a healthy pod and worm population. Last week I added a cuke, a coral banded shrimp and a serpent star to the reef. All are now gone. Eaten alive by killer amphipods in three days. I got the cuke out before he poisoned the system. It was quite a stressful weekend. I don't think I'll ever tell my wife again when I add a new animal to the system. She was horrified at the carnage. Anyway, so far the mandarin and royal gramma that I added are fine. Hopefully they can make a big dent in the pod population. I was wondering if maybe I need a bigger fish to take out some of the larger pods. The mandarin's mouth looks a little small to handle some of them and I'm not sure the royal gramma is eating them. Some of the pods are close to 3/8" long. I would like to have some shrimp in the system eventually so I guess a hawk could be a problem later. Any Ideas? Thanks, Jay

10-15-2001, 01:59 PM	#2
MarkS Governor Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: San Antonio, Tx Posts: 1,799	You want pods!! Pods are detrivores. They eat dying, dead and decaying stuff. If they "attacked" your cuke, then your cuke was either dead or dying. This is a very good thing. Mark

10-17-2001, 12:57 AM	#8
organicreefer Governor Join Date: May 2001 Location: Northern CA Posts: 2,171	interesting........... one particular amphipod species, parapleustes pugettensis,is often associated with feeding on cucumbers,and is also known as the man eating amphipod lucky for you they arent in youre tank i was just browsing shimeks article on amphipods and re read that thought id pass it on ,along with the rest of the article its here:http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish/li...e&RecordNo=331

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

10-15-2001, 11:28 PM	#3
organicreefer Governor Join Date: May 2001 Location: Northern CA Posts: 2,171	cic,all of the animals you lost are sensitive to water parameter changes,i suspect a problem either with youre supplier or youre acclimation proccess. there are parasitc isopods,but they are usually attached to the host. SOMETIMES,some species of amphipod MIGHT get a taste for flesh,particularly if there is a large number of amphipods in the tank.the cbs and serpent star arent things i would expect them to attack in any case,the cucmber MAYBE.im not suggesting you eliminate the amphipods ,but ,you MAY have done youre tank a service by adding the fish to reduce their numbers. in general the proliferation of amphipods is a good sign of a healthy tank. keeps us posted,this is interesting.

10-16-2001, 05:55 PM	#4
ColdinCanada Just Moved In Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Burlington, Ontario, Canada Posts: 23	Organicreefer, My acclimation process was a 2hr drip. Neither the cuke nor the star were exposed to the air when introduced. I have several sps colonies doing very well in the tank so I don't think I have any water quality issues. Ammonia=0, Nitrites= 0, nitrates=0, pH 8.3, T= 82F, Ca=470, 12dKh. I guess it's possible that the LFS had some water probs that could have pre-stressed the critters. Trouble is I'm reluctant to sacrifice another animal to find out. It's a heck of a way to die. The poor star lived for several days as he was basically eaten alive. I was amazed that the central disc was eaten away by almost half and it was still alive and able to evade my attempts to capture it. The pods look like many I've seen posted in pics on this site, small, white with curled under tails. They have a pair of turned under forward pinchers like a mantis. They are definitely not mantis shrimp though, I've seen plenty of those before in other tanks I've had over the years. If I were to introduce another CBS, Star or Cuke which do you think would have the best chances? Thanks, Jay

10-16-2001, 11:11 PM	#5
organicreefer Governor Join Date: May 2001 Location: Northern CA Posts: 2,171	prior to adding fish ,did you feed youre tank?is there any algea for the pods? if i were in youre shoes,i would add the cbs(well actually i wouldnt since they are not really reef safe imo),he has an exoskeleton and would probly eat the pods i would think.....then again they usually molt soon after introduction to a new enviroment so......??????.perhaps you could let the tank be for awhile and let the fish reduce their population so they arent starving,and try again.

10-16-2001, 11:30 PM	#6
ColdinCanada Just Moved In Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Burlington, Ontario, Canada Posts: 23	Organicreefer, Yes I did feed the tank daily since I set it up. I think that's why the pods have proliferated to the extent they have. I think I'm just going to hold off adding any "delicate" animals to the tank for a month or so and see what happens. Then I'll check the pod population by adding a piece of shrimp and see if they go for it. It's funny they haven't gone after any coral frags I add to the system. I was hoping to add a couple Tridacna clams this week. I think they would be safe. There are a few scallops in the tank that came in with the seed rock 8 months ago that are doing well. What do you think? Thanks, Jay

10-17-2001, 12:04 AM	#7
organicreefer Governor Join Date: May 2001 Location: Northern CA Posts: 2,171	clams are not a good idea as they are the only thing ive ever heard amphipods might attack/eat.usually if something is gonna get eaten in a reef tank,its the clams,they must be tasty

10-18-2001, 11:44 AM	#9
ColdinCanada Just Moved In Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Burlington, Ontario, Canada Posts: 23	Organicreefer. thanks for the link. The pods in question look like either maera mastersi or gammarella berringar. Obviously, their appetites differ from those described in the article. They definitely swarm their victim but avoid the light. They work at night and scatter when I shine a flashlight on them. Maybe these guys didn't read the article. Thanks again for your help. Jay

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)