Found this acro/acan/zoa/polyp eating spider today in a frag that I ordered

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The first 2 pics are the ones I took with a Sony macro lens. Could really zoom in with the Sony camera…..The other 2 pics were images already on the internet to help me identify what I’ve found….Not going to mention the vendors name until I get some feedback first….This critter came off of the acanthestrea frag I ordered as I was scrubbing the bubble algae off the frag and swirling it around in the plastic bag….Unfortunately, I only caught it in the bag after I placed the frag in my display tank for 30 minutes….I removed the frag from my display and dipped with fritz bug out pro coral dip for 15 minutes….I didn’t see any other hitchhikers after the dip…I proceeded to place the frag in a 10 gallon hospital tank as I am not sure if the dip worked or if there may be some more hitchhikers or eggs attached….Hopefully no spiders or hitchhikers wondered into my main display…I hope someone on this forum has some experience with this pest and could point me in the right direction. I really appreciate it!….And remember if their tank ain’t nice don’t take their advice…(Ray, Pirates Reef)

 

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Better pic

 

[DDenny]

Wow freaky looking. I had drag of Zoa’s that had a zoa spider on it but once I dipped it it was gone. Never found any more. Of course I have not purchased from that vendor again either.

 

[Reef broke]

Wow freaky looking. I had drag of Zoa’s that had a zoa spider on it but once I dipped it it was gone. Never found any more. Of course I have not purchased from that vendor again either.

I did not think I would encounter this pest this soon as I’ve heard it’s actually rarely ever seen and quite difficult to eradicate once it settles and multiplies in your tank. I heard a normal dose of interceptor will not kill it. I would need 10x that amount.

 

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Also I need to do the right thing and tell which vendor I got it from. If I say nothing than someone else could order from them and introduce the pest to their tank….I don’t want to hurt their business but the ethical and right thing to do is to tell other hobbyists as I would not want their tank to be effected….Maybe I should tell the vendor to clean up their tanks and eradicate them. If they don’t eradicate 100% the responsible thing to do is not sell corals or if they must sell in order to pay bills and support their family they need to inform customers about this pest in their system….What do you guys think?

 

[DDenny]

Completely agree. I would let vendor know for sure. As far telling people who the vendor is would be good as well so we know to dip and make sure if we do purchase from them as well. They may or may not know that they have this pest.

 

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My wife placed the order. Corals came in looking great! Very well packaged also. I called 2x no answer. Messaged on Facebook numerous times no response other than a heart on my order? My wife emailed him with pic attached of the acro eating spider and he just responded with “sorry”…He definitely knows he’s got them but I’m 50/50 on wether he knew he had them before I contacted him. His behavior seems very suspicious.

 

[ThaBeast]

If the vendor’s entire response was ‘Sorry’ then out the vendor! No reason not to do so

 

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If the vendor’s entire response was ‘Sorry’ then out the vendor! No reason not to do so

I’m guessing that most vendors would have pests in their systems since they do so much importing. The only one I’ve heard that’s got a 2 week guarantee is Shane from SBB corals…I’ve only been back in the hobby for about a year. I feel like there’s way more bugs and hitchhikers than several years ago when I first got into it.

 

[Reefing102]

I would agree if the only response is “sorry” I’d definitely out them

 

[mfinn]

Main reason to quarantine everything.
Even the pro's can have something get by them.

 

[AstroMelly]

Looks like a Sea Spider - we had one come in on a Euphyllia frag. We kept it overnight in an observation box. I tried to see if one of our wrasse would eat it the next day but the fish got too stressed so aborted. The male has a pair of extra legs that hold egg sacs - you can see them in my pics/vids. I hope also that there were not others or eggs on the frag that he was on and so far touch wood we have been lucky and I have not seen any others on our LPS (which is supposedly where one would find them). The advice is to check at lights out on all LPS especially the frag it came in on.

There seems to be an increase in these pests I wonder if there is a new supplier or perhaps they are just becoming more resilient. Coral RX revealed him in the dip for us.

Check my thread and see if it matches up - there's also a link to another thread where someone else had them come in and caused an infestation. There is some good advice from others on there.

Good luck!

My Critter ID Thread:

Critter (hitchhiker) ID (shrimp?) please

Came in on a frogspawn frag. Little dude seems a bit banged up in this video after the dip forced him out. He is in an observation box in the DT (can’t get out). Could grab another vid if need be. Looked a bit like a juvenile coral banded shrimp to me but I really don’t know!

www.reef2reef.com

Another thread:

What to do with a prisoner of war?

Anyway if you have been reading my last threads you'll know what these are If you haven't been, let me catch you up. I've been fighting a battle with coral-eating sea spiders for the past few months now and they are doing some considerable damage to my LPS, can never eradicate them from my...

www.reef2reef.com

By the way I let the vendor that we bought from know about this - in my view it's up to them what they do about it. In the same way it's up to you whether you let them know or not but I believe they would appreciate being told.

EDIT: Reading back I just saw you did let them know - good on you. I'm not going to defend them but really as a reefer you would probably appreciate how hard it is to keep things in your tank clean and pest free. Even harder with so much new livestock constantly passing through.