Is this eating my tort ? Please help

[Barks]

Hey all.
I bought a big piece of tort it had a lot of damage. Snapped off branches and chunks looking like they’ve been bitten off.
I found and removed a gorilla crab since then it’s fully recovered. Tissue has grown over the ends and the bites.
However the bottom was just a white chunk looking like it was dead from shading.

The last few days I’ve noticed the dead area growing upwards ie more tissue underneath receding.

It is underneath so assumed it was in the shade but it didn’t really add up.

On closer inspection just now there seams to be tiny black looking worms the size of a small eye last just under the surface.

I wanted to get one and look under a microscope but without cutting a chunk off it would be too difficult.

I put some superglue on a plastic poker and scraped one off.

Under the microscope it was still moving a little even though it’s broken in half.

Looks see through with some brown inside. Is this the torts polyps inside.

Anyone know what this is. It’s not on the good tissue.
All other sps look ok.

This is a pic of the tort 2 days ago

This is the same area today

This is what I can see under the scope

Fts so you can see the size

Thanks
Barks

 

[Baby Damsel 219]

do you have emerald crabs

 

[Barks]

Hi.
Nope learnt my lesson with those about 20 years ago.

 

[ChiCity]

well, if they’re aefw… there should be eggs.
(have you spotted any?)

Hey all.
I bought a big piece of tort it had a lot of damage.

also, you should never… ever…. never ever do this!
(at least not without a qt tank!)

 

[Barks]

Hi.
I haven’t seen any eggs no.
There’s nothing on the coral tissue.
They just seam to be under the surface of the dead tissue maybe eating there way upwards.
I think I’m going to have to remove it and dip it again. It was a nightmare getting it to stick there too.
Cheers
Barks

 

[Barks]

the corals been in 35 days and doing very well.
They don’t look like aefw. They look like tiny eye lash.

 

[Barks]

I don’t have a quarantine setup. I haven’t quarantined anything ever in 30 years.
I do however dip everything in revive for 15 mins.

 

[Troylee]

Could be a coral boring spinoid worm.. I’m not sure what the look like under a scope thou.

 

[Barks]

Hi.
Ok interesting shout. I think either way I’m going to have to pull it and get a pic of one whole.

 

[Barks]

Gutted. Biggest piece.
Couldn’t cut a decent chunk as the recession wouldn’t allow it.
Had to chop it up

Can’t upload a video so here’s some pics to show it moving in the base eating the tissue. I’ve inspected the cut pieces and can’t see any further up inside good tissue.

Dosent look like any regular pest. Just a burrowing worm eating the tissue.
Barks

 

[C. Eymann]

Behavior reminds me of suspected cilitates I have discovered on new broodstock shipments during intake inspections, weaving in and out/ through the theca of the skeleton, munching on tissues, similar to Halofolliculina corallasia affecting Caribbean corals, hard to get an idea of the size of varmints you are dealing with though, maybe too big to be ciliates?​

 

[Barks]

Behavior reminds me of suspected cilitates I have discovered on new broodstock shipments during intake inspections, weaving in and out/ through the theca of the skeleton, munching on tissues, similar to Halofolliculina corallasia affecting Caribbean corals, hard to get an idea of the size of varmints you are dealing with though, maybe too big to be ciliates?​

Thankyou.
I was considering a type of Spionid worm but I think there to big to be considered.
The last pic shows what the scope is looking at. It’s the tiny black line or dot I would say 1 to 2mm.
I can’t see then on anything else except I have a red dragon I got recently with a load of dead areas apparently due to shading.
I found 1 on that so just removed and chopped it more.
It’s seams and I’m hoping that healthy areas arnt affected. Only base infestation eating there way up the tissue edge.
Regards
Barks

 

[C. Eymann]

Thankyou.
I was considering a type of Spionid worm but I think there to big to be considered.
The last pic shows what the scope is looking at. It’s the tiny black line or dot I would say 1 to 2mm.
I can’t see then on anything else except I have a red dragon I got recently with a load of dead areas apparently due to shading.
I found 1 on that so just removed and chopped it more.
It’s seams and I’m hoping that healthy areas arnt affected. Only base infestation eating there way up the tissue edge.
Regards
Barks

Yeah what you have pictured above is definitely not a polychaete/ spinoid.

Im still suspecting a type of ciliate.

You may want to give this thread a read as it could be similar to your case, best of luck.

White band/Black Band halofolliculina? treatment

I have a frag coral QT tank and have had these in the tank for 6 months or more and about a month ago I started noticing that tissue was being lost on a couple frags, I have come across a couple of articles that talk about it but not sure what the best treatment may be, here is one of the...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Barks]

Many thanks.
Very similar except they seam to attack the coral anywhere not just the base.
I’ve chopped up 2 corals now.
If I see anymore this week I’m going to dip in 5% hydrogen peroxide. Else stick back in.
Cheers
Barks