Mushroom flathead coral parasite eating at 'foot stumps' of mushroom coral or normal pedal laceration behavior?

KingLucy1997 · Oct 30, 2021

Mibu said:
If you are suspecting a rab eating the coral (which they do) try to use some shrimp to lure the critter out. You wont be able to catch him. But it will help you confirm it's a crab. If it is enjoying the leather as a meal too much, it may not come out of hiding.

Update: All though there was maybe at least one sort of decorative crab hitch-hiked with my E-bay live rock; it was actually mostly FLATWORMS, PARASITIC WORMS, AND MAYBE EVEN SOME CARNIVOROUS NUDIBRACH (S). of at least several different species. The first set of pictures showed my first tank before the PARASITE POPULATION BOOM. These flatworms or whatever they are blend into their surroundings, making them practically invisible until its too late by the time you notice them. I noticed that these parasites were all over the mushroom (leather?)' base eating it, so I tried remove as many as a could, which nearly killed the leather mushroom and was quickly finished off by the parasites and the pile of the leather mushroom's remains were converted into a sort of red bug colony (all though there were many more species of parasitic/carnivorous flatworm(s)? in that tank besides red bugs).
Shortly after the flatworms killed by softie, I noticed some worm like parasite had burrowed under the Turbo Snail's shell and the health of the snail slowly deteriorated until it died. I couldn't remove the live rock because I was retro-purposing a terrarium with a tiny opening, so I thought the whole thing out.
The other tank with the same E-Bay live rock and parasitic hitchhikers as the first aquarium is fairing better than the first aquarium. My Remaining tank has a tuxedo urchin, a Mexican Scarlett hermit crab, and paly zoa. I used to have a GSP, but I noticed some kind of crab (maybe flatworm?) had burrowed under the GSP tissue, and in my process of removing the parasites the GSP didn't make it. My Scarlett hermit crab is infected with the flatworm thing, I can see it stick out sometimes and a decrease in the crab's energy.
My one hope is my tuxedo urchin. I have noticed the urchin sucking up flatworms out of holes in the live rock and through holes in the infected hermit crab's shell. Given the severity of my flatworm population, I am considering Velvet nudibraches, Camel Shrimp, or both. Thoughts? 1st picture set. 2nd picture set is what the parasites are capable of.