Reef Pest

[striker24!]

Hey everyone,
So I started out in the reef hobby very careless as I wasn’t too sure if I’d enjoy it and I tried to do this on a budget. Fast forward 8 months in, I never quarantined anything, fish or corals. I had a ich breakout and I really enjoy the hobby so I want to do it right this time. Im currently going fallow and have my 6 fishes in quarantine, but I’ve noticed I have some times of pests on my rocks and possibly even on my corals. I’m thinking of dipping all my corals, but I’m assuming the pests would still be on the rocks, so how can I go about treating everything? Would I have to start completely over with new dry rock and sand bed? Or do I just have to deal with it at this point? I was thinking if it’s possible to dip all the corals along with the rocks, but not sure if that is possible or would have a negative effect in the long run. Any advise is greatly appreciated!

 

[Schraufabagel]

 

[PeterC99]

Welcome to R2R!

Plenty of threads on R2R to help you deal with fish diseases!

 

[Fred2482]

Welcome! Great decision with the QT. I would definitely dip corals, however I would not dip rock. There are other options, here is one:

 

[Kiwi reefer]

Welcome to R2R

 

[Utubereefer]

Hey everyone,
So I started out in the reef hobby very careless as I wasn’t too sure if I’d enjoy it and I tried to do this on a budget. Fast forward 8 months in, I never quarantined anything, fish or corals. I had a ich breakout and I really enjoy the hobby so I want to do it right this time. Im currently going fallow and have my 6 fishes in quarantine, but I’ve noticed I have some times of pests on my rocks and possibly even on my corals. I’m thinking of dipping all my corals, but I’m assuming the pests would still be on the rocks, so how can I go about treating everything? Would I have to start completely over with new dry rock and sand bed? Or do I just have to deal with it at this point? I was thinking if it’s possible to dip all the corals along with the rocks, but not sure if that is possible or would have a negative effect in the long run. Any advise is greatly appreciated!

Could be copeapods. Explain these pests further. I know tiny creatures are hard to get pictures of

 

[striker24!]

Could be copeapods. Explain these pests further. I know tiny creatures are hard to get pictures of

I’m thinking it can be vermitid snails based on the looks of it when I compare it to what I’ve read online and they are like stringy as you can see from the picture. Then I also have on some frag plugs what appears to be pineapple sponges as in the 2nd pictures, but not sure if it is or it’s something worse. Any advise or feedback is greatly appreciated.

 

[MaxTremors]

I’m thinking it can be vermitid snails based on the looks of it when I compare it to what I’ve read online and they are like stringy as you can see from the picture. Then I also have on some frag plugs what appears to be pineapple sponges as in the 2nd pictures, but not sure if it is or it’s something worse. Any advise or feedback is greatly appreciated.
View attachment 2474291View attachment 2474292

I wouldn’t worry about any of the things I see on your rock. I don’t know why people want sterile tanks these days, but all of the biodiversity and microfauna will lead to a more stable aquarium. Personally, I’ll never use dry rock again, live rock is better in every way. The vermetids you can superglue the hole of their tube, the sponges are harmless. Also, don’t boil your rocks, this is how people get sick from palytoxin. I would just take care of the vermetids (which I’ve never really seen negatively affect my corals, but I’ve also never had any of the really massive ones, yours aren’t that kind either), and enjoy observing the complex ecosystem you’ve fostered.

 

[TnFishwater98]

Hey everyone,
So I started out in the reef hobby very careless as I wasn’t too sure if I’d enjoy it and I tried to do this on a budget. Fast forward 8 months in, I never quarantined anything, fish or corals. I had a ich breakout and I really enjoy the hobby so I want to do it right this time. Im currently going fallow and have my 6 fishes in quarantine, but I’ve noticed I have some times of pests on my rocks and possibly even on my corals. I’m thinking of dipping all my corals, but I’m assuming the pests would still be on the rocks, so how can I go about treating everything? Would I have to start completely over with new dry rock and sand bed? Or do I just have to deal with it at this point? I was thinking if it’s possible to dip all the corals along with the rocks, but not sure if that is possible or would have a negative effect in the long run. Any advise is greatly appreciated!

Welcome to Da Reef!

 

[SPR1968]

They look like vermatid snails as already said, I have loads of them and although I know they can cause problems it’s not something I’ve ever noticed. There just part of the ecosystem

But you can remove them, albeit fiddly if you want to

And welcome as well!

 

[attiland]

Hey everyone,
So I started out in the reef hobby very careless as I wasn’t too sure if I’d enjoy it and I tried to do this on a budget. Fast forward 8 months in, I never quarantined anything, fish or corals. I had a ich breakout and I really enjoy the hobby so I want to do it right this time. Im currently going fallow and have my 6 fishes in quarantine, but I’ve noticed I have some times of pests on my rocks and possibly even on my corals. I’m thinking of dipping all my corals, but I’m assuming the pests would still be on the rocks, so how can I go about treating everything? Would I have to start completely over with new dry rock and sand bed? Or do I just have to deal with it at this point? I was thinking if it’s possible to dip all the corals along with the rocks, but not sure if that is possible or would have a negative effect in the long run. Any advise is greatly appreciated!

Welcome to R2R

dipping rocks is not a good idea

 

[Zach B]

Welcome

 

[Jimbhoy13]

Welcome to R2R. Lots of knowledgeable and helpful people here who will support and advise you when needed.

 

[G Santana]

Welcome to R2R , you don't have a major problem, just the pesky vermitid worm. When you see these pests, then you have a PROBLEM

 

[JXNATC]

Hey everyone,
So I started out in the reef hobby very careless as I wasn’t too sure if I’d enjoy it and I tried to do this on a budget. Fast forward 8 months in, I never quarantined anything, fish or corals. I had a ich breakout and I really enjoy the hobby so I want to do it right this time. Im currently going fallow and have my 6 fishes in quarantine, but I’ve noticed I have some times of pests on my rocks and possibly even on my corals. I’m thinking of dipping all my corals, but I’m assuming the pests would still be on the rocks, so how can I go about treating everything? Would I have to start completely over with new dry rock and sand bed? Or do I just have to deal with it at this point? I was thinking if it’s possible to dip all the corals along with the rocks, but not sure if that is possible or would have a negative effect in the long run. Any advise is greatly appreciated!

 

[Jeffcb]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!!!

 

[tharbin]

Welcome to R2R!

Don't look at them as pests. They are not. There are some things that get in our tanks that can cause problems because they feed on things we're trying to keep or because they can get to plaque concentrations in a small eco system but a reef tank is not a sterile environment with just those life forms you introduced and I can assure you that having a diverse eco system will be MUCH easier to care for. What I see in your tank for pests, I wish were in my tank. I started this tank with dry rock and it is a constant balancing act until it gets more bio-diversity.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Hey everyone,
So I started out in the reef hobby very careless as I wasn’t too sure if I’d enjoy it and I tried to do this on a budget. Fast forward 8 months in, I never quarantined anything, fish or corals. I had a ich breakout and I really enjoy the hobby so I want to do it right this time. Im currently going fallow and have my 6 fishes in quarantine, but I’ve noticed I have some times of pests on my rocks and possibly even on my corals. I’m thinking of dipping all my corals, but I’m assuming the pests would still be on the rocks, so how can I go about treating everything? Would I have to start completely over with new dry rock and sand bed? Or do I just have to deal with it at this point? I was thinking if it’s possible to dip all the corals along with the rocks, but not sure if that is possible or would have a negative effect in the long run. Any advise is greatly appreciated!

Welcome! Glad you joined. Hoping you refrain from going nuclear in reaction to what happened. Like much in this hobby, treat it as a learning item and sounds like you already plan on going/being better going forward. Be glad it wasn't so much worse (pest or disease) and expect to just live with it. Healthy fish can fight off ich so IF it reappears just try to keep them well fed and quality stable water parameters. Ich got into my main tank and reappears every blue moon, but I'm trying to have my fish so healthy that if they had a quality partner then they would breed (and my clownfish are breeding despite ich and other 'issues' in tank (that I'm working to minimize))

'Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can" - Arthur Ashe, tennis player

Have you considered starting your build thread? I found its a great place to document my tank's evolution for myself. I started tank first then joined, so I'm still finding myself going back collecting pictures & updating historically as well as current state. Once you create your first post in your thread and link it to your account, they will give you build badge (look left, under my ID)

This is a good reference book type online article I still review:

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

This article was sponsored by @MarineDepot at www.marinedepot.com. Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean, but it is no...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[Manny’s Reef]

Welcome to R2R. Glad to have you here.