OH NO! ! ! I may need some help guys

jeepjon · 02-14-2004, 11:56 PM

I brought home my valentine's day present that my girlfriend got me from the LFS...and low and behold, it's a nice tricolor frag! I placed it in the bottom of the tank to get used to the tank, and then went out for the day. I got back and turned the lights on for a second to look at the new coral. I noticed some small yellow dots on the coral. I looked more closely, and they started moving around. They are INCREDIBLY tiny...they look like pods of some sort, but I'm worried they're a parasite. They are small yellow bugs about the size of the tip of a needle...barely noticeable unless on close inspection. Are they bad? Are they going to spread to my other corals?

Doug1 · 02-15-2004, 12:17 AM

Any chance of a magnified view? Could be one of several things

jeepjon · 02-15-2004, 12:19 AM

well...I don't have a good digital camera. They appear to be all yellow, clearly visible with the naked eye....maybe about 1/10 of a mm long. They move quickly...I could try for a pic with my digital camera, but I know the picture won't come out very well because it doesn't do macro.

jeepjon · 02-15-2004, 12:21 AM

Are they most likely detrimental to the coral?

Geoff · 02-15-2004, 10:01 AM

there are "red bugs" that are still being discussed that could be what you are talking about. i do not know why yours are yellow and not red. your description sounds just like them though. no one can decide whether or not they are bad or not. i have some in my system. they only seem to stick to a couple of corals. some feel that they are only attacking corals that are not healthy.

i would just keep an eye on them. look and see if there is any bleaching around the areas where the bugs are. if there is you might want to try moving it to a lower light area and see if that helps. it seems to help with one of my corals.

G~

jeepjon · 02-15-2004, 11:49 AM

Thanks for the intel...it's on the ground, I'm acclimating it to my lights right now.
Geoff-you mentioned lowering the light levels...wouldn't that be contrary to the idea of helping the coral? My first reaction would be that making the coral the healthiest it could would help the problem (if they're parasitic)...of course, I don't know if corals have an actual immune system-I don't think so. Anyway, thanks for the advice, I'll keep you guys posted and I might ask for further advice. Thanks for the help