I have WAY TOO MANY Amphipods and I have a Mandarin but i dont think it's enough. My Amphipods like to snack on my Zoas and I need it to stop! My LFS owner whom I trust a lot and have had no problems with told me a Hoeven's Wrasse/ Melanarous Wrasse would do the trick and they're reef safe. Are there any other fish that might be good for my situation? Thanks!
Reef Safe Amphipod Killer
- Thread starter ferni
- Start date
coralmadness
Member
Get another mandarin
ROFL! I'm gonna have to SAVE that one!! :LOL:
I'm with sas here. You want to address WHY they are there not that they are there. If you don't solve the problem it will have other and probably more severe symptoms.
chipmunkofdoom2
Well-Known Member
1. Mandarins don't eat amphipods, at least the larger species that look like tiny shrimp. They eat copepods, which are almost invisible to the naked eye. They're small white dots.
2. Your amphipods are most certainly not eating your zoas. If your zoas are closed up and the amphipods are nearby, it is coincidence and nothing more.
As sas said, amphipods eat dead things (dead fish, leftover food, dead corals, etc). They are waaay to small to bring down anything already living. That, and zoas contain one of the most powerful toxins known to mankind. Your amphipods are not eating your zoas.
As a final note, the idea of dealing with a natural problem (too many amphipods) with a natural solution (an animal from the reef to eat them) sounds good in practice, but what we have is about as far from "natural" as you can get it. We dump a chemical salt cocktail into water to make what passes for real seawater, we have a remarkably less diverse amount of life than is in a reef, and the nutrients are out of control in most tanks (compared to the ocean). Adding a fish to correct a problem makes more problems. Once the amphipods are in check, your wrasse begins to starve, or loses a healthy natural food source. Neither is good. Reduce feeding and know that amphipods don't eat healthy, living corals and you'll be just fine.
2. Your amphipods are most certainly not eating your zoas. If your zoas are closed up and the amphipods are nearby, it is coincidence and nothing more.
As sas said, amphipods eat dead things (dead fish, leftover food, dead corals, etc). They are waaay to small to bring down anything already living. That, and zoas contain one of the most powerful toxins known to mankind. Your amphipods are not eating your zoas.
As a final note, the idea of dealing with a natural problem (too many amphipods) with a natural solution (an animal from the reef to eat them) sounds good in practice, but what we have is about as far from "natural" as you can get it. We dump a chemical salt cocktail into water to make what passes for real seawater, we have a remarkably less diverse amount of life than is in a reef, and the nutrients are out of control in most tanks (compared to the ocean). Adding a fish to correct a problem makes more problems. Once the amphipods are in check, your wrasse begins to starve, or loses a healthy natural food source. Neither is good. Reduce feeding and know that amphipods don't eat healthy, living corals and you'll be just fine.
It's a 90 gallon with 2 inch sand bed. 30 gallon sump. You have a good point Chimpmunk, but I'm not saying the amphipods eat the zoas. I know they have toxins, but I think it's more than just a coincidence that some are looking a little weird. I've read several threads where they explain that amphipods affect zoa's health. I do my best to keep all my parameters in check and as close to the ocean as possible. From my understanding, the LFS owner told me its eating everything and I believe it because he's had it for a week and a half and he's doing great. He won't starve out because I feed my fish mysis every night and pellets once a day Thanks for the input!
Thanks for the input!