SPS Nightmare- Pycnogonids

Hey all,

I am currently dealing with an infestation of Pycnogonids. For those who have not heard of these they are sea spiders and in my case Acropora eating spiders. They eat the flesh of acros and will cause them to STN. You can identify them by looking in the tank at night with a flashlight.

Here is a photo I took of the spiders on a frag i used to have



I have found them quite difficult to get rid of due to a variety of factors that I have observed over the past month or so. They seem to have to have a quick life cycle reproducing within a few days of hatching. They are nocturnal and only come out to feed on my sps at night and hide in the rocks during the day. Their rarity has lead to a lack of information on treatments.

I have been dipping weekly using revive, bayer or iodine. All seem to work on them fine but its the fact that they hide during the day that makes it difficult. Im going to have to do my dips in the middle of the night probably twice a week if i am going to be successful. Which is a challenge because I work full time. I also have added a melanurus wrasse and am considering also adding a six line wrasse.

 

That's creepy. Sounds like the only way to get rid of them is to move cells (after a dip) into HT, then treat your DT. There could be eggs constantly hatching.

 

Yikes. That's hideous. This is the first I've heard of them. Does Sentinel work on them like it does Redbugs?

 

Ooooo I think they are way cool. Super nice images.

I think Kevin is spot on Sentinel would probably do the job, they are an Arthropods.

 

^^^^ same idea I was thinking

That picture is sick by the way. Did you dip all your corals when you first got them?

 

Thanks for the compliments on the photo. For anyone interested in taking a shot at night like this its fairly simple. I set my camera up on a tripod with a macro lens. I focused the camera with the lights in the room on so I could see what i was doing. Then i setup a remote flash perpendicular to the camera and played with the power of the flash until I got the exposure just right.

I am hesitant to try a full tank treatment at this time. Hopefully regular dips will be able to manage the infestation. If it gets worse I'll setup a quarantine tank.

New reef, I was only dipping corals if I felt suspicious

now i dip everything.

 

Wow! Amazing image.

I have never dealt with these guys... or heard of them for that matter. Hope the Sentinal works for you.

 

Ditto- Awesome Photo!
I hope you get rid of them, but it seems that dipping w/o them being on it wouldn't have much, if any effect on the spiders in hiding during the dip.
I dunno- certainly no expert on any of this though.

Keep up posted

 

Sorry for your predicament. I also think this is the coolest thread in a super long time! Sea Spiders are creepy. I'd pull you hermits and try sentinel because your wrasse won't hunt at night. Chance of ending this infestation while there is no predation and a ready food supply is low.

 

+1 on the sentinel treatment because if they are even closer related to the spider they will definately have a chitin exoskeleton and that is what the interceptor interrupts the synthesis of... i.e. kills anything with an exoskeleton... its worth a shot at this point....

On a side note once you get rid of them you will be so pumped.. I had an issue over the last 8 months constantly loosing acros one after anotehr never able to figure out what it was... thought stray current, paint chips from screen top frame, replaced everything electrical in the tank and screen tops many 50% water changes, thought it was a sinularia releasing toxins, got rid of that... then as a last ditch effort put up t-5's and replaced the LED for a month and Boom ... "knock on wood" all new pieces are doing great! No way to explain how relieving and exciting it is to finally be able to keep acros!!!!!!! I was so bummed when I was pretty much to the point that i wouldnt be able to keep them all it made me do is want them even more... I can finally laugh about it now....