What kind of critter is this all over my dead coral?

[BiggusDiscus]

I had this plating Montipora that didn't make it. On it I see a whole bunch of critters that I can't identify. They don't scurry like pods but more like roaches. They have antennae on the head and quite possibly the tail but am not sure about the tail. When the coral started dying they came out and consumed the expelled zooxanthellae. They don't seem to bother any of the other coral in my tank though...

I realize that the picture is a bit grainy but unfortunately this website only allows a 500k file so I had to reduce the quality.

If you'd like a better picture I'm posting a few on my gallery at my webshots website. click the www in my thread.

M

[griss]

It is really hard to tell from the picture, but these appear similiar to many of the "pods" I see from time to time in my tank. If there are the same as I have, they are harmless and are preyed on by fish.

George

[SaltwaterSensei]

imo, it looks like alot of amphipods crawling all over the coral. I have alot of them too and they do the same; crawl all over my corals. They do no harm though.

I'm still not 100% sure but thats what it looks like in the picture.

[jacksonpt]

I concur. They look to be amphipods. I've got tons of them in my 75g tank.

[BiggusDiscus]

Thanks for the quick response. It must be one of the many different amphipod species because it body is shaped differently. I got a closer look and it appears that the tail is rounded with not antennae. This coral must really taste good because they're all over it.

[littleprince]

I only find pods over corals like that when they are dead, or decaying.