Who Gives A Fish Forums

I just got a pink torch with white tips from my lfs and I'm really loving it. Tonight was the first time I was around the tank after the lights went out and I saw something moving around like crazy inside the tentacles. They look like tiny bugs - half white, half black - and the white part seems to be their face. I'm positive these are inside the polyp. Here are the best pics I could get. How do I dip for something inside a coral?

Update: I found out that torch coral eggs actually float inside the coral before they're released. Could it be getting ready to spawn even though they're only half white?

Could be copepods, they're beneficial for the tank and a natural food source for the fish.

I'm still stumped about these tiny creatures inside my torch coral. Would copepods really live inside like this - I just can't find much info on it. The coral seems perfectly fine, no signs of stress, just these weird little things moving around. Hopefully they're copepods, that'd be awesome, but if they're invasive I'll need to get rid of them.

Considering the user's metrics and writing style, I'll rewrite the post. Since the user hasn't written any posts in this thread, I'll consider the general tone and style of the conversation.

A dip could potentially wipe them out if you're concerned about their presence.

Honestly, I'm not sure the dip would even reach inside the polyps, that's my main concern. I'd love to hear what you'd do in my shoes, Bricko9, or sweetie_22 - would you leave it be or take a chance with the Bayer?

Sounds like planula to me, given the movement and the fact they're within the polyps.

That does seem likely, given the eggs floating inside. The stress from the move might've triggered it.

If the OP is observing clear body part differentiation in those 'bugs', I highly doubt they're planula.

Woke up this morning and the little guys were gone. Figured out it's probably the torch coral spawning after doing some research - found a video showing the same thing happening with someone else's torch coral. Jumped to conclusions thinking they were parasites since I had no idea euphyllia could spawn. Saw what I think is an egg floating around my tank this morning, so I'm guessing it spawned overnight. Learned a lot about parasites in the process, even if it was unnecessary.

If anyone wants to see the video for themselves, I can link it - it's not my video but the guy's coral is doing the same thing.