little white bugs

Hello everyone! I am new to this site as well as owning a salt water tank. I am just searching for some answers about what is going on in my tank. I have little white bugs all over in the tank. I am worried if they are harmful for my fish and coral. I just recently added a live coral and I have no idea what it is called, but it was nice looking when I saw it in the tank at the store. Now after I brought it home it hasn`t opened up at all. It is attached to a live rock and has a purple tone to it and when it is open there are greenish black strands that come out of it. I wonder if the bugs have anything to do with it and would like to know what I should do. Any advice will help.

 

Hi Debbie, Welcome to 3Reef Forums!

Can you give us some more info about your tank like what size it is, type of filtration, protein skimmer, lighting, fish, live rock, etc? Also, what are your water parameters-pH, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, calcium level?
The white bugs, are they small like the size of a pin head and on your glass?
They are probably copepods and are a sign of a healthy tank and will do no harm.

 

I am sure Raven is correct on the copepods ;D
but, one thing we all learn in this hobby fairly quickly, is to learn what we are buying, what are the animal's needs, and can we provide an adequate environment.

As far as the coral, I don't think we can say if the behavior you are witnessing is normal or not. We need to know what it is

Some corals prefer high light, some low. Some thrive with direct feeding, others don't need that at all. And some require pristine water condition (such as SPS corals) or they will die while others still, could die in pristine water conditions (such as flower pot corals) because they come from lagoon areas with higher nutrient levels.

Can you post a photo of the new coral? Perhaps we could help identify it and help you with it's needs?

Oh, and Welcome to 3 Reef! Keep asking the questions and we will try to help!

 

Thank you both for the replies. I have found out that the behavior of the coral is normal. It takes about a week before it opens up once placed into a new environment. As far as my tank info I really don`t know much except that it is a 26 liter tank. Like I said I am new at this and I am living in Japan therefore the names of the coral and fish are different here. As soon as I find out the other information I will post it. Thank you again.