Pix & ID: Critters that come in your rocks: the good and the bad.

[anthonys51]

I dont have a picture. but looks like little anemone. see like 6 long clear things with a green little dot in the middle, also there is 2 of them look to have a hard bottom thing attached to the rock. thing is so small cant take a picture

[cst3373]

HELP!!! Is this a bad or good isopod

[sg_halvorsen]

Sorry for the bad picture. But what is this? Good or bad? I've seen a few in my tank. They move around like jelly fish. It's the thing just bellow the polyps. Kind of looks like a jelly too.

(Edit: circled it and zoomed in. Still a bad picture tho!)

[alexander_ktn]

Originally Posted by sg_halvorsen

Sorry for the bad picture. But what is this? Good or bad? I've seen a few in my tank. They move around like jelly fish. It's the thing just bellow the polyps. Kind of looks like a jelly too.

(Edit: circled it and zoomed in. Still a bad picture tho!)

It's really hard to see in the picture, but it might well be a jellyfish - Nausithoe sp. comes to mind as species that occasionally pop up in tanks (there are polyps somewhere on the live rock that strobulate into jellies). They are generally considered harmless.

[alexander_ktn]

Originally Posted by cst3373

HELP!!! Is this a bad or good isopod

I can't really say, since I am no expert in isopod identification (they are definitely not the "classical" white and super bad cirolanid isopods), but they seem rather big, so I'd probably discard them (or keep them in a nano tank) for fear of them munching on (sessile) livestock in the display tank if there isn't enough other food available.

[alexander_ktn]

Originally Posted by anthonys51

I dont have a picture. but looks like little anemone. see like 6 long clear things with a green little dot in the middle, also there is 2 of them look to have a hard bottom thing attached to the rock. thing is so small cant take a picture

Hard to say without a picture, but the 6 tentacles per polyp (as opposed to a number divisible by 8) suggests a hexacorallian - i.e. an anemone or a scleractinian (if it has a calcium skeleton).

[anthonys51]

i will try to take a picture. but they are really really tiny . they do have a green dot in the center. might have 8 tentacles. will double count it. yes it has a calcium shell . there are 2 of them. so i will assume since it has a calcium shell its should be a pest and move. so it shouldnt be a problem or a pest . is that correct

[alexander_ktn]

Originally Posted by anthonys51

so i will assume since it has a calcium shell its should be a pest and move. so it shouldnt be a problem or a pest . is that correct

Yes, if it has a calcium skeleton it should not grow fast enough to become a pest quickly, no matter what it is.

And a photo will be good.

Cheers, Alex

[anthonys51]

. They are so tiny. I can't really take a picture

[alexander_ktn]

Thanks, but I can't say more than before the picture...

[anthonys51]

thanks for all the help. yes its 100 percent in a calcium shell. when and if it gets bigger or more form i will updates thanks

[Sugar Magnolia]

Hidden cup coral maybe? Phyllangia americana.

[liverock]

Originally Posted by Sugar Magnolia

Hidden cup coral maybe? Phyllangia americana.

is what I thought....but the picture is tough to make out...but if the rock came from Florida...is most likely so....

[spcnz]

What is the pink thing on my live rock?

[worm5406]

With out seeing it better, looks like GSP (green star polyps) mine look like that when retracted.

[Sugar Magnolia]

Originally Posted by spcnz

What is the pink thing on my live rock?

Foraminiferan. Harmless.

[AmberLee]

What kind of worm swims, very quickly, all around a tank, by wriggling it's entire body furiously?

[alexander_ktn]

Originally Posted by AmberLee

What kind of worm swims, very quickly, all around a tank, by wriggling it's entire body furiously?

The part of the worm that wants to procreate - I'd guess it's an epitoke, a way of sexual reproduction for some worms.

[AmberLee]

Originally Posted by alexander_ktn

The part of the worm that wants to procreate - I'd guess it's an epitoke, a way of sexual reproduction for some worms.

Thanks!!
It's freaking me out a little haha

[alexander_ktn]

Best not to apply human concepts onto animal behavior (easier said than done, though) - saves you from getting freaked out...

[AmberLee]

Originally Posted by alexander_ktn

Best not to apply human concepts onto animal behavior (easier said than done, though) - saves you from getting freaked out...

Freaking me out in a good way, discovering some strange life moving in a strange way= kinda awesome but weird

My favourite part of my tank, all this random life I keep finding.

[alexander_ktn]

Originally Posted by AmberLee

Freaking me out in a good way, discovering some strange life moving in a strange way= kinda awesome but weird

My favourite part of my tank, all this random life I keep finding.

Ah, I misunderstood then - good!

And yes, all the stuff "simply appearing" in our tanks is definitely one of the great things in this hobby. If you have access to a microscope: it's incredible how much stuff can swim around in optically clear water or be found between grains of sand - definitely worth a look, too.

[AmberLee]

Originally Posted by alexander_ktn

Ah, I misunderstood then - good!

And yes, all the stuff "simply appearing" in our tanks is definitely one of the great things in this hobby. If you have access to a microscope: it's incredible how much stuff can swim around in optically clear water or be found between grains of sand - definitely worth a look, too.

Unfortunately no microscope! Would be pretty cool though.

[AmberLee]

And another thing (proof I spend way too ,much time staring at my tank)



This is in my QT, had rock in there at one stage but recently took it out. Will be putting my first fish into QT tomorrow so please let me know if this thing is a bad guy!

[alexander_ktn]

It's an isopod - most are harmless but a few genera can be predatory or fish parasites. Here's a good article on them: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/rs/