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

[cloak]

Originally Posted by jock

Wow its amazing what grows in a Reef Can you please help me ID the following & more importantly whether they are harmless or need dealt with:
1. algae.jpg - what is this algae you can see on edge of rock & who best gets rid? It is like a film over quite a few rocks now
2. cocoons.jpg - what are these 'cocoon' like things?
3. snail.jpg - this is weird looking snail. Possibly what they're referring to in post above? Anyone got a name so I can research.
4. unknown.jpg - hmmm ha my best guess would be a sponge? I have no idea. Also you can see a couple of small white things sticking out right next to the pinkish 'sponge' which is same as pic worm.jpg.
5. worm.jpg - as I said above this is actually the exact same area (without a light shining on it, its not really that dark just slightly shaded but my camera phone is crap) but you can see one of the small white things has stretched right out & is reaching/feeding?? on the substrate. There are around 4 or 5 of these in that area.
6. reached my limit for this post 1 left that i will post in a minute.

Thanks

I think the first picture is some type of bacteria, as opposed to algae. I've seen it come and go in my tanks over the years without any problems. The second picture is of scypha sponges, aka "pineapple" sponges. The third is a stomatella snail. (harmless) I think the fourth is a tunicate of some sort. The fifth picture, peanut worm perhaps? (harmless) HTH.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-04/rs/index.php

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rs/index.php

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-03/rs/index.php

http://www.lionfishlair.com/hitchhiker/hitchhiker.shtml

[cloak]

Originally Posted by jock

Googled stomatella snail & looks really like snail I see in my tank so think I can mark that down as harmless & remove from list.

Last pic i couldnt upload on last post

white things.jpg - These 'white things' are on a few of my snails & are all over my internal filter. Should I be worried?

THanks

Spirorbid worms. No worries.

[cloak]

Originally Posted by ReeferKimberly

ed84g that is an urchin..which you probly already knew....someone else maybe will know what kind.

Hey so I found this guy last night. Could not get a good pic so I drew him. This is just a little bigger than his actual size (about 2.5 inches long, 1.5 inch wide). It has the consistency of a snail, with NO shell of any sort. He must be nocturnal and he moved pretty quick (out of site before I could get the camera). Unfortunately I did not note if he had eyes or a mouth or what they looked like. He was completely flat. Any idea? Looked like this ->

(he was not completely oval shaped but that was the closest shape to him. Don't mind my awesome paint skills)

He was grey with white spots, yanno, if that isn't obvious :/

Sounds like a flatworm of some sort. Some of them are good, some are bad. I think they're more of an eye sore than anything else, but that's just me.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/4/aafeature2

http://www.lionfishlair.com/hitchhiker/hitchhiker.shtml

HTH.

[SushiGirl]

I'm laid up & on my phone, so I can't see any of the pics that are posted as thumbnails. Thanks for stepping in, Cloak.

To the guy with the algae, I'd post it in the algae forum.

Kimberly, look up snail-eating polyclad flatworm.

[ReeferKimberly]

Originally Posted by SushiGirl

Kimberly, look up snail-eating polyclad flatworm.

Geez girl you are GOOD. Yep that's him. Big huh :/

Problem is I have only seen him once ever and I doubt I will again for probly a long time.

So, do they eat most snail? I only have a turbo and a stomatella I actually care about. Do they just eat small ones? I would guess the turbo to be safe. I have other small species of snail and the stom. Should I expect to lose them to this monster? I actually kind of like the worm, he is pretty cool looking and if he only eats small snails I won't mind...but if he can somehow eat a turbo he might be toast if I can ever find him again....

I guess it's not the end of the world if he even eats turbo (I am telling myself this because I highly doubt I will ever be able to catch him)

[SushiGirl]

He'll eat the turbo, and any snail or clam.

[ReeferKimberly]

Originally Posted by SushiGirl

He'll eat the turbo, and any snail or clam.

Sounds like a real SOB! Well, good thing I only have one turbo and no other purchased snails. Also no purchased clams....though a couple hitchhikers...the kind that blend into the rock, they are kind of cool, may as well bid them goodbye.

Think he would eat a scallop? I would not be happy if he ate my flame scallop.

I have been reading on how to catch them, doesn't seem to be any reliable mainstream method, just lots of ideas. I just re-arranged everything yesterday so I don't plan on even attempting to find him. I will just be happy this is a small tank and a lack of snails won't be the end of the world.....he just better not eat my scallop!

Thank you

[jock]

Thanks folks! Cheers for links cloak. Yeah I realise algae isn't really a hitchhiker, will post in right area

[SushiGirl]

Well, it hitchhikes in, but I'm only good with the basic ones so no specific ID on it. So many look alike or are related you're better off with the experts over there. Heck, I have a macro that showed up in my tank i haven't ID'd yet LOL.

[Poisonpink]

Found this growing near my mushroom

[SushiGirl]

OK, I limped out to the real computer.

jock:
1. not sure but I had the same thing for a while. I agree with cloak that mine seemed bacterial.
2. pineapple sponges, harmless.
3. Stomatella, good find.
4. Tunicate, harmless.
5. If just 2 strands then spionid worm, harmless. If more, could be hair worm, also harmless.
6. Spirorbid featherdusters, harmless.

JYoung, I can't open your 06/16/2012, 10:58 PM pic, it says it has errors.

Poison, almost looks like some kind of xenia or other coral polyp.

[ArrowCrab]

Anyone help ID these things I found on my new live rocks?
I think the first is aiptasia, theres only 2 or three of those sprouts so my peppermint shrimp should have no problem cleaning up right?
Second photo is really hard to see, but towards the bottom of the rock there are some tiny little bubble like things.
Third pic, some kind of algae or seaweed?.
Fourth, a small growth sideways off the rock, some kind of coral?.
And fifth I have no idea. I couldn't get a very good picture at all but its just this white little cushy thing with a cone like growth shooting out. I can post some more pics of it but honestly they all came out crap.

[ArrowCrab]

Don't think the pics on my previous post are visible.



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[cloak]

Originally Posted by ArrowCrab

Anyone help ID these things I found on my new live rocks?
I think the first is aiptasia, theres only 2 or three of those sprouts so my peppermint shrimp should have no problem cleaning up right?
Second photo is really hard to see, but towards the bottom of the rock there are some tiny little bubble like things.
Third pic, some kind of algae or seaweed?.
Fourth, a small growth sideways off the rock, some kind of coral?.
And fifth I have no idea. I couldn't get a very good picture at all but its just this white little cushy thing with a cone like growth shooting out. I can post some more pics of it but honestly they all came out crap.

1. Aiptasia. It's hit & miss with peppermint shrimp and these.
2. possibly a ball tipped anemone (keep an eye on it)
3. some sort of macroalgae
4. foraminiferan perhaps? (harmless)
5. some sort of sponge or tunicate (harmless)

[ed84g]

Hey guys, It seems like something new appears every day!... can anybody ID these please? they are pretty small and look like baby starfish or something!

[cloak]

Originally Posted by ed84g

Hey guys, It seems like something new appears every day!... can anybody ID these please? they are pretty small and look like baby starfish or something!

Hydroids. (medusa stage)

The population usually declines as the tank gets older. I wouldn't worry too much about them.

http://www.reefs.org/library/aquariu...97/1097_2.html

[SushiGirl]

Cloak, thanks for helping out so much.

[Master_Shake]

The picture is a little blurry, but anyone know what this is? It showed up a while back and has been creeping over a rock. Not sure how to explain it, it's like a "husk" as it is hollow. The surfaces of the outer edges are little open circles.

*Actually, looking at more pictures it may be a tunicate like I was thinking. I found some images that look closer to what I have.

[SushiGirl]

Maybe colonial tunicates?

[Master_Shake]

Originally Posted by SushiGirl

Maybe colonial tunicates?

Thank you, I do believe that is it. I didn't realize just how varied they were but found a couple similiar photos. I think I also have a different type as well which I had originally assumed were yellow sponges.

[SushiGirl]

Yeah, there is a huge variety of them for sure.

[mlott132]

Not sure what this thing is. Tried to take a good pic of it and this was the best I could do.


Looks like a fuzzy pod. I also noticed super tiny white critters moving around the same rock this is on. They are about the size of a pin head. Any ideas?

[SushiGirl]

Can't tell from that pic, did you look through the rest of this thread to see if someone else posted the same thing? The tiny things are pods, probably copepods or isopods.

[ArrowCrab]

Tell me this isn't a eunicid worm. Pretty much everything I've read/seen confirms it.
Dorsal side is a dull orange/beige color with a milky, cloudy ventral side that has a sheen to it. It also has a white horizontal band near head. All my other bristleworms are shorter, flatter, and a brighter orange color. He has 5 thin antenna, 3 long and 2 shorter. This guy retracts into his hole super fast, which by the way, he seems to have fortified with a glass pebble, a hermit molt, and a chaeto strand all held together with some mucus. Most disturbingly, I saw him extend a good 2 inches out of his hole and open his mouth whereupon two black pincers came out and latched onto a pebble which he dragged up....

Anyways pics. He's not as scary looking as all those big black monsters I see pics of, but everything else fits.

[SushiGirl]

I'm on my phone so can't click on attached pics, bit with that description I don't need to, it is a eunicid.