Live Rock Hitchhikers - Which ones are bad news?

[scolley]

As a newbie, I know I've got to start acquiring live rock. And I'm happy to search around for the "perfect" pieces until I have enough.

It's clear that certain things that often come with live rock are bad for a tank. So as I look at a tank with live rock I for sale, what things - from the following list of live rock hitchhikers - would be signs that I should stay AWAY from rock in that tank, if I found it in the tank or on the rock?

Please don't restrict yourselves to this list. If something is left out, please say so!

• Amphipods (Order Amphipoda)
• Anemones (Phylum Cnidaria)
• Barnacles (Class Cirripedia)
• Boring clams (Class Bivalvia)
• Bristleworms (Phylum Annelida)
• Brittle stars (Class Ophiuroidea)
• Brown algae (Division Phaeophyta)
• Bryozoans or moss animals (Phylum Bryozoa)
• Chitons (Class Polyplacophora)
• Copepods (Order Copepoda)
• Coralline (calcareous red) algae (Division Rhodophyta)
• Corals (Phylum Cnidaria)
• Crabs (Phylum Arthropoda)
• Flatworms (Phylum Platyhelminthes)
• Foraminiferans (Phylum Protozoa)
• Green macroalgae (Division Chlorophyta)
• Hydroids (Order Hydroida)
• Limpets (Class Gastropoda)
• Mantis shrimps (Order Stomatopoda)
• Nudibranchs (Subclass Opisthobranchia)
• Oysters (Class Bivalvia)
• Peanut worms (Phylum Sipuncula)
• Sea hares (Subclass Opisthobranchia)
• Sea stars (Class Asteroidea)
• Sea urchins (Class Echinoidea)
• Snails (Class Gastropoda)
• Snapping or pistol shrimps (Alpheus spp.)
• Sponges (Phylum Porifera)
• Terebellid Worms (Class Polychaeta)
• Tubeworms (Families Serpulidae and Sabellidae)
• Tunicates or sea squirts (Class Ascidiacea)
• Zoanthids (Phylum Cnidaria)

Thanks!

PS - That list is from "The New Marine Aquarium" by Michael S. Paletta

[commabc]

pretty much all are good to a certian degree. they will all serve some purpose that can be helpful, but they can also be a nussiance in certian set ups. aiptaisa is no good!

[kook1e]

[QUOTE]

• Amphipods (Order Amphipoda)
• Bristleworms (Phylum Annelida)
• Brittle stars (Class Ophiuroidea)
• Chitons (Class Polyplacophora)
• Copepods (Order Copepoda)
• Coralline (calcareous red) algae (Division Rhodophyta)
• Corals (Phylum Cnidaria)
• Crabs (Phylum Arthropoda)
• Limpets (Class Gastropoda)
• Sea urchins (Class Echinoidea)
• Snails (Class Gastropoda)
• Sponges (Phylum Porifera)
• Zoanthids (Phylum Cnidaria)

In my mind all these are a good find for LR hitchhikers! except for the crabs.. "some crabs" are ok. like the Emerald Crab.

[tipmoff]

I agree with the 2 comments above. Don;t worry too much at this point about good and bad hitchhikers. If you can get rid of the aptasia before putting the rock in the tank that would help you. The others are for the most part ok. It all depends on what you have in there or are going to be putting in there. Mantis Shrimps in an agressive FO tank are great. If you want crabs and other inverts to stay alive it would be bad.
There are always ways to remove items you don't want ... of course some are much easirer than others : )

[Solstice]

Scolley as in The Big Kahuna Scolley?

Edit: Ah, I just checked out your profile. It is you!



RCers: keep an eye out for his build thread. If his amazing discus tank is any indication this will be a high tech wonder tank that'll make most of us drool.

[lkc]

Hairy crabs are super cute when they're babies. Then they grow in couple of months and eat all your expensive fish. If you find them, throw them in the sump - or over the back fence - whichever works for you.

[KarlBob]

Mantis shrimp. If you find one, and you can catch it, you'll have a choice: Give it its own tank, or give it to someone else.

[Gooch79]

Originally posted by Solstice
Scolley as in The Big Kahuna Scolley?

Edit: Ah, I just checked out your profile. It is you!



RCers: keep an eye out for his build thread. If his amazing discus tank is any indication this will be a high tech wonder tank that'll make most of us drool.

He's cooking up something good.

[scolley]

Solstice! Well I guess the cat's outta the bag now! Always good to find my fellow techies in new places! Thanks for the shout-out.

And Brett! Good to hear from one of my new Aquarium Reef Keepers of Southwest Connecticut club buddies! But as for good... well as the Brits say, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating." How true.

And truth be told, this is going to be my first reef tank, and just to level set expectations, here's a pic of my first planted tank...



Pretty scary huh? Let's hope I've learned something, and the first reef shots come out at least a little better.


I DO appreciate all the responses. Though I must admit a little surprise. For instance, I figured I'd be told things like...

• Don't touch a rock in a tank with bristleworms
• If there's bubble algae in there anywhere, find your rocks elsewhere.

Though I DO appreciate the advice about the crabs, mantis shrimp, and the aptasia. What I don't understand about those things, is that if I find them in the tank with the rock... but not on the rock in question, should I still avoid the rock?

Thanks in advance!

[kook1e]

yes. IMO

[ILoveReefer]

Here's a link you may find helpful.
http://www.xtalworld.com/Aquarium/hitchfaq.htm

[scolley]

Fantastic link! Thank you!

I peeled though the link and pulled out the list of "bad", or possibly bad live rock hitchhikers. The apparent problems the bad ones cause range from nuisance, to eating a little coral, to being so bad you may need to tear down your tank.

• AIPTASIA
• VERMITID SNAILS, not listed as "bad", but can irritate corals
• MAJANO ANEMONES
• COLONIAL HYDROIDS
• DIGITATE HYDROIDS
• ISOPODS
• FLATWORMS, bad if they are the red variety
• MANTIS SHRIMP
• LIMPETS, some bad, some not
• ASTERINA STARS, may be the kind that eat coral - can't know until you see them try, or not
• PYRAMID SNAILS
• SUNDIAL SNAILS, if you have zoanthids
• AEOLID NUDIBRANCHS, if you have zoanthids
• HAIRY CRABS
• SEA SPIDERS
• URCHINS, listed at "good" but eats corralline algae
• VALONIA AKA BUBBLE ALGAE
• HAIR ALGAE
• BRYOPSIS
• CAULERPA, not necessarily bad, but can be
• DIATOMS
• DINOFLAGELLATES
• CYANOBACTERIA

Thanks for the great link! Due to its great descriptions and pictures, I'm going to bookmark that as a permanent reference.

[commabc]

is colley your last name? mine is.

[Gooch79]

Bristleworms are pretty much like a member of your CUC so having them as hitchers isnt all that bad unless they get huge.

Asterina Stars is a subject where the jury is still out on that.

Vermetid Snails are more annoying than anything bad really. I have them all throughout my rocks every once in a while I see one of their mucus nets flowing through my water and eventually making it's way into my overflow.

[mitziem]

When you mention "hairy crabs" are you refering to the red legged ones? I know i have one in my tank to help with the aiptasia (which it wouldnt touch until it had Aiptasia X on it) and now its all gone) and i notice my snail poplution decreasing and him eating them. He is cute and fun to watch in the tank, but if he will be eating fish when i put them in there...then might be time to get rid of him. (MT is fishless due to ICH right now) Thus far I had in tank with him a Sweetlips and 2 clowns and he didnt bother them really. Any input is appreciated.

[scolley]

Originally posted by commabc
is colley your last name? mine is.

Mine too pal! Pleased to meet your acquaintance. Great name too!


Brett - I'm a newbie that hasn't used quite used up their "Stupid Question Quotient", so I've gotta ask... What's a CUC?

[KarlBob]

In case Brett's not around, I'll jump in and answer: Clean Up Crew. They're the critters who eat leftover food, dead fish that disappear into places where you can't find them, and (hopefully) some bad algae. CUCs almost always include snails of various types, and can include things like hermit crabs, emerald crabs, sea cucumbers, and sand-sifting starfish.

There are people out there, by the way, who will tell you not to get several of these critters. Some hermit crabs take a liking to fresh, shiny shells that still have snails in them, so they help themselves to a meal and a new home at the same time. Various species have different reputations for snail (and even fish) killing, but some reef-keepers just avoid hermit crabs (or all crabs) completely.

Emerald crabs may eat bubble algae (some do, some don't), and when they get big enough, some may try to eat fish, too. Sea cucumbers have a reputation for releasing all kinds of toxins when they die and begin to decay in the tank. Some people have had them die and lost nothing, others have had full tank crashes that they blamed on dead cucumbers. Sand-sifting stars are not recommended more for their sake than yours. In a new tank they'll sift the sand like crazy, find everything in it that they can eat, then starve to death. It takes a big, well-established tank to keep them alive.

Edit: As Gooch79 said, bristleworms are most often regarded as beneficial members of the CUC. Although many bristleworms use defensive bristles, most of their stings are not as painful as the ones called fireworms. Some people are sensitive to the bristles of the most common type, and some develop a sensitivity after repeated stings. It's a good reason to wear gloves while messing around in the tank, but not a good reason to kill every bristleworm you see. Even when they get huge, they're not known to kill fish. They'll definitely eat dead fish, which might be why they're sometimes accused of being fish-killers.

[Korrine]

http://www.xtalworld.com/Aquarium/hitchfaq.htm

I kinda liked this. It has pictures too.

[scolley]

Now THAT is some useful information! Thanks KarlBob!

[KarlBob]

You're welcome.