it's my week for murdering small creatures...

Sk8r · 05/26/2006, 03:19 PM

First, it's the asterina irregular starfish gnawing my coralline---I'd let it have coralline forever, but rumor advises me they go for coral, especially sps. I didn't wait to see that one proven. A modeler's tweezers got it on the second day of hunting. That was actually a relief, since I'd actually rescued it from waste water and dumped it in when I set up the tank...since learned better than that move.

Today it was a small greyish thing that looked for all the world like a small crab, sitting atop my montipora digitata and noshing down on the growth end. Back goes the ladder and the tweezers. Nabbed it. It looked for all the world like a squat grey crab, but it turned out to be gelatinous. I can't figure what it is. It remains kind of roundish. I know flatworms---Lord knows, I was a bottlewasher for the original planaria experiment---and it didn't have the characteristic of those. It was stickily gelatinous. Nudi, maybe, but I haven't added any specimen in a month or more, and it was about the size of a matchhead and round. No pix: my lens doesn't do macro well.

I hate killing things I can't identify. I'd so much rather do it with a clear grudge, but I don't believe that creature was up there cultivating digitata.

Any ideas on id?

05/26/2006, 03:19 PM	#1
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	it's my week for murdering small creatures... First, it's the asterina irregular starfish gnawing my coralline---I'd let it have coralline forever, but rumor advises me they go for coral, especially sps. I didn't wait to see that one proven. A modeler's tweezers got it on the second day of hunting. That was actually a relief, since I'd actually rescued it from waste water and dumped it in when I set up the tank...since learned better than that move. Today it was a small greyish thing that looked for all the world like a small crab, sitting atop my montipora digitata and noshing down on the growth end. Back goes the ladder and the tweezers. Nabbed it. It looked for all the world like a squat grey crab, but it turned out to be gelatinous. I can't figure what it is. It remains kind of roundish. I know flatworms---Lord knows, I was a bottlewasher for the original planaria experiment---and it didn't have the characteristic of those. It was stickily gelatinous. Nudi, maybe, but I haven't added any specimen in a month or more, and it was about the size of a matchhead and round. No pix: my lens doesn't do macro well. I hate killing things I can't identify. I'd so much rather do it with a clear grudge, but I don't believe that creature was up there cultivating digitata. Any ideas on id? __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.