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

[Sugar Magnolia]

Those are hydroids. They will sting any nearby corals.

[Shanet]

I have two of these and they feed and grow, any idea what it is please.

image.jpg

[Sugar Magnolia]

Colonial tunicates. Harmless.

[justinr2k]

Originally Posted by ReeferKimberly

Any idea what kind of crab? I can tell his legs are banded. His claws do not 'appear' to be very sharp or darker tipped. Rough pic, he is very elusive. He picks algae. Seems black/very dark maroon.

(and if anyone knows what the zoas are, top right (bottom left are bleached from the LFS, so no trying to figure those out yet)...that would be a bonus ) This pic is with flash.

I have one of these guys too. Hides most of the time. I barely ever see him. When I do it's mainly a claw sticking up trying to pick algae off of the rocks like the emerald crabs do. He hasn't caused any problems for me yet. I think he was on a rock I got from a LFS.

[hray]

I got a piece of Xenia from a fellow hobbyist, and on one end of the coral skeleton where the Xenia is growing I see these two critters. The spiral, segmented shell occasionally has a tuft of short, white tentacles (?) showing. The other "glob" at the left seems to be growing.

This is quite magnified--the visible sand grains are Fiji Pink.

Thanks in advance!
Hallie

[quagmire]

The spiral shell is a vermetid snail.
Not sure about the glob. Looks like you got a free lps of some sort.

[SuperNiketas]

This white stuff is on the glass on front of my tank.

[Gingergo]

Please help! Something on mushroom (brown), on hammer and torch (pink)

image.jpg

[ReeferKimberly]

Originally Posted by Gingergo

Please help! Something on mushroom (brown), on hammer and torch (pink)

Attachment 270727

Hard to figure out what I am meant to be looking for but I might see a flatworm on one of those polyp extensions....

[Callahan88]

uploadfromtaptalk1395688949716.jpg
hurry while it's trapped is this good or bad

[JGrumbos]

Any idea? I see them swimming in the water. Tanks new just finished cycling.

thanks

http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/...AM00499-11.jpg

[JGrumbos]

[Callahan88]

Anyone know what this is

[Rob in Puyallup]

Hard telling from your photo, but it resembles a mantis shrimp.

[Callahan88]

Originally Posted by Rob in Puyallup

Hard telling from your photo, but it resembles a mantis shrimp.

That's what I was thinking

[Rob in Puyallup]

I had one years ago that made its home in the liverock he came in. Stayed small for the months that I had him, bothering no one.

[Callahan88]

Well this is the 1st time I've seen it, but I was trying to look for some of the traits for a mantis but he really didn't look like one

[apexkeeper]

I know I'm a terrible photographer but can anyone verify, is this an asterina starfish?



good or bad? I found 3 of them crawling across my glass this morning after adding a couple pieces of live rock yesterday. My first true hitchhiker!

[cloak]

It sure does look like an asterina starfish. Some people consider them to be harmless, but I remove them on sight. I don't trust them.

[SquirtCee]

This may be a funny question to ask... But how much work do these coral reefs actually take? I just took an hour and skimmed this entire thread; and as a 30 year old working two jobs trying to get ahead, with a wife and a kid on the way... this looks daunting! Is it blasphemy to say that freshwater looks less time consuming? Or if I started with some QT'd rock, or dry rock and starter piece from a known safe tank, would that be reliably safe? Orrrr, am I missing the point entirely? Is this all part of the fun and the hobby of a reef and fish?

Just asking and learning; it's my first post, but I'd love to make a step up from my freshwater setup I currently have, and I've been doing a lot of reading. It's a whole new world out here! Wow!

Name is Thomas by the way. Looks like a fun community here.

[ReeferKimberly]

They are as much work as you make them, once dialed in they can run pretty smooth.

Way more daunting than a fresh though, for sure.

And the critters, for many, are all part of the fun I would never go dry rock....but everyone is different.

It can all go by your personal taste really, as far as taking risks of bad critters and how much work you want to put into the tank. It would be as easy for me to keep a FOWLR (fish only with live rock) as it would be any fresh, but a reef becomes more difficult. But again, it all depends. A soft coral tank is easier than a hard coral tank, just as easy as a lot of the fresh tanks I kept. And it also depends what kind of fresh you are comparing....a discus or planted tank is going to be more difficult than a guppy or African cichlid tank.

[Gibsh]

I have the same bugs!

[SushiGirl]

Originally Posted by SquirtCee

This may be a funny question to ask... But how much work do these coral reefs actually take? I just took an hour and skimmed this entire thread; and as a 30 year old working two jobs trying to get ahead, with a wife and a kid on the way... this looks daunting! Is it blasphemy to say that freshwater looks less time consuming? Or if I started with some QT'd rock, or dry rock and starter piece from a known safe tank, would that be reliably safe? Orrrr, am I missing the point entirely? Is this all part of the fun and the hobby of a reef and fish?

Just asking and learning; it's my first post, but I'd love to make a step up from my freshwater setup I currently have, and I've been doing a lot of reading. It's a whole new world out here! Wow!

Name is Thomas by the way. Looks like a fun community here.

A lot of work during the 1st year, and way more money than fresh water. If you're working 2 jobs to make ends meet & have a baby on the way, I'd recommend waiting until you're more stable in the finance & time areas. Plus it's way more addictive than freshwater & you'll end up with more and/or larger tanks (more $$$ LOL) or end up scrapping the entire thing if anything bad happens & you decide you want out (that happens a lot too). You never recoup the $$ put into this hobby. Very rewarding but at a price.

[mrpergo]

well put SushiGirl..........lol

[SushiGirl]

I'm an addict, and got my boyfriend addicted. We have 3 tanks and one we're trying to afford to be able to set up!