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

[SushiGirl]

Originally Posted by Master_Shake

What about sea spiders? I have one that keeps getting sucked up in the filter. It lost a leg but has still been surviving and growing.

I would remove it next time you see it if you're planning on keeping corals.

Sea Spiders, Pycnogonida

[FishheadJoe]

Do hydroids sting all types of coral? I believe I may have some of these mixed in a batch of zoas on one of my rocks. The zoas dont seem bothered by it though.

[SushiGirl]

I think some sting worse than others, and some corals may sting worse than the hydroids.

[Mr. Demeanor]

SushiGirl,
I got some great pics of this cirolanid isopod in found in my filter pad. Thought I would post them here for anyone looking for an ID on one of these. They are bad and attach to a fish feeding like a tick at night then drop off during the day. I have no fish now for quite some time so they can survive without a host. This one was about 1/2" long and they are VERY fast swimmers.

[SushiGirl]

Excellent help!

[Mr. Demeanor]

This one is for fun. Spot the large hitchhiker and Im not talking about the Christmas Tree worms. Its bigger and no answering if you read my other post where I pointed it out.

[SushiGirl]

I didn't comment on the other thread, but my comment was going to be "You win!" LOL

[Pauper]

Any idea what these green leafy things are? They seem pretty hard and have been growing everywhere. I figure I'll need to deal with them at the same time as my aiptasia. Thanks in advance.

[Reefing Newbie]

Originally Posted by MitchellB

Thank you SushiGirl

here are some pics of the possible skeleton shrimp isopod


Isopod1 by in his image, on Flickr

Head


Isopod head by in his image, on Flickr

Tail


Isopod tail by in his image, on Flickr


Isopod by in his image, on Flickr

So are these good or bad? I have them in my tank as well. I manage to catch them running all over my sand bed when the lights come on. They are concentrated in one area though.

[JDM_SOHC]

Im gonna try to catch a pic of what is hiding in my tank.. In one of my liverocks I got from my LFS there was this lil tiny 1/2" maybe green follicle looking thing, and occasionally it used to defecate or spit or something but I can never catch it on picture of video cuz its spontaneous it's not an all the time thing... Well that green thing is gone, and i'm watching my tank the other night, and from the same spot where that green thing once was, SPLATTTT it shot out some more of that stuff last night..!! It's almost like a small hole in the rock that its coming out of, but I never see any critters in there lol..!?!?!

[JDM_SOHC]

Here is this little parachute lookin critter that's on the same rock... When I took the first pic i was shocked to see that this thing retracted into the rock very fast, an slowly came back out... It's right in the middle of the picture, looks like a badminton tennis ball lol.. Is this thing good/bad..??

[IMG]http://i41.*******.com/1072sex.jpg[/IMG]

[SushiGirl]

That's a featherduster.

[JDM_SOHC]

thnx..!

I read that they're not bad, is that right..?? Also could that be whats inside this rock that spurts stuff out every now and then..??

[SushiGirl]

It might be spitting out waste, and no, they're not bad.

[JDM_SOHC]

It's just funny cuz that thing and where the waste comes from are 2 diff spots on that same rock.. I bought it from my LFS and it was said to have been cleaned and what not but obviously not lol.. As long as it doesn't kill anything I'm good, thanks again..

[SushiGirl]

Then it's likely there's something else in there spitting out waste.

[ChrisL1976]

A week after adding liverock, I finally found something moving. Say this guy in the glass this morning. Good? Bad? Slice and dice, or let him run free?

[SushiGirl]

I'm on my phone, but it looks like a chiton to me. Most eat algae.

[Honks69]

Originally Posted by SushiGirl

I'm on my phone, but it looks like a chiton to me. Most eat algae.

+1 thats exactly what i think it is too. I have a bunch of these too

[ChrisL1976]

Originally Posted by SushiGirl

I'm on my phone, but it looks like a chiton to me. Most eat algae.

Thanks....I'll just leave him be than

[leadsinker]

noticed tiny tad pole type thing swimming aroud in bucket used to transport frag. flashed light in bucket, they swam quickly under rock, they apprear to be some type of shrimp. they are the size of a grain of sand and smaller, fast swimmers. the body has a slight coloring and a translucent tail that wiggles as it swim. sucked a couple out with pipette and put in bowl to try to take picture bit they constantly swimm around ,can not capture picture


any idea

[cheezischrist]

ive got another odd one, but i cant get a pic of it.its on a favia frag i just got, welll in it i guess, in between a few of the heads. it has like 12 stiff antennas, for lack of a better word, that fan out in a cone shape, but not all the way out like a feathr duster or fanworm. they all close together and catch things. at the base of it there are 2 tentacles that are constantly searching the favia heads, and pick things off the antenaes. and seems to be a black beak in the center of the base. when startled or if my sixline comes near it it closes and retracts in a good amount, but part of the antenae remain exposed. its also capable of spinning, and does this by lifting out, turning and sinking back in. and seems to expell more fish poop, well what looks like fish poop, than my fish do. its oddly fascinating to watch it with the magnifying glass. and now another smaller one seems to be pushing out between 3 of the other heads. i dont know if its some kind of bivalve or worm, but im at my wits end tryin to figure it out. any suggestions? really wish i could get a pic, but between its size, my lighting, and my crappy cameraphone, its useless

[SushiGirl]

Leadsinker, could be a mysis shrimp or an amphipod. Sounds more like a mysid, though. I'm always getting those on frags from my LFS. They look more like tadpoles.

cheez, sounds like a barnacle.

[cheezischrist]

any other ideas, lol, cause im bretty sure its not a barnacle. im hopefully gonna get a picture tonite

[SushiGirl]

Well, if you find out it's something different, let us know. Sounds just like a barnacle I have living in a rock.