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

[SushiGirl]

OK, it was just wishful thinking on my part that it wasn't crabs LOL.

You could try a tilted, baited glass against the rocks, but it would be no guarantee you'd get them all. The closest guarantee would be a freshwater dip & cure the rocks longer. I'm not sure how soon they would come out in freshwater or that one wouldn't hide deep in the rock so it would have to be more than a quick dip. Sure hate that you have to do that, though.

As for other critters (besides bacteria) on the rocks, as they run out, grab them & drop them in a container of saltwater so you can sort through them & save some good hitchers if you want. That would pretty much be any pods you could net & any mini brittle stars, stomatellas, etc. We had to dip a rock frag rack & pull stars out. They stiffen up & seem dead but we didn't lose any we pulled out, they all recovered in the warm saltwater.

Good luck.

[Baldeagle]

This is a first for me so I hope the pictures get included. Thanks for the help identifying what came with the rock that I can see at this point.
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[Baldeagle]

Let's try this again

[Baldeagle]

Thx again - have others to ask about, but this will do for now.

[seasmurf]

Thanks Sugar MAgnolia !

[SushiGirl]

Baldeagle, are these all hitchhikers or stuff you bought with the tank?

Post 1
1st 3 are sponge -- looks like orange ball in 1 and 2 & looks like an aiptasia in the background of 3, 4th is a starfish but can't ID from the bottom (and I probably can't from the top, either unless it's common), 5th I have no idea what kind of fish that is.

Post 2
1st pic don't know what you're asking about there's so much there, 2nd looks like a favia or some other kind of brain coral, 3rd maybe cup coral? and an aiptasia, 4th some kind of macroalgae no idea what kind.

Sorry I'm not much help on stuff like livestock & corals. I didn't see anything right off in my algae searches.

[Gone Fishing]

Hi Guys,

Not new to this site, but I usually read (and learn lots) and haven't posted too much. At this point in my reef experience, I have many more questions than answers. I've found this thread to be great! Sushi girl, you're a wealth of information, and thanks for posting such helpful info.

I've had my share of about every pest, aptasia, bubble algae, and other critters. I've recently had an explosion of tiny starfish, I think they're Asterina stars. Does this signify any particular change in the tank? Parameters are stable (not perfect, but stable). Not sure whether I should continue to siphon them out with water changes or whether they're OK to leave.

Thanks. I can add pics if it's helpful.

[SushiGirl]

Asterinas don't need much to boom considering how they split often to reproduce. I have a ton in my tank right now & catch them splitting daily. Mine feed on coralline & film algae. I wouldn't worry that it means anything in particular in the case of these guys. Picking them out is totally up to you.

Usually the splits are boring, but mine have been interesting lately. Caught the 1st one the other day & the crazier 2nd one today.

[OxfordMick]

Originally Posted by SushiGirl

OK, it was just wishful thinking on my part that it wasn't crabs LOL.

You could try a tilted, baited glass against the rocks, but it would be no guarantee you'd get them all. The closest guarantee would be a freshwater dip & cure the rocks longer. I'm not sure how soon they would come out in freshwater or that one wouldn't hide deep in the rock so it would have to be more than a quick dip. Sure hate that you have to do that, though.

As for other critters (besides bacteria) on the rocks, as they run out, grab them & drop them in a container of saltwater so you can sort through them & save some good hitchers if you want. That would pretty much be any pods you could net & any mini brittle stars, stomatellas, etc. We had to dip a rock frag rack & pull stars out. They stiffen up & seem dead but we didn't lose any we pulled out, they all recovered in the warm saltwater.

Good luck.

Thank you SushiGirl for the advice. Also thank you for the excellent post on all the critters' information. Very informative read.

I am still amazed at the survival rate of these crabs. I ordered my live rocks online, had it shipped two-days ground in hot June weather.

I will certainly marked this under the "lesson learned" category. I should have performed the freshwater dip in the beginning.

[Baldeagle]

Thx Sushi Girl for the id's. If I discover names I will forward.

[Gone Fishing]

Thanks for the reply. This is what the critters look like.

(please ignore the algae, seems to also have boomed over past week).

[davidcoral]

Hey all, this is my first post and first saltwater tank! I found this little guy hanging to some live rock I got yesterday and I at first was excited till I discovered that it could be a "bad guy" an Aiptasia. I tried doing some research into what kind of a nuisance it'll be. I have a 30 running right now and I'm planning to get a 10 gallon sump set up. Would it be better to place the Aiptasia there? Thanks for all the wonderful advice!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/84052893@N04/7695293456/

[SushiGirl]

Gone Fishing, those are asterinas. Algae booming is an indication of something going on with your water. It's very common in new tanks to go through various types of algae blooms in the first year due to the tank establishing. Algae uses up nitrates & phosphates to grow, so you could test for those 2 things & see where they stand. As long as you continue to keep up good maintenance habits & water parameters, they usually run their course & die out. The asterinas are probably booming due to the algae, so I guess in a way it could be an indication of something going on in your tank after all.

David, you're not going to want to keep that anywhere in your tank. Pull the rock & burn it off with a lighter & make sure you get it all, then clean that area with a toothbrush & rinse it well with saltwater & put the rock back in.

[Tristen]

Majano Anemone (click for larger)

[AZBigJohn]

Not sure if this qualifies as a "hitchhiker" or not, but I rececently got this zoa, and it has a hard tube coming out of the middle of it (looks like a superhard feather duster shell) and when I fed the tank tonight, feeding tentacles came out and snared some of the brine shrimp. Is it something I should worry about? Is it normal? Sorry, this is literally one of my first corals...

[SushiGirl]

Vermetid snail. Definitely qualifies, as it hitched in on the zoas.

[Gone Fishing]

Thanks Sushi girl, nitrates are indeed elevated. Time to upgrade my filtration.

[AZBigJohn]

Originally Posted by SushiGirl

Vermetid snail. Definitely qualifies, as it hitched in on the zoas.

Should I do anything about it, or is it okay to keep around?

[SushiGirl]

Gone Fishing, in the mean time water changes are the best way to reduce niktrates. The bigger the water change, the bigger the drop.

BigJohn, it might irritate your zoas & mine have gotten quite good at stealing food from corals. You can put a drop of superglue gel on the opening, careful not to get it on the zoas. You can also break it off at the base, but I don't know how effective that is depending on how long the tube is. These things tend to propagate fast, as my tank proves LOL. They can also be sharp, so don't poke yourself on it.

[SushiGirl]

Gone Fishing, in the mean time water changes are the best way to reduce niktrates. The bigger the water change, the bigger the drop.

BigJohn, it might irritate your zoas & mine have gotten quite good at stealing food from corals. You can put a drop of superglue gel on the opening, careful not to get it on the zoas. You can also break it off at the base, but I don't know how effective that is depending on how long the tube is. These things tend to propagate fast, as my tank proves LOL. They can also be sharp, so don't poke yourself on it.

[Gone Fishing]

Thanks Sushigirl. Just did a 20% change. Will repeat over weekend.http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/im...cons/icon7.gif

[AZBigJohn]

New hitchhiker... Haven't seen anything in this tank in two months, now they're coming out of the woodwork (well, rockwork, technically).

Bigger than I expected, probably an inch long, looks like a fuzzy centipede... What is it, is it good, or does it need to come out?

[SushiGirl]

I'm guessing bristleworm, in which case it's fine. I can't see its head, though, & don't see much fuzzy, have to take your word for that.

[TheKman]

So here is a new one.. Super tiny and white with a star type pattern with little tenticals that branch out.. Here is the closest I could get.

[Dustin1300]

I've posted in another thread but would appreciate some additional confirmation that what I've found is reef/fish safe. From what I've found I discovered that I have an increased population of isopods in my tank. After quite a bit of searching I believe I might have found an ID on this little guy....I'm a bit paranoid but when I see something like this I'd rather be safe than sorry and get others experiences!

It seems that according to the following Reef Keeper article that this is a form of Isopod, Sphaeromatid specifically from what I can tell. From what others have pointed out and said this one does not seem to be harmful to aquaria. Because I'm not 100% certain this is the Isopod I want to make sure from others! I was able to catch another 10+ tonight with a turkey baster so if I need to take some better shots I'll see what I can do with the DSLR. I only snapped the photo at bottom with my phone.

From the following RK Article

My photo: