White worm skeleton on live rock

seanandnicki · 07/14/2013, 08:28 AM

Hello everyone. We are new here and new to the hobby. I'm actually setting up my tank right now. So allow me to explain my situation in further detail. Last night I bought a 100 gallon salt water tank which came with stand, lights, two filters, and a (what I'm guessing) protein skimmer which is hooked on to a piece called a maxi-jet 1200. The tank has/had (don't know the status) live sand and live rock. The salt water was drained for some time (don't know the exact time) and only the sand was completely submerged under the water. The live rock however was not completely submerged. The owner of the tank explained to me the reason why he was selling his tank was because fresh water seemed easier to him and he would spend $300 on fish etc and things would die. I'm very skeptical about using his sand and rock but after reading a lot I felt better knowing I just need to take my time and cycle the water and test the levels continuously. However, this morning as I was beginning to clean the tank and set things up I noticed on some of the rocks there are remains of worms on them. Now these worms are not soft or anything in fact they are as hard as the rocks they are sitting on. But, before I start off with a mistake I would like to ask this to some very knowledgeable people vs calling an aquarium and/or petsmart. I have posted pictures of the rocks and pictures of the tank in the condition that I bought it in. Thank you very much for your help.

thegrun · 07/14/2013, 09:38 AM

They look like the old skeletons of small feather duster worms, not a problem. Here are a few links to identification web sites:
http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchhikers.html
http://www.xtalworld.com/Aquarium/hitchfaq.htm
http://www.masa.asn.au/masawiki/inde..._the_Reef_Tank

kelrn98 · 07/14/2013, 09:48 AM

I know this is not what you were asking, but........without having any livestock at this time, I would seriously consider doing some research on the set up you really want (ie. a sump and overflows), before setting the tank up as it was. It is a lot easier to manage a tank if it is set up "right" in the beginning. There is a ton of information on this site and people are always willing to guide you in the right direction.

mattkroeker · 07/14/2013, 10:03 AM

i found a shrimp skeleton in our tank yesterday - what to do with it? and why did it shed?

kelrn98 · 07/14/2013, 12:02 PM

shrimp molt as they grow. they outgrow their exoskeleton and grow a new one and shed the old one. I would throw the molted shell out if the CUC did not get to it first.

Normalaquatics · 07/15/2013, 08:31 AM

My blood shrimp's molt looks EXACTLY like a dead shrimp, so do not be alarmed (like I always am!)

Sugar Magnolia · 07/15/2013, 09:13 AM

I never plucked the molts out. They just kind of disintegrate after any of the clean up crew were finished with them.

07/14/2013, 09:48 AM	#3
kelrn98 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Biloxi, MS Posts: 856	I know this is not what you were asking, but........without having any livestock at this time, I would seriously consider doing some research on the set up you really want (ie. a sump and overflows), before setting the tank up as it was. It is a lot easier to manage a tank if it is set up "right" in the beginning. There is a ton of information on this site and people are always willing to guide you in the right direction. __________________ ~Kelly~ Current Tank Info: 96x24x30 -300g mixed reef: 75g sump, 35g fuge, 2x MP60, 4x Radion Pros, reef octopus X5000 skimmer, way too much LR and a few fish

07/14/2013, 12:02 PM	#5
kelrn98 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Biloxi, MS Posts: 856	shrimp molt as they grow. they outgrow their exoskeleton and grow a new one and shed the old one. I would throw the molted shell out if the CUC did not get to it first. __________________ ~Kelly~ Current Tank Info: 96x24x30 -300g mixed reef: 75g sump, 35g fuge, 2x MP60, 4x Radion Pros, reef octopus X5000 skimmer, way too much LR and a few fish

07/15/2013, 09:13 AM	#7
Sugar Magnolia Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Northern VA Posts: 17,691	I never plucked the molts out. They just kind of disintegrate after any of the clean up crew were finished with them. __________________ Adrienne The only thing to fear is fear itself....and spiders.

07/14/2013, 09:38 AM	#2
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	They look like the old skeletons of small feather duster worms, not a problem. Here are a few links to identification web sites: http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchhikers.html http://www.xtalworld.com/Aquarium/hitchfaq.htm http://www.masa.asn.au/masawiki/inde..._the_Reef_Tank

07/14/2013, 10:03 AM	#4
mattkroeker Moved On Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 72	i found a shrimp skeleton in our tank yesterday - what to do with it? and why did it shed?

07/15/2013, 08:31 AM	#6
Normalaquatics Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: CT Posts: 75	My blood shrimp's molt looks EXACTLY like a dead shrimp, so do not be alarmed (like I always am!)