Hi all,
My 90 gallon tank is in need of a major overhaul. I set it up about four years ago when I upgraded from a 56 gallon (thus I used a lot of older rock) and I kept it set up while I was in California for the past two years. The tank needed more flow, more filtration (I did not want to set up the skimmer while I was not around to maintain it), and more maintenance then it received.
The consequence: most of the incidental animals that came along with my live rock or I managed to pick up through the years have perished. Observing these tiny critters is one of the things that makes the effort involved in reef keeping worthwhile (IMO.) I happily search(ed) algae prunings for mini brittle stars to ensure that I do not accidentally sacrifice any innocent critters... to see the (now empty) shells of the hitchhiking bivalves that came on my rock, and the obvious line after which they put on years of new growth once they entered my system... More than any coral, I want to replace these animals in my system.
If anyone has any of the following critters and is willing to spare a few, I would be most grateful. They are all hitchhikers that can reproduce in our tanks, but most can not be purchased outright. Right now I really do not have much that I could trade for these critters, but you can always ask.
Collonista snails
Stomatella snails
Scutus snail
spaghetti worms
cirratulid hair worms
peanut worms
those tiny sand dwelling tube worms/fan worms (Sabellids)
white micro brittle stars
colored mini brittle stars
copepods
Mysis
amphipods
Chaetomorpha algae
weedy coral like Kenya trees (Capnella spp.) and/or green star polyps (Pachyclavularia spp.)
Thanks for reading. I am going to purchase some additional live rock for the tank, increase the flow, and set up the skimmer. But, like most of us, I have limited funds, and I can't guarantee what I'll get with any new live rock... This could be a real help.:fish2:
My 90 gallon tank is in need of a major overhaul. I set it up about four years ago when I upgraded from a 56 gallon (thus I used a lot of older rock) and I kept it set up while I was in California for the past two years. The tank needed more flow, more filtration (I did not want to set up the skimmer while I was not around to maintain it), and more maintenance then it received.
The consequence: most of the incidental animals that came along with my live rock or I managed to pick up through the years have perished. Observing these tiny critters is one of the things that makes the effort involved in reef keeping worthwhile (IMO.) I happily search(ed) algae prunings for mini brittle stars to ensure that I do not accidentally sacrifice any innocent critters... to see the (now empty) shells of the hitchhiking bivalves that came on my rock, and the obvious line after which they put on years of new growth once they entered my system... More than any coral, I want to replace these animals in my system.
If anyone has any of the following critters and is willing to spare a few, I would be most grateful. They are all hitchhikers that can reproduce in our tanks, but most can not be purchased outright. Right now I really do not have much that I could trade for these critters, but you can always ask.
Collonista snails
Stomatella snails
Scutus snail
spaghetti worms
cirratulid hair worms
peanut worms
those tiny sand dwelling tube worms/fan worms (Sabellids)
white micro brittle stars
colored mini brittle stars
copepods
Mysis
amphipods
Chaetomorpha algae
weedy coral like Kenya trees (Capnella spp.) and/or green star polyps (Pachyclavularia spp.)
Thanks for reading. I am going to purchase some additional live rock for the tank, increase the flow, and set up the skimmer. But, like most of us, I have limited funds, and I can't guarantee what I'll get with any new live rock... This could be a real help.:fish2:
