Just for fun, I decided to figure what came in with my rock and what I later got:
The Rock Hitchhikers: Spionid worms (everywhere), Pileolaria featherdusters (all over my back glass), Phoronid featherdusters,
other featherdusters, Chrimia biceps worm (as best I can figure),
bristleworms (about a cupful), Dove snails, Zebra nerite snail (or a stomatella---only comes out at night), sponge pink, yellow, isopods, copepods, aiptasia (lots), discosoma neglecta, various discosomas, coralline, valonia, green hair, red macro, pumping xenia---all this survived the mild cycling and have been seen lately.
Deliberate acquisitions: Hilda the Fighting Conch, Snails: Turban, Astraea, Trochus, Margarita; Hermits, blueleg, scarlet; female emerald crab; peppermint shrimp; candycane coral, frogspawn coral, montipora shelf coral, acropora ceralis, acropora yongei, stylophora pistillata, pocillopora, pale green palys of some sort, a yellow watchman goby and a firefish.
So far, so good: the detrivores are numerous enough the tank stays pretty clean, the algae is minimal, the coralline is advancing, and the corals are beginning to grow much faster than expected---I made this list mostly because I became intrigued as to how many spearcarriers (the worms and all) support the big guys and the corals. The answer, I'm betting, is about two cupfuls of detrivores to two fishes and some corals.
The Rock Hitchhikers: Spionid worms (everywhere), Pileolaria featherdusters (all over my back glass), Phoronid featherdusters,
other featherdusters, Chrimia biceps worm (as best I can figure),
bristleworms (about a cupful), Dove snails, Zebra nerite snail (or a stomatella---only comes out at night), sponge pink, yellow, isopods, copepods, aiptasia (lots), discosoma neglecta, various discosomas, coralline, valonia, green hair, red macro, pumping xenia---all this survived the mild cycling and have been seen lately.
Deliberate acquisitions: Hilda the Fighting Conch, Snails: Turban, Astraea, Trochus, Margarita; Hermits, blueleg, scarlet; female emerald crab; peppermint shrimp; candycane coral, frogspawn coral, montipora shelf coral, acropora ceralis, acropora yongei, stylophora pistillata, pocillopora, pale green palys of some sort, a yellow watchman goby and a firefish.
So far, so good: the detrivores are numerous enough the tank stays pretty clean, the algae is minimal, the coralline is advancing, and the corals are beginning to grow much faster than expected---I made this list mostly because I became intrigued as to how many spearcarriers (the worms and all) support the big guys and the corals. The answer, I'm betting, is about two cupfuls of detrivores to two fishes and some corals.
