Good or Bad hitchers ?
- Thread starter marcor12
- Start date
marcor12
New member
Pics #1 and #3 are of the same thing....looked at it today...its starting to split. 2 smaller ones are next to it.
Pic #2 looks like a star fish (problaby not) this is a pic of the underside. the top of it has specs of black on it.
Pic #4 looks like a flat oval shaped worm, black with a white dot in the center....The guy that i bought the coral from told me that they were called elephant snails?
I know that i should've QT'd everything...but there nothing in the tank and i don't have 1 set up yet....
thxs everyone
Pic #2 looks like a star fish (problaby not) this is a pic of the underside. the top of it has specs of black on it.
Pic #4 looks like a flat oval shaped worm, black with a white dot in the center....The guy that i bought the coral from told me that they were called elephant snails?
I know that i should've QT'd everything...but there nothing in the tank and i don't have 1 set up yet....
thxs everyone
DustyReefer
New member
The second picture looks like an asterina starfish. They can be bad or harmless, and there are multiple ways to get rid of them aside from just plucking him out of there. No idea what that is in the other pictures are. Somebody more experienced could ID it
BuffaloReef
New member
One and three look like mojono anemones. I would remove them. They can spread and cause problems. Two looks like an asterena starfish. Most species are harmless, a few are bad. Personally I leave them alone but others remove them. The fourth looks like a molusc. I forget the type. The mantle expands out over the shell from the bottom. I'll take a look at my invert book later and might be able to tell you more.
DEEP BLUE SIX
New member
1 and 3 are some type of anemones. 2 is an asterena starfish.
the pic is not great on 4 but combining it with your description, seems like a black sea slug or nudibranch as they are called. Dendrodoris Nigra is the species name "if" that's what it is. Really seems like it. But of course I'm not going to guarantee it without a better pic.
It's diet is said to be mainly sponges. Other than that, it is supposed to be harmless to most anything else. Although, when they die they can release a toxin capable of poisoning other lifeforms. But at such small sizes really don't pose such a threat. It would take a big one to really pose any such threat. I actually had a few very very small ones in an old reef I had. I was always curious about them. They never seemed to damage anything. Then after a few months they all of a sudden disappeared? Perhaps exhausted their food source or were ate by fish?
The ones I had were very small slug like with No shells at all. All black with a white spot on them. A couple may have had more than one spot. But most only had 1 white spot.
the pic is not great on 4 but combining it with your description, seems like a black sea slug or nudibranch as they are called. Dendrodoris Nigra is the species name "if" that's what it is. Really seems like it. But of course I'm not going to guarantee it without a better pic.
It's diet is said to be mainly sponges. Other than that, it is supposed to be harmless to most anything else. Although, when they die they can release a toxin capable of poisoning other lifeforms. But at such small sizes really don't pose such a threat. It would take a big one to really pose any such threat. I actually had a few very very small ones in an old reef I had. I was always curious about them. They never seemed to damage anything. Then after a few months they all of a sudden disappeared? Perhaps exhausted their food source or were ate by fish?
The ones I had were very small slug like with No shells at all. All black with a white spot on them. A couple may have had more than one spot. But most only had 1 white spot.
My philosophy was always that nothing really is a problem unless it starts causing a problem. Take that for what it is.
I started to get worried about a few aphasia when I first started. I didn't have coral at the time so it would have been a waste of my time to get rid of them. Now I've got tons of coral and guess what, there are still aptasia. I used to have all sorts of crazy stuff on my live rock. I miss it.
I've always made it a point to not make this hobby difficult. Don't worry about it and it wont cause you a problem. In all the years I've been doing this I've run into one problem that was serious and needed outside assistance such as medication and I'm going through that as we speak. I still have the same philosophy though.
By all means I agree with people disagreeing with me though.
I started to get worried about a few aphasia when I first started. I didn't have coral at the time so it would have been a waste of my time to get rid of them. Now I've got tons of coral and guess what, there are still aptasia. I used to have all sorts of crazy stuff on my live rock. I miss it.
I've always made it a point to not make this hobby difficult. Don't worry about it and it wont cause you a problem. In all the years I've been doing this I've run into one problem that was serious and needed outside assistance such as medication and I'm going through that as we speak. I still have the same philosophy though.
By all means I agree with people disagreeing with me though.
FSU3NOLES28
New member
Not everyone has had this issue with Asternias- But my experience was awful.
About $200 bucks later I took them out of my tank. Ate a good portion of my coraline, and went to town on my 2 acans priced at $35 and $60 respectively. also a chalice I had and another odd coral were all destroyed because of them. I thought they were "cute little starfish" until I noticed my issues.
Personally I'd just get rid of them before they potentially cause an issue.
About $200 bucks later I took them out of my tank. Ate a good portion of my coraline, and went to town on my 2 acans priced at $35 and $60 respectively. also a chalice I had and another odd coral were all destroyed because of them. I thought they were "cute little starfish" until I noticed my issues.
Personally I'd just get rid of them before they potentially cause an issue.
Gary Majchrzak
Team RC
personally, I see nothing there that I would remove just yet.
the black slug is likely a desirable Scutus.
the Asterina is nothing to worry about unless it causes destruction (unlikely since most are harmless algae eaters)
the club tipped "anemone" appears to be a desirable corallimorph
and unless #1 is an Aiptasia or Majano (which I don't think it is) I wouldn't remove it. Get a positive ID first. It might be a mini carpet anemone (Stichodactyla tapetum). That was my first impression.
My money is where my mouth is: all of those critters are in my personal reef aquarium.
the black slug is likely a desirable Scutus.
the Asterina is nothing to worry about unless it causes destruction (unlikely since most are harmless algae eaters)
the club tipped "anemone" appears to be a desirable corallimorph
and unless #1 is an Aiptasia or Majano (which I don't think it is) I wouldn't remove it. Get a positive ID first. It might be a mini carpet anemone (Stichodactyla tapetum). That was my first impression.
My money is where my mouth is: all of those critters are in my personal reef aquarium.
