GeorgeMonnatJr
New member
I'm still new to the hobby[addiction], so I spend a lot of paranoid time staring in the tank and thinking or blurting out, "What the heck is that?" And I'm doing a ton of reading. Here's a list of my favorite places to ID hitchhikers:
World Wide Reefers: Hitchhiker id guide
Lionfish Lair: Hitchhikers Guide to Your Aquarium.
Chuck's Addiction: A Hitch Hikers Guide to the Reefs
Wet Web Media: FAQs about Non-Vertebrate Animal Identification 1
This (my first) blog is a compilation of animal and plant (algae) hitchhikers I've seen in my 125 gal DT and 33 gal sump/lit refugium in alphabetical order. I've included links and pictures from the sources listed above and my own pictures. My goal is to eventually gain my own experience, knowledge and pictures to have my only my text and photos, but for now I'm relying heavily on the sources listed (I do believe in giving full credit).
Last year, 2011, I had a 20 gal DT with a built-in mechanical filter; no sump, skimmer, etc. It was my first saltwater tank. When we moved into a bigger place at the beginning of 2012, I upgraded to the aforementioned 125 gal. Here's some background information.
My Setup
6' left-to-right, 18" front-to-back, 19" water depth (constant water level down to top of substrate) 125 gal DT with 190# LR
33 gal sump with lit (dual T5), in-line refugium with a single LR (1-2#; flow is reduced some using a UV sterilizer that bypasses the middle refugium section).
AquaC EV-180 skimmer
Lights are TMC AquaRay like this (front of DT at bottom of diagram)
My Bioload
3 small (1/2"-3/4") Red-Legged/Scarlet Reef Hermit Crabs (Paguristes cadenati)
1 small (1") Emerald Crab (Mithraculus sculptus) [in sump/refugium]
1 small (1.5") Orange Linckia/Sea Star (Echinaster sp.) [in sump/refugium]
10 small Bumblebee/Bumble Bee Snails (Engina sp.) [1x in sump/refugium]
30 Nerite Snails (Nerita sp.)
~16 Cerith Snails (Cerithium sp.)
1 large (2") Tiger Pistol/Snapping Shrimp (Alpheus bellulus)
13 small (1/4"-1/2") Sexy Shrimp (Thor amboinensis)
4 medium (1.5") Pacific Scarlet/Skunk Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis)
2 medium (1.5") Blood Red Fire Shrimp (Lysmata debelius)
1 medium/large (4" dia.) brown Bulb/Bubble-Tip Anemone (BTA; Entacmaea quadricolor)
1 large (2" dia.) Hawaiian Feather Duster (Sabellastarte sp.)
3 medium (1/2", 3/4" & 1" dia.) Purple/Pink Dwarf Colored Feather Dusters (Bispira sp.)
1 medium (1.5") Yellowtail Damselfish (Chrysiptera parasema)
1 large (2.5") Randall's/Orange Stripe Shrimp/Prawn Goby (Amblyeleotris randalli)
1 large (2.5") Bicolor Blenny (Ecsenius bicolor)
3 clumps of Chaetomorpha Macroalgae (Chaetomorpha sp.) [in sump/refugium]
The Hitchhikers
Amphipods
During the first month with my 125 gal display tank (DT) and 33 gal long sump, February 2012, I found two of these critters in the sump. Unfortunately, I freaked out thinking they were baby mantis shrimp and flushed them. I later supplemented these by adding a IPSF Reef Amphipod Breeding Kitâ„¢ to my sump/refugium on 29MAR2012, and now I see plenty of them running around the Ulva and Chaeto in the refugium.
Asterina Starfish
I had these the first week with my 20 gal and seen them off-and-on since. I need to take a picture next time I see one.
Bristleworms
When I first read about worms, I saw anecdotal stories of all worms, especially bristleworms, growing over a foot long and starting to attack and eat healthy livestock. So in middle and late March 2012 when I saw some in my sump, I used a turkey baster to suck out a couple of around 1" long while extended bristleworms. Around the end of March 2012 I saw one in the sump/refugium LR that was well over 2" long, but I couldn't get it. That's probably a good thing, since I'm no longer certain they grow into fish-eaters. I didn't notice the second one (2nd picture) until I was looking at the pictures.
Bubble/Valonia Nuisance Algae
(I know, crappy picture; I'll update with a better one later.)
I've had a few bubble algae pop up in my DT, but they haven't really grown much. Not enough to worry me, yet. I have an Emerald Crab, but it's stuck in the sump so I don't have to worry about it going rogue.
Copepods
I've had tons of these on the glass during the day and on the rocks (mostly at "œdusk"), especially after I added a couple of bottles of Tigger Pods during February 2012. I don't have any real pod hunters like mandarin gobies (not mature or stocked enough) or wrasse (worried about my ornamental crustaceans), so my pod population is steadily growing.
Feather Dusters
World Wide Reefers: Hitchhiker id guide
Lionfish Lair: Hitchhikers Guide to Your Aquarium.
Chuck's Addiction: A Hitch Hikers Guide to the Reefs
Wet Web Media: FAQs about Non-Vertebrate Animal Identification 1
This (my first) blog is a compilation of animal and plant (algae) hitchhikers I've seen in my 125 gal DT and 33 gal sump/lit refugium in alphabetical order. I've included links and pictures from the sources listed above and my own pictures. My goal is to eventually gain my own experience, knowledge and pictures to have my only my text and photos, but for now I'm relying heavily on the sources listed (I do believe in giving full credit).
Last year, 2011, I had a 20 gal DT with a built-in mechanical filter; no sump, skimmer, etc. It was my first saltwater tank. When we moved into a bigger place at the beginning of 2012, I upgraded to the aforementioned 125 gal. Here's some background information.
My Setup
6' left-to-right, 18" front-to-back, 19" water depth (constant water level down to top of substrate) 125 gal DT with 190# LR
33 gal sump with lit (dual T5), in-line refugium with a single LR (1-2#; flow is reduced some using a UV sterilizer that bypasses the middle refugium section).
AquaC EV-180 skimmer
Lights are TMC AquaRay like this (front of DT at bottom of diagram)
My Bioload
3 small (1/2"-3/4") Red-Legged/Scarlet Reef Hermit Crabs (Paguristes cadenati)
1 small (1") Emerald Crab (Mithraculus sculptus) [in sump/refugium]
1 small (1.5") Orange Linckia/Sea Star (Echinaster sp.) [in sump/refugium]
10 small Bumblebee/Bumble Bee Snails (Engina sp.) [1x in sump/refugium]
30 Nerite Snails (Nerita sp.)
~16 Cerith Snails (Cerithium sp.)
1 large (2") Tiger Pistol/Snapping Shrimp (Alpheus bellulus)
13 small (1/4"-1/2") Sexy Shrimp (Thor amboinensis)
4 medium (1.5") Pacific Scarlet/Skunk Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis)
2 medium (1.5") Blood Red Fire Shrimp (Lysmata debelius)
1 medium/large (4" dia.) brown Bulb/Bubble-Tip Anemone (BTA; Entacmaea quadricolor)
1 large (2" dia.) Hawaiian Feather Duster (Sabellastarte sp.)
3 medium (1/2", 3/4" & 1" dia.) Purple/Pink Dwarf Colored Feather Dusters (Bispira sp.)
1 medium (1.5") Yellowtail Damselfish (Chrysiptera parasema)
1 large (2.5") Randall's/Orange Stripe Shrimp/Prawn Goby (Amblyeleotris randalli)
1 large (2.5") Bicolor Blenny (Ecsenius bicolor)
3 clumps of Chaetomorpha Macroalgae (Chaetomorpha sp.) [in sump/refugium]
The Hitchhikers
Amphipods
During the first month with my 125 gal display tank (DT) and 33 gal long sump, February 2012, I found two of these critters in the sump. Unfortunately, I freaked out thinking they were baby mantis shrimp and flushed them. I later supplemented these by adding a IPSF Reef Amphipod Breeding Kitâ„¢ to my sump/refugium on 29MAR2012, and now I see plenty of them running around the Ulva and Chaeto in the refugium.
Asterina Starfish
I had these the first week with my 20 gal and seen them off-and-on since. I need to take a picture next time I see one.
Bristleworms
When I first read about worms, I saw anecdotal stories of all worms, especially bristleworms, growing over a foot long and starting to attack and eat healthy livestock. So in middle and late March 2012 when I saw some in my sump, I used a turkey baster to suck out a couple of around 1" long while extended bristleworms. Around the end of March 2012 I saw one in the sump/refugium LR that was well over 2" long, but I couldn't get it. That's probably a good thing, since I'm no longer certain they grow into fish-eaters. I didn't notice the second one (2nd picture) until I was looking at the pictures.
Bubble/Valonia Nuisance Algae
(I know, crappy picture; I'll update with a better one later.)
I've had a few bubble algae pop up in my DT, but they haven't really grown much. Not enough to worry me, yet. I have an Emerald Crab, but it's stuck in the sump so I don't have to worry about it going rogue.
Copepods
I've had tons of these on the glass during the day and on the rocks (mostly at "œdusk"), especially after I added a couple of bottles of Tigger Pods during February 2012. I don't have any real pod hunters like mandarin gobies (not mature or stocked enough) or wrasse (worried about my ornamental crustaceans), so my pod population is steadily growing.
Feather Dusters
