Pix & ID: Critters that come in your rocks: the good and the bad.
- Thread starter Sk8r
- Start date
kingfisher62
New member
Thank you!
Reefing Newbie
New member
So I only need two bristleworms, two mini brittle stars, and two strombus grazer snails and I should be set two go? Sounds good to me and great that they can self populate.
WetShepherd
New member
I didn't see any pics of these, and I'm curious as to what they actually are, so any IDs would be appreciated 
I see these mostly on my overflow partition, but also sometimes on the back glass.
I see these mostly on my overflow partition, but also sometimes on the back glass.
gmate
MASC Member
Wait wait wait. I read everywhere that bristleworms were bad, that they could damage coral. I've never considered them good hitchhikers. I've purchased bristleworm traps, and killed the things. How are they good? The stinging/toxic hairs are bad to touch as a human, let alone coral. And I'm under the impression some get big (24 inches in length, if left to their own devices).
SushiGirl
Premium Member
More stuff you might run across.
More vermetid snails (with a Strombus in the 2nd pic)
Another type of hydroid. These are starting to spread in my tank, irritating some corals grrrrr!
Ball anemone. Supposedly these don't spread like aiptasia, but I missed one on a frag and now have 4 that are irritating 3 different zoas. The leather doesn't seem to care about the one by it.
More vermetid snails (with a Strombus in the 2nd pic)
Another type of hydroid. These are starting to spread in my tank, irritating some corals grrrrr!
Ball anemone. Supposedly these don't spread like aiptasia, but I missed one on a frag and now have 4 that are irritating 3 different zoas. The leather doesn't seem to care about the one by it.
SushiGirl
Premium Member
Polyclad flatworm. These are snail eaters. I just happened to notice this one right as I put the frag in the tank and snatched out the shell it was in really quickly. CoralRX dip did NOT kill this thing for days.
Another kind of flatworm, much smaller than the other. This one eats copepods.
Couple more mini-brittle starfish
Another kind of flatworm, much smaller than the other. This one eats copepods.
Couple more mini-brittle starfish
WetShepherd
New member
Thanks Sushi - that's a pretty big relief - they were really starting to spread. Once I had the name a search turned up the rest
Did you take these macro shots yourself? They are pretty impressive!
Did you take these macro shots yourself? They are pretty impressive!
SushiGirl
Premium Member
You're welcome, WetShepherd, and yes I did! The first digital camera I got was to take pics of my tank hitchhikers LOL.
Featherduster (alas, the Coris Wrasse at it)
Sponges (the bubblegum pink one under my zoas freaks me out!)
And what I was told was juvenile clam hitching on a snail. Not sure if that's what it was or not, this is one of only 2 snails that died in our tank so it might have been a snail predator.
Featherduster (alas, the Coris Wrasse at it)
Sponges (the bubblegum pink one under my zoas freaks me out!)
And what I was told was juvenile clam hitching on a snail. Not sure if that's what it was or not, this is one of only 2 snails that died in our tank so it might have been a snail predator.
WetShepherd
New member
Mind if I ask for the details on the camera?
mndfreeze
Invert Sexy Time!
I love these threads. Everyone is so paranoid about pests but half the time the pests are cooler then the other stuff.
I can't wait to get my shipment of TBS rock since its straight out of the gulf, shipped in water, specifically so I have millions of itty bitty microlife. My first tank was a sterile dry rock start, with a tiny piece of carefully cured live rock. I STILL GOT ALL THE BAD PESTS EVENTUALLY. ;/ Flatworms, hydroids, predator worms, etc, etc. Other people's tanks are worse then the rock right out of the ocean it seems.
Except for crabs, those guys are numerous in this style of live rock, but its a mantis tankm, so free food for him.
I can't wait to get my shipment of TBS rock since its straight out of the gulf, shipped in water, specifically so I have millions of itty bitty microlife. My first tank was a sterile dry rock start, with a tiny piece of carefully cured live rock. I STILL GOT ALL THE BAD PESTS EVENTUALLY. ;/ Flatworms, hydroids, predator worms, etc, etc. Other people's tanks are worse then the rock right out of the ocean it seems.
Except for crabs, those guys are numerous in this style of live rock, but its a mantis tankm, so free food for him.
I could be totally wrong, but I've got a sneaking suspicion that if you cure the rock and kill off all these wonderful critters, all you've done is vacate all these ecological niches that can then be filled by flatworms, aiptasia, hydroids, etc. And if you are a reef, likely you *will* someday import a new hitchhiker of some sort on a specimen rock, and whether or not it proliferates depends on what niches are available for it. I love the surprises that turn up on rock: the ocean's diversity never ceases to amaze me.
SushiGirl
Premium Member
I agree with mndfreeze and Sk8r. My first tank I started with uncured live rock. The worst I got from that were hydroids that turned into jellyfish (the first hydroids pic I posted on this thread). This tank was started with dry rock (from my old tank) and a few pieces of cured live rock that was pest free. All of my other bad hitchhikers came from frags in all of my tanks.
WetShepherd, the small thumbnail pics came from a Nikon CoolPix 995 that hasn't been made for years now. I bought it in 2002 when they came out with the newer model. The larger pics come from a Canon 30D that they don't make anymore either LOL. We bought it in '06 right when the 40D came out. I would love to find another point & shoot like the CoolPix, it took awesome pics on the macro setting with its little fixed lens. Sadly, I haven't found anything comparable yet.
WetShepherd, the small thumbnail pics came from a Nikon CoolPix 995 that hasn't been made for years now. I bought it in 2002 when they came out with the newer model. The larger pics come from a Canon 30D that they don't make anymore either LOL. We bought it in '06 right when the 40D came out. I would love to find another point & shoot like the CoolPix, it took awesome pics on the macro setting with its little fixed lens. Sadly, I haven't found anything comparable yet.
doctorgori
New member
When I got back into the reef thing I had the same thoughts after fighting the assorted pest last time....
So I did my tank mostly with dead rock and find it absolutley boring...sure it makes for a nice display of stoney corals as a decoration thing; if thats your goal, but insosfar as sitting there and observing it for minutes/hours and finding something interesting to ponder: well not so much
Fish Hooked
New member
Sushi - I just obtained the Nikon Coolpix L120 point and shoot hoping it will take good pics of all my tank horrors once I get my first reef set up. That might be the comparable answer to the Coolpix 995.
And now back to your regulary scheduled forum topic.
And now back to your regulary scheduled forum topic.
SushiGirl
Premium Member
Let me know if it is, Fish Hooked! Does it have a macro setting (mine had 2)? I miss that camera. About 3 years ago I dropped it, caught it by the strap just before it hit the carpet so that it just barely tapped it, and now it won't focus. It had been dropped way worse than that before LOL.
Ball anemone. Supposedly these don't spread like aiptasia, but I missed one on a frag and now have 4 that are irritating 3 different zoas. The leather doesn't seem to care about the one by it.
So glad this got posted, found one in my sump and was wondering what it was :thumbsup:
