Pix & ID: Critters that come in your rocks: the good and the bad.

Brown polyps? Please?

Brown polyps? Please?

Hopefully not something bad... ID please?

We've been set up running with LR and LS since 7/8/12, got 2 clowns on 7/15/12, and a load of snails and crabs on 7/23/12.

I'm not very read up on good stuff and bad stuff, there's just so much! Obviously, scared of the dreaded aiptasia. But I don't believe it clusters like this? The first picture is a close up, and you can sort of see the "hairy" ends of it. The second is taken farther back, and you can see all of the "stems", and how close they are. Probably around 1/4" tall at most. This is on the underside/edge of a ledge rock. Don't see anything else like it in the tank.(doesn't mean it isn't there).

Can you ever be considered in the clear of pests? If we don't have any, and don't introduce any more live rock, what are the chances? So far (and hopefully including this), nothing unwanted!!!

Thank you for all the expertise!

Shannon
 

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I'm on my phone so the pics are hard to tell, but from the good description & what I can see it sounds like a type of hydroids that I have. Mine haven't spread very much compared to other hydroids I've had & I pulled a clump of them out with tweezers which worked welll except a couple I missed.

As for getting bad hitchhikers, I've gotten more from coral frags than I've ever gotten from live rock. IMO & IME, you're going to get some at some point no matter what. Close inspection of anything you add to the tank, including rock, coral, & even snails will help a lot, plus dipping of any corals before adding to the tank will go a long way. We just set up a 20L tank that we're going to use for coral grow out & is going to be our expirement for a pest-free tank. Haven't found any on the rock yet, and all corals will be quarantined for at least a week before going in the tank. Should be an interesting expirement!

I'm going to start an album on here of all the hitcher pics I've taken over the years which should help those who want to look without going through this whole thread LOL.
 
Thanks, SushiGirl! Hydroids were another possiblity in my head. They "turn into" other things, right? I'll keep watch. Right now they only cover a spot about .5" x 3"

Thanks for the comments about the coral, too! We're not that far yet. But we find ourselves oggling at the tank for hours, so at least for now I feel confident we'd see something sooner than later.
 
Some hydroids release jellyfish, not sure if these do or not since I haven't seen any jellyfish since the tank was cycling. 2nd pic definitely looks like the ones I have.
 
I have a 6 or so Aiptasia, majanos---little 'volunteer' anemones, brown, nuisances - on the live rock I have purchase. Since I am new as well as the tank, when should I remove these - when I start purchasing others or now?
 
I can't tell what the tips look like, do they move or sway? The parts on the side of the rock look like hard sponge that makes web-like designs.

Baldeagle, the sooner the better. You don't want them to end up as foundation rocks that you can no longer get to the rocks.
 
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Thx, I'll get rid of all of them when I clean the tank again (about once a week at this point).
Photos next - it would be nice to put names to the faces of the things I am observing.
 
I'll try to get my hitchhiker album up tomorrow & maybe that will help you. In typical surgery recovery fashion, I was up all night last night then slept 8 hours, and promptly fell asleep righ after dinner tonight LOL. What kind of weekly cleaning are you doing?
 
Empty Bottles, it sounds like sponge, I wouldn't worry. You can pull them off if they bother you. One of the LFSs here has some that is all over their tanks & makes really big plastic-like non-pointed spikes.
 
Pic ID of new growth on LR, please.

Pic ID of new growth on LR, please.

We observed this white growth on a piece of LR over the last couple of weeks. It looks very much like a moth cocoon, about the same size and shape? Is it something I want to keep? Is it a hitchhiker sponge?

Thanks for any help.
 

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sirbazz said:
Is this a Eunice worm or something less menacing?

91F82FE389504F718CA47F75C7D79D08.jpg
Click to expand...

It's a eunice. You'll want to remove that. They are very destructive.

seasmurf said:
We observed this white growth on a piece of LR over the last couple of weeks. It looks very much like a moth cocoon, about the same size and shape? Is it something I want to keep? Is it a hitchhiker sponge?

Thanks for any help.
Click to expand...

Nothing to worry about, just a sponge.
 
I am setting up a new tank, and needing some advices. I bought some live rock, it is curing right now in a plastic container. I notice some of the rocks have little crabs (didn't not have a good look they move so fast). The question is, should I remove them? What is the recommend way to do this. The rock is at the end of the curing stage, in fact, I was going to transfer them to the display tank. Can I just let the rock sit in fresh water? I don't want to do too much damage to the other "lives" on the live rock. If these rocks were to go to a fish only tank, I don't mind having these little crabs. But I plan to have soft corals, and unsure if the crabs will eventually damage the coral.
 
Reef Knight, couldn't do it without the help of others, especially Sugar, who magically appears when I'm not around or can't think of a name LOL.

Oxford, I wouldn't allow that piece to go in the tank. The trouble with a frreshwater dip is it will kill all the good bacteria you just cultured. With plenty of other rock, you should be ok, but I don't know how much you have or if the crabs have spread to other rock. In tank there are traps you can make but it's usually harder due to space. How about some more info on your curing setup?

Edit: sirbazz, that's an excellent pic, great for reference! That little worm under it sure has some long bristles!

Oxford I just had a thought, are you sure they're crabs & not amphipods? They're little & move fast & there would likely be a bunch.
 
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Hi SushiGirl, I am sure it is some kind of crab. It is about the size of half a penny, has multiple legs, looks just like a crab. It scared the heck out of me when I picked up the rock and saw two or three of them scurrying into the rock crevices. If I can capture one, I will post a pic.

My rocks are curing inside two 15 gallon plastic containers/bins. I have about 4 rock pieces in each container. Chances are the other 3 pieces in the same container are now home to some of the crabs.

Don't know what to do now, except trying to remove the crabs by hand when they do come out of hiding. Or maybe a freshwater dip, and cure the rocks longer.
 
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