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

[cloak]

Gotcha -

If it is flatworms, then what is the best way to get rid of them, meaning natural predators? I would prefer not to use chemical warfare like Flatworm exit.

They do move really fast though, so I originally though they were some sort of Copepod.

Vermetid snail - is it true that they never move? That bump has been on that rock (and others on other rocks) since the day I started the tank.

It almost looks like there are "claws" or horns sticking out of that hole. What would be the web like stuff that's spewing out of the hole from time to time?

Thanks so much in advance!

There's certain wrasses that will eat flatworms, but I'm not really sure which ones. You might have to do a search. I don't have a ton of flatworms in my tank right now, but I've been siphoning out as many as I can each morning. I'm gaining on them. As far as vermetid snails go, once they develop that shell, they stay put. The "web" or "mucus" they cast out is used to catch food from the water column.

http://www.melevsreef.com/flatworms.html

 

[SushiGirl]

Melanurus wrasses will eat flatworms. The kind you need to worry about are the red planaria flatworms. They reproduce by fission and can overrun a tank very quickly. The don't eat corals, but they can kill them by covering them & not allowing them to get the light they need for photosynthesis. Red planaria are red/rust/brown & also use photosynthesis. If you look on Mark's (melev) ID section you can see that the white ones are harmless & usually don't overrun a tank.

My boyfriend just recently treated our tank for red planaria. He dosed 3 times & we just added a small female Melanurus wrasse to the display & she's been eating the few that survived. He siphoned out as many as he could see before each treatment, overdid the recommended water change (50%), and changed carbon after each treatment. He shut off the carbon reactor before treating. We had no adverse events from the treatment because he was very careful. Our mini brittle stars did spawn after each treatment, but none died.

For the white flatworms, I wouldn't use any kind of treatment.

 

[artkwan]

1. It looks kind of like an amphipod. (harmless)
2. Not really sure. Possibly a sponge or tunicate. (harmless)
3. Flatworm (bad/can multiply to plague like proportions)
4. Vermetid snail (harmless IMO/the population will usually rise and fall, depending on how much food is available in the system)

Thank you for your help, Cloak!

 

[artkwan]

Melanurus wrasses will eat flatworms. The kind you need to worry about are the red planaria flatworms. They reproduce by fission and can overrun a tank very quickly. The don't eat corals, but they can kill them by covering them & not allowing them to get the light they need for photosynthesis. Red planaria are red/rust/brown & also use photosynthesis. If you look on Mark's (melev) ID section you can see that the white ones are harmless & usually don't overrun a tank.

My boyfriend just recently treated our tank for red planaria. He dosed 3 times & we just added a small female Melanurus wrasse to the display & she's been eating the few that survived. He siphoned out as many as he could see before each treatment, overdid the recommended water change (50%), and changed carbon after each treatment. He shut off the carbon reactor before treating. We had no adverse events from the treatment because he was very careful. Our mini brittle stars did spawn after each treatment, but none died.

For the white flatworms, I wouldn't use any kind of treatment.

Thank you so much, Sushigirl -

I feel like a celebrity just answered my questions, LOL. This is all good information, and thank you so much for sharing it with me and everyone on this forum.

On another note, what are ways to increase our pod population in our refugiums?

Art

 

[artkwan]

There's certain wrasses that will eat flatworms, but I'm not really sure which ones. You might have to do a search. I don't have a ton of flatworms in my tank right now, but I've been siphoning out as many as I can each morning. I'm gaining on them. As far as vermetid snails go, once they develop that shell, they stay put. The "web" or "mucus" they cast out is used to catch food from the water column.

http://www.melevsreef.com/flatworms.html

Cool....

 

[cncmastr]

Here are some pics of this crab I pulled out from some LFS bought live rock. I just started a new tank and pulled this sucker out. Can anyone ID him/her?

 

[SushiGirl]

Not sure what kind it is, the claws look pretty spoon shaped which usually indicates a mainly algae eater. Of course any crab will scavenge anything it can get when it gets too hungry. If you have a fuge I'd put it in there. I don't have my link handy to the Chuck's Addiction crab ID page since I'm on my phone.

 

[Emmanuel.dam]

What is all this stuff? Bad or good


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cloak]

1. bristleworm (harmless)
2. unknown snail (Epitonium?)
3. hydroids (nuisance) + brittle starfish (harmless)
4. palythoas (harmless)

 

[SushiGirl]

3rd pic looks like mini brittle starfish legs sticking out of the rock, harmless. 4th pic looks like zoas that are bleached out.

If you click on my name here & go to my homepage, there's a lot of stuff already ID'd in there.

 

[ferchb]

White string fishing line on circulation and snail

White string fishing line on circulation and snail

New to the hobby after getting an existing tank off craigslist. System had been running for two years prior to purchase. Its been a week and seeing more life moving about the tank. Inherited existing livestock, sand and live rock from previous owner. First time I've seen the white string attached to the circulation pump. I detached and removed from the tank. Feels like a thin fishing line. Any ideas?

 

[ferchb]

Black and white snail

Black and white snail

Also saw this little snail for the first time two nights ago. Can't find an ID anywhere. About 1 cm long only comes out at night.

 

[SushiGirl]

Ferch, the first looks like a hair/spaghetti worm, harmless. The 2nd I can't remember the name of, but on my phone it looks like one I had before. I should have it ID'd on my homepage.

 

[ferchb]

Thanks SushiGirl. Found it on your homepage Engina sp. Will have to watch it i guess. Thanks for all the info and time you put into the board, I'm picking up a lot.

 

[mkalbi]

trying to figure out if these are the good (sphaeromatid) isopod or the bad (cirolanid) isopod; or a different thing altogether.

A little detail. they are in a new set up 59 gal tank that only has 1 hermit crab, live rock, and sand in it right now. The tank has been cycling since Jan 1, 2013.

I have seen about 6 of them and caught this guy with a turkey baster. If they were the bad ones, would they have killed the hermit crab?

when i touch them with a stick, they roll up a little like a potato bug. but not all the way.

thanks for the help.

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[cloak]

They look like amphipods to me. In the second picture though, it almost looks like it's giving something else a piggy back ride.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rs/index.php

 

[mkalbi]

Thanks Cloak! they do look more like amphipods. they are OK for the tank right?

 

[cloak]

There OK.

 

[kismetsh]

Meet the purple pickle! He came in on a piece of live rock. What is it? lol

 

[SushiGirl]

Need more info. Does it move around the tank or is it stationary? If it's stationary, my guess would be a tunicate. If it moves around, maybe some type of cucumber.