Pix & ID: Critters that come in your rocks: the good and the bad.
- Thread starter Sk8r
- Start date
reefmandan
New member
Leslie,
Thanks! I did some research and found something similar but I'm new (1st tank - 8th week of cycle) and wanted to be sure.
Regards,
Dan
LeslieH
Premium Member
Does anyone know what this is?
Nice photo with good detail. :beer: That appears to be an ostracod, a small crustacean.
New to the hobby/forum here, and I've looked through about 40-50 of the pages in this thread, and haven't found anything that matches EXACTLY what I have. I know with my luck it's going to be Aiptasia, but I wanted another opinion before I got rid of them. They came in on the back of one of the oysters I picked up at whole foods. The oysters have been in the tank about 6-8weeks now, and I noticed these on one of them about a week or two after putting them in the tank. They just ate some cyclop-eeze before taking the picture, 3 on top of the oyster, and 2 close together under the little oyster's lid.....
Zimmer
New member
Ok so I have a few questionables.... 
the starfish i believe is asterina? also since i've taken this picture i'm pretty sure he has split in half and now there are 2 random sets of half-body/legs wandering my live rock its kinda weird.... is that normal? :uhoh3: are they bad or good?
the second picture i'm focusing on the orange thingy front and center - i don't even know if i'm looking at animal vegetable or mineral lol but it seems to wave a bit in the current and maybe the tip looks fuzzy like appendages of some sort? its probly about 1/2"-3/4" long, its out at all times light or dark, and no change in size or appearance since i first noticed it.
the third pic its hard to see but theres a little grey-green fuzzy ball in the middle in the rock crevice... it looks like a sponge? or some type of algae? kinda reminds me of a spider egg sac eeewwwww! also any idea about all those little tiny white spots all over the rock? they are only on that rock, and i don't think they are egg sacs - i don't have anything egg laying that i know about lol no snails yet...
the starfish i believe is asterina? also since i've taken this picture i'm pretty sure he has split in half and now there are 2 random sets of half-body/legs wandering my live rock its kinda weird.... is that normal? :uhoh3: are they bad or good?
the second picture i'm focusing on the orange thingy front and center - i don't even know if i'm looking at animal vegetable or mineral lol but it seems to wave a bit in the current and maybe the tip looks fuzzy like appendages of some sort? its probly about 1/2"-3/4" long, its out at all times light or dark, and no change in size or appearance since i first noticed it.
the third pic its hard to see but theres a little grey-green fuzzy ball in the middle in the rock crevice... it looks like a sponge? or some type of algae? kinda reminds me of a spider egg sac eeewwwww! also any idea about all those little tiny white spots all over the rock? they are only on that rock, and i don't think they are egg sacs - i don't have anything egg laying that i know about lol no snails yet...
LeslieH
Premium Member
1st is indeed a starfish in the family Asterinidae, one of the small ones that regularly reproduces by splitting in half. They grow rapidly and the population can easily go into the hundreds. Most of these small species are micro-grazers and are harmless although people dislike the look of them. A few small species are predatory, and it's also thought that when the population goes up & food becomes scarce they might go after corals & other things. If you only have two then it would probably be a good idea to get them out now.
2nd look like a sponge.
3rd - maybe a sponge, hard to tell with so little detail. The small white spirals look to be spirorbid polychaete worms, harmless filter feeders.
2nd look like a sponge.
3rd - maybe a sponge, hard to tell with so little detail. The small white spirals look to be spirorbid polychaete worms, harmless filter feeders.
Zimmer
New member
thanks for the speedy responses!! i get so excited when i find new stuff lol i've been sneak-attacking my tank randomly in the night with a flashlight to see what i see and its like christmas sometimes when i find something really neat!! i'm excited to have sponges in here i figured that would come later after the tank was more established.... its only 2 weeks old!
ok so i'm kinda attached to my little lopsided starfish and even though i now know "he" may become "all of them" i still like watching him in there... i was really hoping to hear he was reef friendly. if there are some like him that are, then i think i might just take that chance and see how it goes... it will be awhile before i have corals or any squishies regardless so i might as well give him a chance. if 2 becomes 4 becomes a whole bunch :hmm1: then i might start picking them out! we will see. anyone else ever keep a potential naughty hitchhiker and have it turn out ok?
ok so i'm kinda attached to my little lopsided starfish and even though i now know "he" may become "all of them" i still like watching him in there... i was really hoping to hear he was reef friendly. if there are some like him that are, then i think i might just take that chance and see how it goes... it will be awhile before i have corals or any squishies regardless so i might as well give him a chance. if 2 becomes 4 becomes a whole bunch :hmm1: then i might start picking them out! we will see. anyone else ever keep a potential naughty hitchhiker and have it turn out ok?
SushiGirl
Premium Member
I have asterinas, the micro algae grazing ones. Had a big boom in population for a while, but that tapered and I have what I'd consider a reasonable amount. See them here & there now, but not all over crazy like they were. They've been in the tank for a couple years now & I just recently noticed that they weren't as numerous. Could have been the flatworm treatment, but we didn't notice any of them dead during or after the treatment.
Do wife and kids count?
Zimmer
New member
LOL maybe you should submit a photo for ID then we can see specifically how much damage they may cause... you may notice the wife constantly digging in your wallet, and the children will eat a home bare within days if left unchecked - apparently once you've let these hitchhikers in there's no getting rid of them, and some people actually come to enjoy having them around :lolspin:
I think Sk8r and Sushi Girl might have something different to say about the ID on these... I'll wait for their kick.
Its there now
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