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

[Sugar Magnolia]

So..wife/kids insisted we take the step to saltwater...(I put up a show of resistance :dance

Short version...in the process of cycling the tank (time in shy 2 months) - so far we've got all the standard critters (almost all from live rock) and a few unknowns we look up and learn..
BUT...there is one we can't seem to ID...assuming it's a stony/hard coral?

Foraminiferons. Harmless.

 

[Wrightflyer2]

Foraminiferons. Harmless.

Thanks for the quick response! Soooo not coral, but it's pretty neat looking...

Appreciate the ID Sugar Magnolia!

 

[SuperNiketas]

I have at least five of these guys ranging from half an inch to 4-5 inches long. They eat fish food when I feed the tank and an azure damsel lives with them in the rubble there and doesn't seem to mind them, but I'm not sure what they are exactly.

 

[SuperNiketas]

Caught a picture of the big one.

 

[DDon]

Bristle worms

 

[jenncammorato]

Hi folks. I'm brand new... both here, and to the hobby. My 60g tank is strictly in the live rock and a few snails stage only at this point... in fact, these two rocks were added just yesterday. I know it can take awhile for some hitchhikers to make themselves apparent, but I'm really paranoid about baddies, so I took photos of the two things I couldn't identify. The first is stuck to the rock and does not respond when poked. I suspect it's just an algae of some sort.

The second looks kind of like a pitcher plant. It's somewhere between white and clear. It doesn't respond to touch, and it's tubish with a long (relative to size) thin protrusion coming from the base.

Both of these are on Totoka rock.

Do either of these scream "AHHH GET IT OUT NOW" or is it ok for me to take a wait and see attitude with them?

Thanks so much. I really appreciate the help.

 

[Big_Boss_77]

Bristle worms also get a decent bit bigger, no worries though. They are excellent detritus cleaners.

 

[billy mitchell]

regards to post 3958
no one knows what these thread type of thing is
so got you all stumped

 

[billy mitchell]

I have something in my tank that is really hard to capture...have been able to catch several crabs but there is something that can get out of a bottle that is 6'deep and has an opening of only 1"
has anyone an idea of a better system in removing hitchhikers

 

[sprakinhyt]

My rock is 2 days old and this filament thingy appeared last night. At first it was only about 1cm long and now it's about 3-4cm's. Any ideas on what this is?

Thanks in advance!

 

[fulltimetoker]

So I have this 3 gallon nano cube and have been working at it for about 4 months, lots of things have come out of the rock work since setting the tank up but when I got a birds nest I had something come out next to it. Not sure what this is but I've watched it a lot and it doesn't seem to be able to reach the birds nest but should it be moved? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Just a few clear-ish tentacles or something to the left .

 

[DDon]

My rock is 2 days old and this filament thingy appeared last night. At first it was only about 1cm long and now it's about 3-4cm's. Any ideas on what this is?

Thanks in advance!

View attachment 289058

Hard to tell from the picture. Is it out all the time or does it retract into the rock?

 

[sprakinhyt]

Hard to tell from the picture. Is it out all the time or does it retract into the rock?

Hi DDon, thanks for responding. It was out all the time and now it's gone. My rocks are 4 days old today and I've found more worms, some baby feather dusters, a small crab and 2 fast swimming isopods I guess.

 

[DDon]

So I have this 3 gallon nano cube and have been working at it for about 4 months, lots of things have come out of the rock work since setting the tank up but when I got a birds nest I had something come out next to it. Not sure what this is but I've watched it a lot and it doesn't seem to be able to reach the birds nest but should it be moved? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Just a few clear-ish tentacles or something to the left .

From the limited view of the pictures it looks like aptasia. Might take a look at pictures if aptasia to confirm. You will want to kill aptasia as they spread and will sting corals

 

[DDon]

Hi folks. I'm brand new... both here, and to the hobby. My 60g tank is strictly in the live rock and a few snails stage only at this point... in fact, these two rocks were added just yesterday. I know it can take awhile for some hitchhikers to make themselves apparent, but I'm really paranoid about baddies, so I took photos of the two things I couldn't identify. The first is stuck to the rock and does not respond when poked. I suspect it's just an algae of some sort.

The second looks kind of like a pitcher plant. It's somewhere between white and clear. It doesn't respond to touch, and it's tubish with a long (relative to size) thin protrusion coming from the base.

Both of these are on Totoka rock.

Do either of these scream "AHHH GET IT OUT NOW" or is it ok for me to take a wait and see attitude with them?

Thanks so much. I really appreciate the help.

Hi Jenncammorato,
The pictures are not real clear, but I do not see anything that I would be concerned about. I would just give it some time.

 

[DDon]

Hi DDon, thanks for responding. It was out all the time and now it's gone. My rocks are 4 days old today and I've found more worms, some baby feather dusters, a small crab and 2 fast swimming isopods I guess.

Always fun to see what shows up in the rock. Be careful with crabs that show up in your rock, most are not going to be good. Can you snap a pic of it?

 

[sprakinhyt]

Always fun to see what shows up in the rock. Be careful with crabs that show up in your rock, most are not going to be good. Can you snap a pic of it?

Hi and thanks again DDon. Here's the pic of the crab. Found another crab today, it looks similar but white or semi transparent in color. They're about 1.5 - 2cm




Also found this critter (isopod?) swimming around and walking through the rocks and the sand. It's about 1cm.

 

[DDon]

I'm not able to identify the crab and no idea on the second pic. Hopefully someone else will chime in to help you. The general thinking with crabs in reef tanks is unless they are commensal they don't stay.

 

[jcolley]

Fire Worms?

Fire Worms?

Pulled some GHA out tonight. Had a nice little mat of it since I've been renovating the house and slacking on parameter checks for a couple of weeks. PO4 was up a bit and the GHA shows it.

I moved a little rock of zoas off the sand and saw this guy make a run for it. I'm not optimistic enough to think there's only one of them.

Fire worm? I have quite a few bristle worms...this guy doesn't look quite the same.

 

[Wrightflyer2]

2 IDs...

2 IDs...

I'm thinking this first pic is of some type of copepod/amphipod?
The second pic looks like a crab or something along those lines?
I'm using a 10x achromatic magnifier to see both - while I can make out some movement with the naked eye...these guys are tiny!