1. algae. Green hair. Rock releases phosphate which your tank doesn't need, algae loves it. Run GFO to remove it and stop the algae.
2. red blush---cyanobacteria. It's not an algae. It's light-dependent, and turning out your tank lights (not the room lights) for 3 days, 4th day on actinic only will often get it, if done once monthly---but ONLY if you have a decent skimmer to take out the die-off. Otherwise, goes around comes around --- again.
3. stomatellas---shell like a saddle on a slug. Good guy.
4. bristleworms---bristles all the way to the head. Good guy. No matter how large. If too many, cut back on feeding: they're saving your tank from too much crud.
5. crabs---generally bad guys. Put them in your sump, they're fine.
6. spongy little growths of yellow, white, or purple or blue --- sponge. They're fine. They usually grow in dark places.
7. little tubes from the sand that send out 2 feelers. Spionid worms, good guys, generally, just filter feeders.
8. elephant like trunk from live rock: peanut worm, good guy.
9. snaky mess of fine worms near glass---spaghetti worm, good guy.
10. worm with distinct tentacles on head---eunicid worm, bad guy: get it out. Sump is ok.
11. rather pretty worm with pompoms down side: hermodice carunculata (look it up for a pic) fireworm. Bad guy.
12. dustbrown little tiny cluster like tubeworms: bad guys. Colonial hydroids. Kalk paste can discourage them.
13. slugs without any shell: nudibranchs---bad news if you have zoas: otherwise they'll soon starve.
14. tiny five-armed starfish missing an arm---asterinas. Harmless to most tanks. Again, with zoas, move them to your sump.
15. weed, of any sort, that starts up rooted to a rock---remove rock, toothbrush scrub off the weed, then dip area of rock for a count of thirty in pure hydrogen peroxide, rinse in tank discard water, then replace. Live weed IN your tank, with roots, is a bad situation.
16. little white dots on your glass---copepods, free fish food.
17...small grey crustaceans looking a bit like sowbugs---amphipods, free fish food.
18...small shrimplooking things---mysis breeding in your tank. Good.
19...distinct gunshot clicking from your rock at night: trouble: this is a pistol or mantis shrimp, that can be a fish-killer.
20. many-jointed shell with black mantle---chiton, good guy (usually nocturnal); ditto a pointy shell with hole in top---limpet, another good guy.
And to see pix of these items, type them into google. They have pix of most.
2. red blush---cyanobacteria. It's not an algae. It's light-dependent, and turning out your tank lights (not the room lights) for 3 days, 4th day on actinic only will often get it, if done once monthly---but ONLY if you have a decent skimmer to take out the die-off. Otherwise, goes around comes around --- again.
3. stomatellas---shell like a saddle on a slug. Good guy.
4. bristleworms---bristles all the way to the head. Good guy. No matter how large. If too many, cut back on feeding: they're saving your tank from too much crud.
5. crabs---generally bad guys. Put them in your sump, they're fine.
6. spongy little growths of yellow, white, or purple or blue --- sponge. They're fine. They usually grow in dark places.
7. little tubes from the sand that send out 2 feelers. Spionid worms, good guys, generally, just filter feeders.
8. elephant like trunk from live rock: peanut worm, good guy.
9. snaky mess of fine worms near glass---spaghetti worm, good guy.
10. worm with distinct tentacles on head---eunicid worm, bad guy: get it out. Sump is ok.
11. rather pretty worm with pompoms down side: hermodice carunculata (look it up for a pic) fireworm. Bad guy.
12. dustbrown little tiny cluster like tubeworms: bad guys. Colonial hydroids. Kalk paste can discourage them.
13. slugs without any shell: nudibranchs---bad news if you have zoas: otherwise they'll soon starve.
14. tiny five-armed starfish missing an arm---asterinas. Harmless to most tanks. Again, with zoas, move them to your sump.
15. weed, of any sort, that starts up rooted to a rock---remove rock, toothbrush scrub off the weed, then dip area of rock for a count of thirty in pure hydrogen peroxide, rinse in tank discard water, then replace. Live weed IN your tank, with roots, is a bad situation.
16. little white dots on your glass---copepods, free fish food.
17...small grey crustaceans looking a bit like sowbugs---amphipods, free fish food.
18...small shrimplooking things---mysis breeding in your tank. Good.
19...distinct gunshot clicking from your rock at night: trouble: this is a pistol or mantis shrimp, that can be a fish-killer.
20. many-jointed shell with black mantle---chiton, good guy (usually nocturnal); ditto a pointy shell with hole in top---limpet, another good guy.
And to see pix of these items, type them into google. They have pix of most.
