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FAQs about Live Rock Hitchhiker/Creature
Identification 16 Related Articles: Live Rock, Reef
Systems, Refugiums,
Related FAQs: Live
Rock, Answering Some LR FAQs by James Fatherree,
LR Hitchhiker ID 1, LR
Hitchhiker ID 2, LR
Hitchhiker ID 3, LR Hitchhiker ID 4,
LR Hitchhiker ID 5,
LR ID 6,
LR ID 7,
LR ID 8,
LR ID 9,
LR ID 10,
LR ID 11, LR ID 12, LR
ID 13,
LR
ID 14,
LR ID 15, LR ID17 & Non-Vert
IDs 1, Tubeworm ID, Polychaete Identification, Live Rock 1, LR
2, LR 3, LR 4, LR 5, Curing
Live Rock, Live Rock Selection, Shipping/Moving,
Placement, Lighting,
Water Quality, Live
Rock Studies in Fiji Collaboration & Charts, Copper
Use, Marine Landscaping, Marine
Biotope, Sumps, Refugiums, Faux
Rock,
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plant id... actually a Poriferan
– 03/20/08
hello, I have an unusual plant in my reef tank. It looks like
coralline algae in color. It grows slowly and has broad leafs/tissue.
Its pretty robust-- not brittle, quite slippery. I have been
searching for any similar plant/macroalgae morphology, but have not
found anything close. I would appreciate any input to help figure
this out. Thanks, rob
<Very nice pic and organism... This is actually a Sponge. See the Net,
or here: http://wetwebmedia.com/sponges.htm
and the linked ID files above. Bob Fenner>
Re: plant id, Poriferan
3/20/08
Thanks a lot for the input. I did actually frag it and find it to be
one of the cooler parts of my reef system.
<Is a beauty! And testament to your good maintenance. Cheers! BobF> |
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Isn't that pretty? |
Good pic of something – 03/20/08
Here is a pic of something. keep it and use it if you want. If you
know what it is, let me know. I have it in higher resolution, I think.
lol.
<The greenish thing in the middle? Perhaps a Sponge/Poriferan. Bob
Fenner> |
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I’m clueless
- ID needed: Egg Ribbon – 3/18/08
Hello!
<Hi there, Sonny!>
Hope you can help me to identify this creature.
<Sure hope so!>
I set up a nano reef tank about 7 month ago. I am into the hobby about 9
years now. All my water parameters (including Mg, Ca, Sr..etc..) are
close to perfect. I keep my temperature at 78-80 degrees. 15-17 lbs of
live rock, 20 lbs of aragonite, Marineland C-160 canister, Hydor Koralia
Nano powerhead, AquaC Remora Nano skimmer with MJ 900. Current Satellite
light system, 1 dual actinic and 1 dual daylight, 40 W each, 80 Watts
all together, set up with a timer. Only 8 hours daylight. 1 small colt
coral, 1 green eyed and 1 yellow polyps, trumpet coral. 1 six line
wrasse, about a dozen hermits, about the same amounts of assorted
snails. 1 sand shifter <Sifter?> star, 1 red thorny star,
<Uh-oh, these two stars need much, much, more room in order to survive.
They will not make it in a small tank.>
..and 1 cleaner shrimp. Very happy and healthy environment. Yesterday I
noticed something on one of my live rock, something I never seen before.
If you look at the picture the creature is right above my fish, and it
looks like a target.
<Nice photo!>
Round shaped, and has circles inside.. The color is kinda clear
whitish...Please help me identify this new critter for me!
<Hmmm, it looks like an egg ribbon, possibly left by a Nudibranch or
snail. No worries, these things pop up from time to time and usually
disappear within a few days - as food for the system’s inhabitants!
Please see these links for examples of Nudibranch egg ribbons:
http://www.seaslugforum.net/display.cfm?id=1128
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/nudireprofaqs.htm>
Your help is truly appreciated, Sonny
<You're very welcome! Take care, -Lynn>
Re: I’m clueless - ID needed: Egg
Ribbon – 3/18/08
Thank you very much Lynn!
<You're very welcome, Sonny!>
I forgot to mention this is a 10G tank.
<Yep, I had a feeling it was when you mentioned the light fixture, but
didn’t want to assume.>
I also forgot that I just introduced a lettuce Nudibranch (beautiful
creature, I never had one before) about a week ago, so I suppose he's
the source of those eggs.
<You got it!>
The sand sifter looks very happy, I don't see him too much though.
<Unfortunately, these need a large area of mature DSB to survive.>
The red thorny star is not the African red knob sea star, but I'm sure
you knew that.
<Well, I wasn’t sure if it was Protoreaster lincki or Echinaster
echinophorus, but unfortunately, neither is suitable for this size
tank.>
When I purchased him (I bought him and the Nudibranch at the same time)
they told me they won't grow bigger than 3-4 inches.
<Yes, although I’ve read differing reports on their size (ranging from
4-8”). Most say it’s around 4”, so I’d be more inclined to go with that
number.>
Should I take him back?
<Yes, actually I’d take both of those stars back. They’ll starve to
death in such a small system.>
He seems healthy. My only concern is that ever since I introduced him to
my tank, he's not moving a lot. Looks like he settled down on one of my
live rock, and he's been there ever since. I see him moving his
tentacles and arms, but he just "sits" there. I don't know.. He's
beautiful bright red and orange color.. Any thoughts?
<Yep, if he’s been in the same place for a week, that’s not good. Even
if he was doing well though, I would still recommend taking him back.>
My heavenly Nudibranch is all over the place, grazing for algaes all
day. Actually I don't have too much of nuisance algaes of any kind
anymore, is there any supplement I can use if unfortunately ( I can
believe I said that:-) I run out of algaes?
<Hmmm, you could try Nori, but I’m not too confident that it will be
eaten. These sea slugs are nothing if not picky little eaters! They tend
to like one particular algae and that’s it. Some like Bryopsis, others
eat Caulerpa, etc. Sadly, they’re usually short-lived in aquariums.>
Again, thank you very much for the infos and those great articles, I
think you made my night much better.
<You’re very welcome. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news about the
stars, but they really do need to be in a much larger system.>
If you have chance Lynn, please let Anthony know that He rule the
saltwater world.. By any means, He is the greatest.
<Hey, what about Bob! I say he’s the greatest! :-) Sorry, but I can't
help being partial. LOL I just couldn't let that go without saying
something! I’ve never met Anthony Calfo but he does seem like a terrific
guy – knowledgeable, funny and kind. I’m hoping to meet him at IMAC in
May. At that time, I would be most happy to relay your message!>
Thank you Lynn, good night
<You’re most welcome, Sonny. Goodnight to you too, -Lynn> |
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ID Please... Hair Worm
(Cirratulid species) 3/14/08
Hey there all,
<Hi Tim, Mich here!>
I was wondering if you might be able to ID this for me. I spotted it on
some of my Live Rock.
<Looks like a hair worm (Cirratulid species) to me, a harmless filter
feeder. Often crabs, including hermit, cleaner shrimp and nipping fish
prey upon these beneficial worms.>
Thanks Much, Tim
<Welcome much, Mich> |
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Live Rock Hitchhikers In A Very
Small System – 3/10/08
Hi crew,
<Hi there!>
A couple simple questions for you, I first off have multiple white egg
sacs on my LR as the first image attached shows you. I'd like if you
could tell me what they are,
<They're likely harmless little sponges. Please see this link, as well
as related links at the top: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/sponges.htm >
..as well as the second image I attached to this message, this
hitchhiker seems permanently imbedded into a part of my LR, I want to
call it an oyster but my knowledge is limited when it comes to saltwater
invertebrates.
<It's definitely a bivalve of some sort, also harmless. See this link,
as well as related links above: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/bivalvia.htm
>
I just got my 1 gallon tank from a friend of mine
<Yikes, that’s small! Keeping water quality up and stable, can be
extremely challenging in these systems. Please read through the
following links (as well as those listed at the top) for more
information:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/small.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/nanoreefsysart.htm >
..who had set it up with sand and LR and let it cycle for over a month,
I had my water tested at the LFS and they said it was O.K. for me to get
a fish in there so I did,
<I hope it’s a very tiny Goby! Also, you’re going to need to acquire
your own test kits in order to closely monitor water quality. Sorry to
sound like such a bummer about your new tank, but small tanks such as
this can be very difficult to keep, even for experienced aquarists!
Here’s a link regarding test kits:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/mtestsel.htm>
..and I noticed these two hitchhikers developing, if you could help me
figure out what these are I would appreciate your help :)
<My pleasure! They’re part of the beneficial biodiversity that arrives
in our systems via live rock, and a real treat to see. As long as you
can keep water quality in good shape, you should be seeing more and more
signs of life (worms, “pods”, etc). In the meantime, I’m going to
introduce you to a very valuable tool, WWM’s search engine! There’s a
wealth of information to be had there regarding various hitchhikers,
water chemistry issues, etc.!
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/WWMAdminSubWebIndex/question_page.htm
Good luck! Take care, -Lynn> |
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What is this?
2/29/08
Hi Bob,
<Peg>
My apologies if this catches you at a bad time, but would you care to
opine on what you see in the attached pic please? My old eyes aren't
what they used to be, and even with the mag glass I can't quite
determine what this is. It appears it may be an egg mass, but I'm not
positive.
Many thanks for your expert eyes!
Peggywww.all-reef.com
<Interesting... can almost make out the siphons of the individual...
tunicates? Perhaps a bit larger, better-resolved pic... Cheers, BobF> |
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Algae Question (Attn:
Sara)-02/27/08
Hi Sara (or whoever takes this e-mail),
I've got a question about something growing in my saltwater tank.
I'm not sure if you remember (if this is even Sara), but I've got a 29g BioCube.
All the parameters are where the should be, but I've had this THING / STUFF
growing on one of my pieces of rock, and I can't identify it.
At first, I thought it was a mushroom coral, but it wasn't. On closer
inspection, I realized that it wasn't black, but a deep indigo, and when I
touched it, it left what appeared to be ink on me (yeah, same color as before).
I've also noticed that it has these little "vents" on it. They look like
translucent lil' tubes, and I'm not sure if it's something for feeding,
breeding, or eating.
<That sounds like a sponge or tunicate more than an algae. But I'm sorry, it's
really impossible to say without a photo.>
My only guess, is that it's some kind of algae, but what kind? and is there any
way to get rid of it without destroying the surrounding coralline algae?
<Please send in a photo if you can.>
Again, thanks for your help!
DJ
<Best,
Sara M.>
ID and removal of yellow
cave-dwelling balls 02/19/2008
Hello,
<<G'morning. Andrew today>>
We bought an existing marine reef aquarium, 45 gallon long, without
knowing what we were getting into. Fortunately, with great help from the
wet web media forum [and Bob's seminal book], it has been a thrilling
roller-coaster ride of discovery and success. Maybe too much so.
<<Sounds like a wonderful journey your embarking on>>
Starting out with pretty much all the wrong equipment [and a nitrate
reading of 100 ppm], it is nice to say that at the end of two months
everything and everybody seems extremely healthy [purple mushroom corals
are at 5" diameter, one Domino damsel is possibly over 4" in length,
chemistry great, lots of exciting stories, etc].
<<Great news>>
Everything is healthy . and growing. So much so that we now may have a
problem with an unidentified yellow ball something [sponge?] that likes
to grow in caves or reduced light areas [and propagate]. Original there
were3 attached under one rock in a cave like setting. That cave now has
six and there are at least 4 other locations with these yellow fellows.
<<Yes, these are sponges, harmless filter feeders and will come and go,
depending on nutrient levels. More info can be found here
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/sponges.htm >>
The problem is one of the original yellow balls has gotten so big that
it is threatening to dislodge some rock from a crack it 'grew into'. The
question is safe removal.
If you know what these are, can you provide advice on the proper way to
harvest them. If the one can be saved, great. If not, can it be removed
without harm to the other occupants of the habitat?
<<Removing it is not a problem and it will not effect the others near
by. Safely remove with a scalpel blade or other sharp bladed instrument
and attach to a rock with some fishing line>>
Knowing the great level of support all of you provide it is easy to
imagine how busy you must be. I apologize for adding to the work load
with this question. Hope it is not an 'easy' simple thing that could
have [should have] been figured out. Please be assured that what you do
does make a difference. Dana C. Andrews, B.S.
<<Your questions are most welcome, so, no apology is needed. Thanks. A
Nixon>> |
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Zee spongee! |
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