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FAQs about Live Rock Hitchhiker/Creature
Identification 9 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 10,
LR ID 11,
LR ID 12, LR ID 13,
LR ID 14,
LR ID 15,
LR ID 16, 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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Reef tank - White, waxy, reticular "growth" between rocks -
what is it? 04/17/2006
You are a gold mine of information for which I am most grateful so I
apologize in advance if you've already answered this question and I
failed to find your answer.
<We'll see...>
I have a year-old, well lit, 75 gal reef tank with a few generally
hardy and reef-safe fish, corals, and inverts. My problems have been
limited to a few fish disappearing completely within a couple of
days of introduction, early demise of two open brain corals (several
months apart), and majano anemones that double in number about every
2-3 months
<Don't we wish we could clip those genes onto the cash in our
accounts!>
which has now become a problem. Temperature is 80 and chemistry is
within acceptable limits accept the salinity has crept up but which
should be easier to control now that I've bought and calibrated a
refractometer.
<A nice tool>
My question is, what is the white, waxy material (center of the
attached photo) that forms something of a web between and on my live
rock. It's been there for weeks and seems to be growing slowly.
<Nice pic, apparently tank en toto... This is a type of sponge, no
worries>
I'm also curious about the patch of tiny brown polyps(?) with green
tips near the center of the left edge of the photo. I saw what seems
to be a larger version of the same thing in the Georgia Aquarium's
reef tank but there was no label. (Sorry about the fuzzy photo but
the stuff IS fuzzy.)
<Mmm... look like some sort of small zoanthid sp.>
And, as long as you are looking at the photo, those ARE majano
anemones in the upper left corner, aren't they?
<Yes... I think so as well. Bob Fenner>
Thanks,
John M |
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Unidentified tagalong to LR...
- 04/05/2006
Howdy from Texas!
<Backatcha from Southern Cal.>
I'm in the process of curing 15lbs of LR purchased from a LFS in a
new 29gal tank (my first foray into the marine art). Everything
seems to be going as
planned, but in the process of my cleaning routine of removing dead
algae, this 'egg' fell off. I'm leaving it be for now, as there's
nothing in the tank BUT the curing live rock, however I'm very
curious as to what to expect. I couldn't seem to get a very good
picture, so to supplement the image, its kind of an off-red
translucent with
darker red stripes, shaped similarly to the body of an emerald crab.
There is an air bubble of some sort inside of it, leading me to
believe some sort
of embryo. However, I am of course no expert, so I turn to those who
are. Regardless of identification, is this something I should allow
to remain?
Can I assume it will be something beneficial, or might that be a
mistake? Thanks in advance!
Justin Norman
<Looks like a bit of shell (Mollusk) to me. I'd also leave it be...
Enjoy! Bob Fenner>
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Critter ID...Limpets - 04/01/06
Hello!
<<Howdy>>
I need help ID'ing these critters. There has been an 'outbreak' of
these critters. I say that because there are quite a few of
them. I've look through WWM but am unable to ID them. My guess is
a sort of snail.
<<Looks to be a Limpet (a mollusk)...possibly P. vulgata>>
Some are on the glass, but most are on the live rock. Should I
worry that they'll be to many?
<<Probably not, these are considered to be primarily algae
grazers. Just keep an eye on them but they'll likely be fine.>>
If they are snails I hope not. I wouldn't mind having a big
janitorial crew. I did have a pair of Turbo snails. Key word
'have'.
Thanks,
Stan
<<Regards, EricR>> |
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Live Rock/Hitchhiker 3/30/06
Do you know by any chance what can it be - white, slightly
translucent, cotton ball size, web-looking interweaved filaments with
several extended tubes (image attached).
Something like tunicate or sponge; should I leave it or remove
it? <Neat looking. I'd leave it. Appears to be some type of sponge.>
Thank you! <You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)>
Elena. |
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Crustacean Conundrum - 03/22/2006
Hello Wet Web,
<Hi Mike.>
I've got another question for ya! I just purchased about 30lbs of live rock
from an established aquarium. I transported it under water over to my house in
about 7hrs. I put the rock (Fiji, Marshall, Tonga) in my tank and was wondering
about a couple of little critters running around. I used a flash light at night
to see what nocturnal animals would come out and I saw really really small
critters (less than a cm, maybe the size of a pen head) running around all over
the place. When I flashed the light on them, they seem to glow a little. Do you
have any idea what these are? They seem to run around really fast and there are
a ton of them. Could they be copepods?
<Could be, most likely seeing a mix of copepods and amphipods.>
Could this be mantis shrimp offspring?
<I don't believe so.>
I also saw a couple of other critters that looked like they might be mantis but
I'm not sure. I've looked at a couple photos but can't really tell if it's the
same thing in my tank. They look like shrimp, they are about a cm long and they
are kind of clear or white. I saw maybe 4 of them in my tank. About how big do
they get?
<These would be the amphipods. Not much larger than you are seeing.>
Will they reproduce in my tank?
<Yes.>
Is this something to really worry about?
<Nope.>
Will a Green or Spotted Mandarin Dragonet eat these?
<Like you wouldn't believe!>
Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks for all the great info on this website.
<Start here http://www.wetwebmedia.com/pericaridanfaqs.htm
and explore the related links/articles for more on microcrustaceans.>
Mike
<Welcome to crazy critter country! - Josh>
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Live Rock/Hitchhiker 3/20/06
Hi Bob, <James today>
Thanks again for the wonderful site! <You're welcome.>
I currently have a 75 gallon tank with Live Rock, Live Sand, 4 Snails, 1
Emerald Crab and 2 Hermit Crabs. I have a slight problem with Aiptasia, and
my local dealers haven’t had Peppermints in stock yet, and I want to
eradicate that before I add corals. So I’m just basically growing coralline
algae right now on my rock, and watching the little tag along critters.
Anyways, I snapped a photo of a critter I have in the tank. I have dozens
of these in the tank and I can’t find similar photos on your site (might
just be looking in the wrong place), so I figured I’d snag a picture for
you. I just want to make sure they’re not harmful before I add fish. The
don’t have heads protruding like the Isopod Images you have on your site.
If you could help me identify this, and let me know if I should worry, let
me know. The largest of these is about ¼ inch long right now. <A Chiton of
some
type, will cause no harm. James (Salty Dog)>
Thanks!
Bill
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Crazy Live Rock Critter - 03/17/2006
First off, I cannot begin to stress how helpful the site has been to me.
<Very glad to hear it.>
I have a 200 gallon system setup. It has between 150-175lbs of live rock. The
other night I turned on the light and saw something odd.
<Happened to me once and though I can't get him to admit it, I'm sure my dog
knows I saw him ;)>
It looked like a long piece of string roughly 10-12 inches long. It was a
red/pinkish color. First thought was that it was an extra long piece of
bi-product. A minute later it retracted back into a small crevice in a piece of
rock.
<Some sort of worm no doubt.>
I caught a quick glimpse of the end of it and it seemed to have a fork shape end
to it, similar to what a starfish moves with. Sorry I can't think of what that
is called.
<The tube feet?>
So have you ever seen/heard of this?
<Yes. I've seen many similar things in my tank.>
I have had this setup for over a year and have never seen it until now.
<A good indication that things are coming along nicely. - Josh>
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