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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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Unknown critter ID, Porifera 8/9/08
Hi,
<Hello, Mich
with you tonight.>
I've been reading this site for months.. it's
great.
<Thanks! Glad you like it!>
Now I need some help.
<Alrighty!>
My tank is two weeks old.
<VERY new!>
Ammonia
has been trending downward for 6 days and is now at less than
.25ppm. The tank has 192W of PC lighting (96W 10k, and 96W dual
actinic) running 7 hours per day. The tank is doing great, I've got
new growth in macroalgae, feather worms, breeding snails, etc. The
live rock is from Tampa Bay Saltwater, so call it Caribbean rock.
<Ok.>
I've got these things growing on it. (see pic) They are
thin, translucent, white stalks. They have gone from nonexistent to
1 to 2 inches tall in about a week. It appears to have small polyps
on them, but that's not really verified. Is this a juvenile
gorgonian colony?
<Nope. Is a sponge, likely growing rapidly due
to high nutrient content in the water. Is a harmless filter feeder.
Just enjoy it. More here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/sponges.htm
and related links in blue.>
Thanks
<Welcome,
Mich> | 
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Strange thing in my tank 8/6/08
Okay to start off, I have a 70
g, two 50g, a 30g, and a 110g saltwater tank. The 70g tank has been up
over a year. The two 50s and the 30g(refugium) have been up awhile. Long
enough to be doing well. Anyway, I know you are not supposed to but we
bought some live rock from friends of ours that they had in a tank for
over two years. It was beautiful. Lots of colors and very pretty.
Anyway, they noticed, after they purchased several corals, that this
thing was at the bottom of the tank. It sat on the bottom of their tank
in a mass of hair algae. We bought the rock, brought it home and
scrubbed it down, and then put it in the tank for curing. The hair algae
is gone, but the little critter has made a reappearance. It is the red
Aiptasia looking thing beneath the Montipora, and in some of the other
pics you can see its 'legs' stretching across the rock. It looks like
hairs stretching across the rock. The 'legs' appear to be segmented.
And although the body is red, the 'legs' are white with black 'joints'.
The body is about .5" and the total red mass is 1" to 1.5" , and the
'legs' are about 10" stretching across the rock and down the side of it.
We are worried and don't know if we should try to extract it, or if we
should try to kill it, or if it would try to get us!!! I don't want to
get stung. Please help!!
Thank you,
BJ hardy
<This is very
likely a type of sedentariate polychaete worm... do take a look on the
Net, WWM re "spaghetti worms"... Completely harmless... even beneficial,
or aesthetic beauty. I would leave it as is, enjoy. Bob Fenner> | 
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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> | 
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>> | 
Zee spongee!
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