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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>> |   |
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>
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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