A couple of Hitchhikers

razor vampire

razor vampire

Member
I started my 12 gallons tank about a week ago. There is live rocks, live sand, add a damsel. The water test is not right. High nirtrias, amino (spelling?)
Anyway I have to wait a week before getting a clown fish. I can't add any anemone until 3 months.
I found a couple of Hitchhikers. One looks like a big slime ball with a sponges thing inside. I thing I have a crab too. I tried poking it with a straw, and I am sure it's a crab.
This other one is very small. It has a ring of long white tentacles. I poke it with a straw, and it started to hold it. Is this an anemone? I am afraid that it will poison my whole tank. If the anemone dies. My water is not good. Now I am worry.
 
E

essop3

Guest
You'll need to wait over a week for a clown. You shouldn't have a damsel right now. Do a search for the word cycle. That will help a lot.
The hitch hikers are hard to say without pics. 1 sounds like a sponge 2 maybe a crab- most hitch hiker crabs are bad 3 sounds like an anenome of some type. If it came as a hitch hiker it's probably a pretty tough kind.
 
razor vampire

razor vampire

Member
Originally Posted by essop3
You'll need to wait over a week for a clown. You shouldn't have a damsel right now. Do a search for the word cycle. That will help a lot.
The hitch hikers are hard to say without pics. 1 sounds like a sponge 2 maybe a crab- most hitch hiker crabs are bad 3 sounds like an anenome of some type. If it came as a hitch hiker it's probably a pretty tough kind.
I think my damsel is Ok now. The water test is not over the roof high, just near the end of cycling. Besides he eatting, and swimming around. Not gasping all the time.
Also I found to said, I have some feather looking thing that hides in the rocks.
 
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essop3

Guest
Depends on the type of crab. Hairy legs mean it's probably bad.
What are your numbers for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?
The feathery thing is a feather duster. They are good. They are filter feeders.
 
petjunkie

petjunkie

Active Member
I would take out the damsel and not add any fish until your ammonia and nitrites read zero for at least two weeks. That will greatly increase your chances of success. Nothing in this hobby goes fast and honestly it sounds like you are going way too fast. Do a month of reading before you add livestock and save yourself money and headaches. Anemones are very difficult animals to keep and shouldn't really be kept in a tank under a year old and will outgrow a 12 gallon anyways so don't count on keeping one.
 
razor vampire

razor vampire

Member
Originally Posted by essop3
Depends on the type of crab. Hairy legs mean it's probably bad.
What are your numbers for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?
The feathery thing is a feather duster. They are good. They are filter feeders.
The crab is hairy

I don't know. It's close for a clown fish to live in. They said it would take a week
The feather thing looks like a worm with feathery hair. It's not a feather duster.
I am worry about the anemone thing.
 
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essop3

Guest
Feather dusters are worms.
Petjunkie is giving good advice.
 
mace

mace

Member
Clowns can live with out one. Thay are not a must for them. I would also wait a month or so to add anything else like the others have said already.
 
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essop3

Guest
While the damsel can live through a cycle it's cruel to make them live in such conditions.
 
m0nk

m0nk

Active Member
Originally Posted by Razor Vampire
The crab is hairy

I don't know I heard
The feather thing looks like a worm with feathery hair. It's not a feather duster.
Can you take pics of any of these critters?
Also, I agree with the others that you won't be able to support an anemone in that tank, considering first the lighting in a 12 gallon won't be high enough, plus the size of the tank is too small to support something that moves around and will grow to be quite large.
As far as the cycle, you should wait until the end of the cycle to put anything in. Just because it's "close" to the end doesn't mean it's safe yet, and it's kind of cruel to the fish to put it into an environment that still has ammonia and nitrites. Even though your LFS will probably tell you that a Damsel is hardy and can live through a cycle, it's still not nice to the fish. A cycle should only have live rock/sand from beginning to end, and to kick it off you could use a raw shrimp, but once the ammonia starts kicking up that shrimp could go. Then you just wait and test, and test and wait. And once all 3 (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) are at 0 you can think about adding something. It might even be best for a beginner if you wait at least 2 weeks after your readings hit 0 (and continually stay at 0) and do a 10-15% water change or two before adding anything, just to be sure it's stable.
Another note about the damsel, if you plan on returning it, good luck; they're a pain to catch. If you plan on keeping it they don't play well with others.
Hope this helps, best of luck!
 
m0nk

m0nk

Active Member
Originally Posted by Razor Vampire
Ok then How to I get the crab and anemone out?
About the damsel, I am using it to help with the cycle.
That's the thing, you shouldn't use a damsel to help with the cycle, it's cruel. But at any rate, if you can take pics of what you have in your tank we can help ID them and that would help everyone help you to remove them if needed.
 
cagrn

cagrn

Member
I used a Yellowtail Damsel and 2 green chromis to cycle my first tank as a result of wanting to move too fast. After reading a lot and knowing more about the nitrogen cycle I would never recommend anyone use the damsel method. My second and third tanks I cycled by using a little sand from the first tank adding a little food to the tank and watching the numbers. They actually cycled faster because I knew more about what I was doing.
I can vouch for anyone who says you cannot do things quickly in this hobby. I have nee doing it for just over a year now. I have made a few of those rookie mistakes, but I have learned from them. So far, I have done well and only lost the first 3 fish I mentioned above and a Dwarf Lionfish that
may have had signs of being sick I didn;t pick up on when I bought it.
Go slow; good luck
 
razor vampire

razor vampire

Member
This my tank

This the anemone white thing. Look in the center. Sorry for the crappy pictures.


At the white patch look at the left. Here the feather worm
 
m0nk

m0nk

Active Member
I'm sorry, I'm personally unable to make out anything. Maybe someone else can see something.
 
S

smartorl

Guest
Please slow down. Using the damsel to cycle the tank in an effort to rush the process will cost you alot of time and money down the road and as stated above, it is very cruel to put the fish through that. The ammonia in the water will burn the gills which I can't imagine is veyr pleasant. If your fish store is assuring you that your tank will be ready for a clown in a week, trust me, find a new fish store because they are just going to suck the money right out of your wallet.
 
razor vampire

razor vampire

Member
Here my water test:
nitrites2: 2.5
ammonia: 0
Ph: 8.2
The guy said everything fine beside the nitrites2. Which is the fish killer.
 
razor vampire

razor vampire

Member
Also I told him if I should take out my damsel. He said that it will only slow or prevent the cycle. Telling me that the fish needs to produce waste to down the nitrites2.
This is at a place for salt water. Trust me.
 
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