Not to Sure?????

[fireemt_us]

OK, so i have a small tank that has been set up for wel over 6 months now and im starting to see some new life. Its a 10 gallon tank with 8 lbs of LR and crushed shell and small shells in the bottom. The weird thing is i seem to have a very, very small feather duster growing in the lower substrate. I also see very small star fish. Less than an inch across. Is this possible??? There seems to be several of them down there. Also theres tons and tons of little shrimp looking things in there. Im thinking their mantis shrimp. Is this ok??? Should i do anything with them???

 

[007]

Those are actually amphipods . . . . mantis shrimp are actually rather large. Larger than what you are seeing anyway.
The starfish are also a big bonus too . . . all the things you mentioned are the basic foundation of a reef substrate. Your bottom dwellers and infauna sound like they are establishing and maturing very nicely. Good job!

 

[fireemt_us]

Thanks for the input. I wasnt to sure what to think, I knew it wasnt bad I just didnt know if they would over take the tank.

 

[timg]

several fish thrive on the amphipods, such as mandarins and scooter blennys. I have noticed(it might just be a rare occassion) that they helped eliminate red slime when I had a minor outbreak. I have huge amounts of pods and a week ago Ired slime showed up on my filter intake. Later that day the patch of slime was covered with pods and within 2 days they had eaten all of it. You probably will also see small white sponges appear.