unwanted guests?

[greginohio]

first time user...first time posting...hope it works. I have several tanks, the largest of which is 125g. This tank has 150 lbs. of live rock, 4 med. fish, one eel, one camel shrimp, one purple lobster, several blueleg hermits & turbo snails. One rock was purchased from the local fish store I patronize, and shortly after purchasing, (approx 2 wks) I noticed a tiny little purple plant, some bristle worms, and these little bug-looking creatures which look like oversized transparent fleas. Now (approx 18 mo. later), I see the worms & flea-like creatures everywhere - especially in the substrate - and the purple plants have nearly overcome the rockscape. I am worried that this will become detrimental if it isn't already. Any info will be greatly appreciated.

 

[reefnut]

Welcome to swf.com!! The "flea-like" critters are most likely pods which are good for the tank and provide a natural food source for many fish. The bristle worms are beneficial scavengers and can only help. The only concern I would have is the purple plant. Can you get a pic?? Do you have a refuge you could move it into?? The only concern I see is to overgrowing the rocks and such in the tank. If you can isolate it to the one rock I think that would be best.
Take a look here for some commen hitchhikers... https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=163522

 

[jrandolph1]

Bristle worms are good but if you prefer not to have them, I hear they are a favorite food of the arrow crab. The plant sounds like Aipstasia (it is bad and will eventually take over a tank) which is a favorite food of the Peppermint shrimp. We had some and our Peppermint shrimp ate it all.

 

[greginohio]

hey all:
Totally impressed w/the quick, helpful resposes. I beleve the "purple plant" is Aipstasia, and I know it has TAKEN OVER. Guess I didn't explain the situation properly. I would guesstimate 5-10,000 plants ranging in size from 1-2 mm(these are barely visible)to nearly 4" in length w/ a top as large as 3" in diameter. They are growing out of the substrate, off the powerheads, even on the glass itself! All of this from nothing, the plant was not even visible w/the rock was purchased. Obviously they must go, can peppermint shrimp alone control them, and how many? Also, how many bristle worms can the crabs eat? Crude calculations of 100 worms per square inch(I can count 10 per inch on each side pressed against the glass) and tank dim. (72"x18") leaves me with roughly 130,000 creatures on the top layer of substrate alone! Any help would be greatly appreciated.