What are These???

gliderjohn

gliderjohn

Member
My 46 bf has just finished cycling and I'm preparing to do a 40% water change tomorrow.
I was just looking at the LR - there is green and purple algae beginning to grow on them. But as I was looking at the rock, I saw some little critter running around on it!! It's about 1/4 in. in size and looks like some sort of tiny shrimp. Then my wife noticed another, then another. So far we've seen about 6 of them.
I've not added any CUC or fish to the tank yet. These obviously came with the rock (Figi and Tonga).
Any idea what they may be? Are they something I need to get rid of? If so, how?
Wow. What a surpise!!!
 
gliderjohn

gliderjohn

Member
Originally Posted by socal57che
http:///forum/post/2509302
I love that thread.
Does it look like this?
I checked out the thread T316 listed, but they look a lot like (but not exactly like) the picture from Socal57che. They look innocent enough, they just skitter in, out and around on the rock. The more I look the more there seems to be.
Thank you both.
 
socal57che

socal57che

Active Member
Originally Posted by Gliderjohn
http:///forum/post/2510231
they look a lot like (but not exactly like) the picture from Socal57che. They look innocent enough, they just skitter in, out and around on the rock. The more I look the more there seems to be.
Thank you both.
My pic is of beneficial amphipods. The population may increase dramatically then decrease to the point that you think they've died off. Then the population will rise again. I see no correlation between this rise/fall in numbers and anything else transpiring in the tank. They are a food source for some fish, so the fact that you have them present may open up opportunities for some cool fish. (like a mandarin)
ps...A mandarin may likely only eat pods so you need to keep an eye on the population.
 
naso140

naso140

Member
not to hijack this thread but i dont want to start another thread and hog thread space- i have starfish coming out of nowhere and my buddy cannot wrap his mind around it. i told him that i went and asked my LFS and they said its coming from the liverock and that wasnt comprehendable to him . can anyone offer a more in depth explanation?
 
socal57che

socal57che

Active Member
Originally Posted by Naso140
http:///forum/post/2510474
not to hijack this thread but i dont want to start another thread and hog thread space- i have starfish coming out of nowhere and my buddy cannot wrap his mind around it. i told him that i went and asked my LFS and they said its coming from the liverock and that wasnt comprehendable to him . can anyone offer a more in depth explanation?
Small ones?
Yes they came as hitchhikers on your LR. Sometimes even rather large specimens (crabs, snails, shrimp, even fish) can come in on live rock unnoticed.
ps...in the future it's actually better to start a new thread. You'll get more responses.
 
naso140

naso140

Member
well thing is i didnt buy any LR from my LFS. only my BNaso and Cowfish oh and my mandarin. i bought the complete setup off craigslist. the guy said it had been setup for 12-16 months. i did the total transfer with water and all. i can believe it though because he got all his stuff from seaworld.(they used to sell to employees but got busted). so yes, they're small, like newly born small. eggs in the LR? i dont know i just want to get him off my back on this issue
 
gliderjohn

gliderjohn

Member
Originally Posted by socal57che
http:///forum/post/2510437
My pic is of beneficial amphipods. The population may increase dramatically then decrease to the point that you think they've died off. Then the population will rise again. I see no correlation between this rise/fall in numbers and anything else transpiring in the tank. They are a food source for some fish, so the fact that you have them present may open up opportunities for some cool fish. (like a mandarin)
ps...A mandarin may likely only eat pods so you need to keep an eye on the population.

Originally Posted by socal57che
http:///forum/post/2510496
Small ones?
Yes they came as hitchhikers on your LR. Sometimes even rather large specimens (crabs, snails, shrimp, even fish) can come in on live rock unnoticed.
ps...in the future it's actually better to start a new thread. You'll get more responses.
1. A mandarin is definitely on my fish wish list (though down the road). I understand they need lots of pods for food. I have a fuge on the back of my tank. Threads on this site say I can raise them in the fuge - I'll be working in that direction.
2. Does this mean I should look for other things showing up on the rock? Or, since the rock has already been in the tank for two weeks, if I haven't seen anything more by now, there's nothing more there?
I"ve also noted some interesting and strange plant (?) growth on one of the rocks (doesn't seem to be algae). I'll try to post a pic this evening. It's obviously time to start adding cuc and fish - I find I'm spending alot of time just staring at the rocks!
 
socal57che

socal57che

Active Member
Originally Posted by Gliderjohn
http:///forum/post/2510629
1. A mandarin is definitely on my fish wish list (though down the road). I understand they need lots of pods for food. I have a fuge on the back of my tank. Threads on this site say I can raise them in the fuge - I'll be working in that direction.
2. Does this mean I should look for other things showing up on the rock? Or, since the rock has already been in the tank for two weeks, if I haven't seen anything more by now, there's nothing more there?
I"ve also noted some interesting and strange plant (?) growth on one of the rocks (doesn't seem to be algae). I'll try to post a pic this evening. It's obviously time to start adding cuc and fish - I find I'm spending alot of time just staring at the rocks!

You will have stuff coming out of your rock for a long time. Spores get buried deep in the crevaces. I've even heard of fish coming out of deep cracks. Aiptasia, feathers, shrooms...all kinds of stuff.
 
gliderjohn

gliderjohn

Member
I found this growing on the rock. Thought it looked pretty cool, but I have no idea what it is. Also, is there a thread on the boards with pictures on the various algaes we can get in the tanks? I'm getting a number of kinds growing now. One is going wild.
 
socal57che

socal57che

Active Member
Originally Posted by Gliderjohn
http:///forum/post/2511883
is there a thread on the boards with pictures on the various algaes
The best place I have found is http://www.algaebase.org/ ,but you need some serious time to devote to digging through their data base. There is a search button with a pulldown menu. I usually rummage via the "search images" button in the pulldown as I don't know the names to most of what I'm lookng for.
 
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