Llj's Hitch Hiker Thread... The "pet Rock" Phase...

[lljdma06]

Here are the thingys I found on my LR on day 1 of my two tank setups. Most of action is in the 8g today... but I did find this in the 2.5g.

A teeny whitish bivalve of some type, can't tell if it's just the shell or if there's something there. It just floats there. If it's just the shell, it's a complete shell & it's closed.

8g action...

Tuby thingys, I've got the Marine invert book, but I couldn't find them. must buy a more detailed book

And I don't want to know what this is, though I think I know... In the second pic, there is a second one underneath the cave.

Otherwise, I'm pleased. The coraline is growing better. I have a limited photoperiod right now and will increase it gradually as the cycle continues.

Thanks for looking.

llj

Edit: Video of the colonial hydroids...

 

[Monochrome5]

Picture one is likely a scallop if it's alive. Watch it - little tubes will come out of it if it's living.

Picture two is a colonial feather duster species (retracted into the tubes). Harmless. Wait for them to come out - some are a beautiful red or yellow! There is a slight, slight chance they may be vermatid snails, though vermatids don't usually cluster like that. Wait and see what pops out (wow... that sounds dirty).

Picture three is a mojano. Pest anemone. Not as bad as aiptasia (not as prolific). Most people get rid of them. If you want to make a donation to the pest tank... you know where to find me

 

[lljdma06]

Picture one is likely a scallop if it's alive. Watch it - little tubes will come out of it if it's living.

Picture two is a colonial feather duster species (retracted into the tubes). Harmless. Wait for them to come out - some are a beautiful red or yellow! There is a slight, slight chance they may be vermatid snails, though vermatids don't usually cluster like that. Wait and see what pops out (wow... that sounds dirty).

Picture three is a mojano. Pest anemone. Not as bad as aiptasia (not as prolific). Most people get rid of them. If you want to make a donation to the pest tank... you know where to find me

Thanks, I knew it was a nem, but it's so little and it didn't quite look like an aiptasia, but I couldn't think of the name, just kept thinking mojito or something like that. There is another one under the rock. I'll let them get bigger and then ship them off to you, or zap them.

Excited about tiny tuby things. Hope they are option A rather than option B.

 

[Monochrome5]

Actually...

I know exactly what it is

 

[Monochrome5]

HA! Got it. I have one in my tank right now... Not the feather dusters... the purple tube means... ready for this?

Pipe Organ Coral!!

 

[lljdma06]

I thought those were Indo-pacific?

There are Caribbean, species, then again, my LR may not be Caribbean. I'll ask the lfs.

 

[Monochrome5]

Most LR is imported from the indo-pacific. It's cheaper and the collection laws are a LOT less stringent. Wait till it pops out to be 100% sure, but the purple tubes are pretty indicative of pipe organ. I love mine. It's a cool white-ish silver polyp with a lot of texture and movement.

 

[bae1994]

I'd agree on the pipe organ coral feather dusters at that size tend to have calcium tubes so to speak ( usually White)

Also have you got a red torch yet if not you should get one, it's amazing how much comes out

 

[lljdma06]

Most LR is imported from the indo-pacific. It's cheaper and the collection laws are a LOT less stringent. Wait till it pops out to be 100% sure, but the purple tubes are pretty indicative of pipe organ. I love mine. It's a cool white-ish silver polyp with a lot of texture and movement.

I'd agree on the pipe organ coral feather dusters at that size tend to have calcium tubes so to speak ( usually White)

Also have you got a red torch yet if not you should get one, it's amazing how much comes out

Well, this LR is called Haitian rock and it's Caribbean. So, while we can have cross-contamination of species, I don't think these are organ corals, , but tube worms. tenticles are a reddish brown. Very cute and they extend rather well.

But I found this in my LR for my 36g...

Wishful thinking would want it to be Echinometra lacunter but I think I may be extremely unlucky and have a very young Eucidaris tribuloides. E. tribuloides would really not be fun, it'll hunt my inverts.

PS: The majano in my 8g is still alive. I have named him mojito... He will live for the duration of my cycle to amuse me and then I shall zap him with Joe's juice or whatever and send him to pest anemone Heaven.

 

[bae1994]

Cool hitchhiker but sods law dictates it's the latter

 

[Donya]

LUCKY PANTS - you got a free urchin! Others of us buy those suckers! Guessing Eucidaris tribuloides from the coloration, definitely not Echinometra.

As far as region, those urchins are wide-spread but not Indo-Pacific (natively at least...don't know if it's invasive anywhere). E. metularia is the most similar one from the Indo-Pacific region. Regarding where rock is collected from, there seems to be some farmed rock in the gulf to Caribbean region that is showing up regularly in shipments I've been seeing up north. Fauna is consistent with shallow water parts of the reported region. Of course, that rock tends to be really expensive compared to other sort of blah-looking normal LR.

Mobile inverts are a total non-issue for E. tribuloides with the possible exception of near-death animals that have no means of moving an inch or two. I've got two of them an an E. metularia that is functionally similar to E. tribuloides just smaller - and its in with softies, a ton of snails, and itty bitty hermits much smaller than itself. All my Eucidaris are also in with other urchin species with no issues at all.

Encrusting sponges and small colonial Tunicates will be on the menu, but these urchins are omnivores that spend a lot of time eating algae too. The main issue people run into is their attraction to certain softie species. Risky softies are namely Xenia and its relatives, a few odd other things - hard to predict since it varies widely by individual. I had a bad run with a clump of Xenia in with the E. metularia but it seemed to actually have far more interest in the rock the Xenia was on than the coral itself - just buzzcut it off the rock at the base and then ate the rock leaving the coral essentially intact. If you want softies and don't want to play the wait-and-see game, removing any that get a nip taken out of them, then the urchin should probably live elsewhere.

As far as other sessile inverts...filter feeding worms might be an issue, not sure. I would guess they are an issue for all urchins though as I saw a large normally grazing species having a nice snack on a large, empty featherduster tube it had ripped out of the rock at a public aquarium. Given the freshness of the tube I'm guessing the worm ran for the hills when the urchin took an interest in it and was probably off building another tube somewhere. Would have to dig up the pic I took but it was either a Strongylocentrotus or Echinometra urchin involved in that.

Also, in case you didn't already know, do not let it sit mouth-down on your hand. Handle upside down and keep the mouth where you can see it.

 

[lljdma06]

So not so bad. Big sigh of relief, thanks Donya. It's going in the planted Marine, so it should be fine then. Hahaha, I'm doing a happy dance, got a free urchin. Very mean Ronald Shimek in his invert book for scaring me so. The way . Hopefully, it'll survive the cycle, I've not seen it since yesterday. It was not on the rock today, so I assumed he's made a burrow. I've got the sand bed for a burrow. I'll probably turn on the red LEDs tonight and see if I can spy him. The tank will only feature Ricordea florida and mushroom coral from the region. So hopefully those corals will be safe.

 

[Donya]

Ah..."Marine Invertebrates, 500+ Essential-to-Know Aquarium Species" by chance? The statement from that book is a bit broad and sweeping to assert that mobile animals are at risk. Although, my memory was just jogged of a case where my E. metularia ate a few very, very small bristleworms that it was able to get on top of. Still, that even hasn't been repeated since the urchin was fed better (it was right after purchase), and Eucidaris urchins are quite slow animals, even compared to some other urchins. My Lytechinus variegatus are like racehorses in comparison.

Speaking of that book, if it is the one you're meaning, it may be the other species listed on the same page (Heterocentrotus mammillatus) that is more the issue for being predatory on mobile animals. I have no idea about that one since I've never had the opportunity to keep or even observe one. It could also just be an iffy page. While I recommend the book to anyone wanting to build an invert library, the Eucidaris bit wouldn't be the only possible quibble point I have with it. For example, I have a feeling that it is at least one of the books responsible for people all over the web constantly parroting back that Turbo fluctuosus is "coldwater" when its tidal range covers areas where the 72-78F range falls in the middle of wider temperature variation reported for many of the areas, while Ron Shimek seems to be mainly considering reef tanks at 81-84F in that book. Such is life in the literature!

Eucidaris don't tend to hide in the sand too much, but they are ninjas at hiding in strangely small holes in the rock. Many times I've been unable to find my little E. metularia and had to wait a few hours after lights out to spot it crawling out of someplace strange.

 

[lljdma06]

Yes, I turned on my reds last night and didn't see him. I'm almost concerned that he's still in the rock that I ended up not using for scaping. Fortunately that rock is in a bucket of SW with a powerhead and I may search for him, pop him out and put him in the tank. If you've seen my scape, it's an urchin's paradise. That Haitian rock has so many caves and crannies that anything can get lost in there.

Yep, it's that very book. See, my reefs are at around 78, well within the range for reefs, but not so warm.

llj

 

[lljdma06]

Found a few things... This is the 8g...

Closed...

Open...

Was told by another member here (Monochrome5) that it was a banded aiptasia. Fun... But, I actually think it's really beautiful.

Also, a teeny baby snail and pods, I think. They are everyone. Big ones, amphipods and teeny tiny ones, copepods?

Finally this is from my extra LR which is still pretty live. I really need to get rid of this rock or sell it.

It's a colonial spongy thing. Was told what it was but I forgot. Pretty cool and squishy. An unreal pink color.

Thanks for looking.

llj