Our First Saltwater Experience Is Beginning!

[pirate monkey]

Ok I have now found my usb cable for my phone sorry I have a few pics now to catch up!

tank after a few hours of scrubbing (took a few hours more too!)

Unfortunately it came with some tropicals so we had to keep them overnight and take them to lfs in the morning. It was horribly green!

Here is the strange circular thing that retracts into the rock, I hope you can make it out a little, it's been hard to get a good picture.

I have noticed what appears to be a blue bubble under a rock? I haven't tried moving the rock yet.

Our tiny tiny starfish

Here is something odd which is on a bit of live rock rubble. It is near purple in colour, Is it safe? I've not put it in the tank yet.#

And finally... a full tank shot. Haven't got our T5's yet, so looks a little yellow...

thanks for looking

can anyone help me id the unknowns?

Couldn't get a pic of the crab. Will the little inverts be ok in the tank while it cycles?

 

[Buddyboy67]

Best to get the crab out if you can...the purple blob is a soft coral..hard to identify until expanded but could be a colt or medusa...worth a few quid
feathery thing is a fan worm...good guy
star is an asterina..good guy
Bubble is bubble algae and a mithrax emerald crab will eat this and control it's spreading

 

[pirate monkey]

Well I've yet to sort the sand out, so hopefully will find it when I do that. Am I to remove it because the tank is cycling or because I don't know what sort of crab it is?

Will also see to that bubble algae

 

[Buddyboy67]

Most hitch hiker crabs grow to be monsters..eating corals and even attacking small or sleeping fish....keep an eye for it at night time and if it has large pincers or red eyes it is a definate bad guy...very few hitch hikers turn out to be tank safe i'm afraid

 

[pirate monkey]

oh we were quite excited to have a crab, thought we'd got lucky! mm I think it may have had large pincers as well... oh well. What do I do with it when I get it out?

 

[Buddyboy67]

most sump them but with no sump your best to dispose of the little blighter....dare I say, a little treat for your cichlids

 

[pirate monkey]

Oh i hadn't thought of that, I'm sure they'll love it...

Thanks very much for the help

 

[jtnova13]

sump it if you have one. If not, take it to the LFS or put it in a smaller tank... or KILL IT!

The coral is definitely a softy, but kinda looks like a shriveled up leather of some sort?

 

[pirate monkey]

A picture of our coral today (looks a little happier)

 

[SkiFletch]

Looks like a "Devils Finger" leather coral to me.

I'd get that bubble algae out quick, it can really become a major nuisance in a reef tank

 

[pirate monkey]

Looks like a "Devils Finger" leather coral to me.

I'd get that bubble algae out quick, it can really become a major nuisance in a reef tank

Thanks,

The bubble algae is gone now, I took it out yesterday

Is a Devils Finger easy to look after? Do we need to feed it anything?