anenome thing in the shrimp tank? *gulp*

Acsuth · Post by **Acsuth** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 2:48 pm

Ok...I know jack squat about marine tanks which everyone should know by now lol. There is a live 'thing' on my rock....it moves it's little arms around...it's freaking me out in more ways than one -- is this an anenome? Will it harm my shrimp? Do I need to feed it? What the heck is it?? It's right in the center of this photo:

filishy · Post by **filishy** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 2:58 pm

Hi,

You rock will probably have a lot of organisms on it and in it so, this is to be expected. The pic is kind of blurry but, for the color of it, it might be an aptaisia. These are pests anemones that you really do not want in your tank because they take over and sting and kill small fish but mostly, other corals.

My suggestion is for you to check out http://www.reefcentral.com and go to the section "New to Hobby". Read as many posts as you can, check out the articles, ask questions. I have never actually had a reef or marine tank (Iwll finally, in a couple of weeks...) but as a true geek that I am, I have spent the last hmmm... 5 years? doing research on marine and reef tanks.

Please feel free to email me with any questions, if you want.

Maria.

51Cornell · Post by **51Cornell** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 4:23 pm

Live rock comes with lifeforms living on it--thus the "live" part of live rock. Barnacles will put out little furry things to filter the water for food. Anemones will sometimes be on there. Little (something or other) stars and snails and mysid shrimp and other things all live on the rock, as well as bacteria, fungus, algae. Uncured live rock will be straight out of the "wild" with all the little things that lived on it in the sea still on it--the good, the bad, the ugly. Cured live rock has been soaked, washed, scraped, soaked again, etc. until only the benign things you want are still on it. Another problem with live rock is where it came from--you'd want to get a rock from the same general area that your fish (or shrimp) are from so no "foreign" life forms get into your tank and perhaps infect or kill your fish.

gnatster · Post by **gnatster** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 7:01 pm

I agree, looks like aptasia. Your shrimp (to stay on topic) will avoid them. You want to eradicate the aptasia before the spread and become a real problem. A product called Joe's Juice is quite effective.

scrimp · Post by **scrimp** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 11:09 pm

This is a good time to ask does anyone beside mufasa have any salt water shrimp?....They are very inexpensive and easier to find I have seen when it comes to salt water shrimp. In fact I think im gonna give it a try anyone know of a good place to get info on them.

Acsuth · Post by **Acsuth** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 2:21 am

I found another aptasia -- a smaller one an inch and a half away from the larger one. I did an experiment last night -- I speared a frozen brineshrimp and put it in front of the tentacles -- and the thing grabbed it, disappearing inside of the rock!

A few minutes later it was out again....are you sure my shrimp would avoid this thing? These are teeny tiny shrimp and I get the feeling those tentacles are meant to stun small animals. I'm not so sure what I'm gonna do now lol. I'll figure something out...

thanks for the suggestions!!

Amanda

Acsuth · Post by **Acsuth** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 2:49 pm

Hey...I've fed my aptasia frozen brineshrimp twice now and the thing has doubled in size! It's like feeding an alien hand....how large can these things get? I did a google but didn't find maximum size potential.

Acsuth · Post by **Acsuth** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 3:11 pm

I just discovered that not only do I have one large aptasia and a couple smaller(on a 6 inch chunk of rock)...but it's also totally infested with bristleworms!!

(which also devour frozen brineshrimp I've just discovered) Is it common to buy pest infested live rock for $8 per lb. or did I get ripped off??

51Cornell · Post by **51Cornell** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 3:56 pm

On uncured live rock, you'll find all sorts of things. The reason why folks cure their live rock is to get rid of the beings that are not desirable in their tanks (bristleworms often one of the top 3) or that will proliferate profusely when there are no longer the natural predators to keep them in balance. At least you have a great attitude about this and can enjoy your real, live pet rock! Bet you never thought a rock could be so much fun (or eat so much).

Acsuth · Post by **Acsuth** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 4:05 pm

51Cornell wrote:Bet you never thought a rock could be so much fun (or eat so much).

LMAO -- too true!!!

gnatster · Post by **gnatster** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 5:14 pm

You really want to check out Reef Central and Reefs.org. Both wil fonts of inforamtion the problems you are having.

$8lb for rock!!! It better be cured and have great looking coralline on it

Joes juice for the Aptasia, for the Bristleworms there is a crab that eats them. Check reeef Central.

scrimp · Post by **scrimp** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 12:37 am

That sounds like a fun piece of rock why not cycle the tank and then try your hand at a few salt water shrimp that would be fun.

scrimp · Post by **scrimp** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 12:44 am

Can you post a picture of this thing Ive searched on the web and cant seem to find one.

filishy · Post by **filishy** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 6:00 am

Not all bristle worms are pests, in fact, most of them are extraordinary scavengers that you do really want in your tank for they will help keep it clean.

Rock is cured for several reasons, not only to get rid of pests. It needs to be cured because unlike open sea, you will be supporting an array of creatures in an enclosed and very small body of water. As a result, you cannot have anything out of balance. Uncured live rock is full of organisms that are alive when the rock is harvested but die in transport, as most rocks are not shipped in water. When you get the rock a lot of beings such as crabs, sponges, tunicates, etc, might have died. If you set up your tank meaning if you introduce corals, fish, etc., the rise in ammonia will kill everything in a matter of hours. So, yes, rock needs to be cured mainly to achieve a balance and not so much as a pest prevention measure.

My humble advice before you kill anything else besides the aiptasia is to check out the forums.

FWIW,

Maria.

Acsuth · Post by **Acsuth** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 3:24 pm

Thanks -- I actually have been browsing the forums since you first suggested it....there's quite a wealth of information there.

And don't worry about the bristleworms(or the aptasia for that matter lol) -- they are cottoncandy pink and they eat all the brineshrimp I give them(cheap thrills? you bet!)....I'm going to have the most spoiled pet rock of all time..or at least that's what I'm aiming for.

filishy wrote:Not all bristle worms are pests, in fact, most of them are extraordinary scavengers that you do really want in your tank for they will help keep it clean.

Rock is cured for several reasons, not only to get rid of pests. It needs to be cured because unlike open sea, you will be supporting an array of creatures in an enclosed and very small body of water. As a result, you cannot have anything out of balance. Uncured live rock is full of organisms that are alive when the rock is harvested but die in transport, as most rocks are not shipped in water. When you get the rock a lot of beings such as crabs, sponges, tunicates, etc, might have died. If you set up your tank meaning if you introduce corals, fish, etc., the rise in ammonia will kill everything in a matter of hours. So, yes, rock needs to be cured mainly to achieve a balance and not so much as a pest prevention measure.

My humble advice before you kill anything else besides the aiptasia is to check out the forums.

FWIW,

Maria.

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anenome thing in the shrimp tank? gulp

anenome thing in the shrimp tank? gulp

It...it's a monster! :o