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View Full Version : what is this on my live rock i just got


gstatus
04/06/2010, 08:58 PM
first i would like to say i am very new to salt water tank and i just bought some live rock and when i got home to put it in my tank i realized that there was some stuff on it and with me being very new i had no clue as to what it is so heres some pics and it would be awsome if some one could tell me what they are what to feed them and lighting i need tank is 10 gallons i have an aqua clear filter for 50 gallons and i have a 4 t5 HO light fixture so im open to bulb recomendations also tank has only been up for like a week

100%hydrophylic
04/06/2010, 09:03 PM
1.) cant really tell. looks kinda like a not-so-green green start polyp. or maybe daisy polyps. idk. something in that general area lol. doesn't look malignant from that angle.

2.) aiptasia. evil. research how to kill it (joes juice/aiptasia x)

3.) valonia. reef herpes as ive seen it called lol. its green bubble algae. its not bad bad, but its ugly and can spread rapidly. try hard not to pop them. i have had good luck with emerald crabs eating it

looks like you got some nice Coraline encrusted rock however, kudos on the good first time buy

Ali :D
04/06/2010, 09:04 PM
Ok the first I'm not sure but the second looks like Aiptasia = not good. The third is bubble algae and thats not good either. As far as removing the aiptasia try a turkey baster with RO water, squirting it on the plate and that may kill it, if there are a few maybe trying some Aiptasia X or joe's juice on them. The bubble algae i have little experience with and someone will be along soon to help out

Ali

100%hydrophylic
04/06/2010, 09:07 PM
eeek! i squirted aiptasia once with boiling water..... luckily it had no adverse side effects. BBBUUTTT i advise against this because according to the people that gave me advice aiptasia will shoot out spores if theyr stressed that much. sooooo if your going to try and kill it, make sure its dead with aiptasia killing products.

Ali :D
04/06/2010, 09:10 PM
Personally I used Aiptasia X and I had herd that freshwater can kill them but that's good to know, avoid that!

Drewbaby
04/06/2010, 09:12 PM
The first is a little hard to tell, but it looks like it may be a few polyps of cloves or maybe pipe organ. Types of coral.

The second looks like aptasia ( small glass colored anenome ) or a small feather duster. If it's aptasia it's a pest and you can kill it by dosing aptasia x or just taking a little super glue gel and covering them so they basically smother. If it's a feather duster it's good. They just filter things from the water and look neat.

The third is bubble algea. Which is a nuisance algea that will spread if the bubbles are popped in the aquarium. Emerald crabs are supposed to eat them or you can take the rock out and remove them carefully by hand without popping them. It's ok if they pop, but rinse the rock before placing back in tank

KMUNCC
04/06/2010, 09:15 PM
Man I believe I would get my money back, and havent had the other too but have fun with the bubble algae. What ever you do dont bust it because it spreads when you break the bubbles.

gstatus
04/06/2010, 09:20 PM
so why is aiptasia bad it looks cool... yea the buble algea i agree is ugly so im gona try to get rid of it

jeepguy242
04/06/2010, 09:21 PM
1. looks like it might be a manjo anemone, just as bad as the aiptasia in pic#2 that is definately bad, peppermint shrip eat both of those, and #3 is def. bubble algae, take the rock out and scrub it under running tap water then rince it in saltwater before returning it to your tank, since its a new setup, there probly isnt much on the rock you want anhyow, and +1 on the emrald crabs eating it. ive got 3 that eat any that pop up before they get too big, but they got a hard time eating the big ones like you got

with that said, you got some nice coraline on that rock.

100%hydrophylic
04/06/2010, 09:22 PM
Man I believe I would get my money back

i disagree with this. it has really nice purple on it already. its not like its all bleach white and it STILL has aiptasia and bubble algae.

dont sweat it too much OP. just take that bubbly algae rock out of the water as suggested above and carefully remove the bubbles. then get yourself and emerald crab :). that will help control any bubbles that may appear in the future and he will help clean up and green hair algae that may sprout up.

oh and aiptasia are bad because they multiply like crazy and sting things. get rid of it now before it gets out of hand and messes up all the purty corals your gonna get :)

dcombs44
04/06/2010, 09:26 PM
Aptasia will spread quickly and can sting or irritate neighboring corals.

Both aptasia and bubble algae can be easily eradicated if done properly. As mentioned, there are products for smothering aptasia. The products are basically overpriced kalkwasser pastes. You can make a paste from a little RO/DI water and pickling lime and have the same thing.

Bubble algae, as mentioned, scrape it off without popping it, and you should be ok. Also, not harmful but will spread rapidly and can overrun your tank.

dcombs44
04/06/2010, 09:27 PM
#1 is not Majano if you ask me. Looks more like clove/daisy polyps.

gstatus
04/06/2010, 09:28 PM
ok as for lighting i dont need it tell i get frags and anemones right? and what kelvin rating bulbs should i get

gstatus
04/06/2010, 09:32 PM
and Aiptasia cant i just rip it off?

jeepguy242
04/06/2010, 09:33 PM
for a 10 gallon, i would start with a 50/50 power compact lightstrip (dont even know if they make one that small) or some t5's kelvin is up to you on what you want it to look like, the 5500 is more yellowish and the higher you go up the more blue it looks, i like the look of 15k metal halides on my 125 with no atinic supplimentation (forgive my spelling) but MH will turn your tank int a soup pot LOL

DaVinci
04/06/2010, 09:36 PM
1.) cant really tell. looks kinda like a not-so-green green start polyp. or maybe daisy polyps. idk. something in that general area lol. doesn't look malignant from that angle.

2.) aiptasia. evil. research how to kill it (joes juice/aiptasia x)

3.) valonia. reef herpes as ive seen it called lol. its green bubble algae. its not bad bad, but its ugly and can spread rapidly. try hard not to pop them. i have had good luck with emerald crabs eating it

looks like you got some nice Coraline encrusted rock however, kudos on the good first time buy

Quick question.. to aptasia vary greatly in size? Now and then I see examples of 'nems like that, fairly large, one at a time. I have hundreds of tiny ones, like pin-sized. Same thing?

jeepguy242
04/06/2010, 09:36 PM
and Aiptasia cant i just rip it off?

you could sharpen a screwdriver into a chizel and dig under it, but dont break it, it will grow back if you do, and also any viable tissue left will re grow, they are like weeds, and you would be suprized how easy it is to break peices of that rock

plus you can always use the sharpened screwdriver to frag corals like i do when you get some.

gstatus
04/06/2010, 09:47 PM
OK SO i took the live rock out to take the algea bubbles off and when i put it back in the tank i noticed this what i want to call a fuzzy starfish swimming in a hole in my live rock it was black and white any idea what it is i cant take a picture because it is in a hole

jeepguy242
04/06/2010, 09:50 PM
OK SO i took the live rock out to take the algea bubbles off and when i put it back in the tank i noticed this what i want to call a fuzzy starfish swimming in a hole in my live rock it was black and white and idea what it is i cant take a picture because it is in a hole

brittle star, its good, i have a ton of them, they are good detrevores, and very hardy, mine have even survived the freshwater scrub for algae

gstatus
04/06/2010, 09:53 PM
i found a pic of what it is what basic care do they need
http://www.melevsreef.com/pics/0205/starfish_arms.jpg

jeepguy242
04/06/2010, 09:55 PM
that is a really good site, mark is the man! ive used his site many times looking up info

dcombs44
04/06/2010, 09:57 PM
They are hitchhikers. No care needed. They just do what they do. Keep your parameters in check and they will be happy to feed off of poo and leftover food.

Depending on what critters you add later, they may flourish or they may be eaten or die off.

gstatus
04/06/2010, 10:05 PM
ok well since my tank is only about a week old hes most likely gona die? and as for the aiptasia i tried to get it out but i didnt realize it can suck its self back into that little hole XD

i also found some what i think is krill in between the cracks its so funny i just wanted live rock im not ready to care for all thses freebee guys lol

jeepguy242
04/06/2010, 10:15 PM
get some pickling lime at wally world, its calcium hydroxide, mix it up into a paste (toothpase concistency) and spread it on the anemone, it will burn him and kill him, if he goes into the hole, just push it into the hole with your finger, it will get him.

as for the other hitch hikers, some might make it, some wont, its a new tank, we have all been through it. as your tank cycles, things change, if your live rock was already cured, witch it sounds like it was, you might not even go through a cycle as ther is alrady enough bacteria on the rock to convert ammonia to nitritr then nitrate. just check for nitrates and when you see some you should be on to add a fish. notice how i sad A fish, meaning one, dont add to many too fast!

gstatus
04/06/2010, 10:23 PM
heh yea i was only planning to get 1 for the first month or so...

as for equipment do i need anything other than a filter and lighting? i plan to have some coral frags and anemones like after the first 2 months

jeepguy242
04/06/2010, 10:27 PM
might try to find a hob protien skimmer if you want an anemone, but i would do only one in a 10, i had a rose anemone that got so big it would fill a 10 by itself, it died in a move from fl to nc, and i havent been able to keep one since

gstatus
04/06/2010, 10:51 PM
what exactly does a protien skimmer do and i do need a heater to right?

jeepguy242
04/06/2010, 11:00 PM
yes on the heater, and a protien skimmer is like a superfilter for organic waste, it basicly injects air and water into a tube and then the protiens in the water (ie: fish poop for lack of a better term) gets stuck to the bubbles and gets pushed up into a collection cup that you empty when needed, here is a pic of mine

http://i1017.photobucket.com/albums/af295/jeepguy242/P3140003.jpg
http://i1017.photobucket.com/albums/af295/jeepguy242/P3160003.jpg

jeepguy242
04/06/2010, 11:01 PM
all the brown stuff in the cup in the first pic is basiclly waste in the water

gstatus
04/06/2010, 11:05 PM
thats cool should i have that instead of the filter or is it best to have both?

btw i appreciate all the help

and then as for algae growth on the glass and stuff is there an algae eater like a saltwater pleco or something

jeepguy242
04/06/2010, 11:18 PM
as long as your filter doesnt have a biowheel in it, if it does, take it out, yes you can have both, and turbo snails are a sw algea eater.

your welcome for the help, i like trying to prevent people from making some of the mistakes i made and are still making, by no means take what i type as gospel, i still dont claim to know all this as i am still learning. most of what i have learned has been from here on RC by asking all the same questions you are right now

gstatus
04/06/2010, 11:27 PM
thank you jeep guy and every one else on this thread all my questions have been answered :bounce3: