Who Picks Through Their Chaeto?

[ca1ore]

I wonder if I am alone in being OCD enough to pick through my chaeto discard for brittle stars and worms? I pull a loose packed 5 gallon bucket out of my refugium about every month. I'll give it away if there are any takers, but more often than not it goes into the garden compost heap. Before doing that I sift though to rescue any animals that have called it home. Here the 'haul' this month :lol:

[top shelf]

I always just gave away the chaeto with whatever was in it. Figured add some diversity to someone else's refugium. If your offering next time you trim chaeto I'll pay shipping if your looking to get rid of it.

[Xxero]

I do the same thing, Simon. :lmao:

[mcgyvr]

You should sell the "haul".. Always seems to be people looking for brittle stars/worms..
Not too many vendors selling a um.. "detrivore recharge kit" like that..

I will give a quick glance to the algae and if I see anything just begging for forgiveness I will rescue it but I don't go out of my way at all..

[ktownhero]

One time I put some chaeto suspended in a 5 gallon bucket thinking as it dried out the critters would fall to the bottom trying to find water. Then I forgot about the bucket...

About a week later I looked at at the bottom there was maybe 1/4" of freezing cold water with pods that were ALIVE. Amazing. I dumped them in the tank.

It was absolutely not worth it though. 99% of whatever was alive simply stayed in the chaeto and died. It was cool seeing how adaptable pods are though.

[JammyBirch]

My chaeto doesn't really get huge enough to divide and discard, although it does grow it's pretty slow. I just give it a good shake just before a water change. I figure any worms, stars or pods that come out can start working at the bottom of the fuge.

[NS Mike D]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Dmorty217]

If I was closer to you Simon I would definitely buy the haul you get. I'm missing these organisms from starting my tank up with dryrock and need to source some.

[ca1ore]

When the weather gets better I'll send you some.

[ReefMaster48]

I wonder if I am alone in being OCD enough to pick through my chaeto discard for brittle stars and worms? I pull a loose packed 5 gallon bucket out of my refugium about every month. I'll give it away if there are any takers, but more often than not it goes into the garden compost heap. Before doing that I sift though to rescue any animals that have called it home. Here the 'haul' this month :lol:

Im sorry, but that pic kinda freaked me out. :eek2:

[rvareef]

one man's trash is another man's treasure

[Daddi0]

Im sorry, but that pic kinda freaked me out. :eek2:
Probably wouldn't like our cryptic tank

[jda]

I don't pick through it if they are going to a reef home. If I am just going to trash it, then I get the good stuff out.

I have mysid in mine from time to time along with the starfish.

[ReefMaster48]

Probably wouldn't like our cryptic tank

See, I've been thinking about a brittle or serpent star, but a very small one. That size defiantly gives me the creeps!

[homer1475]

If I was closer to you Simon I would definitely buy the haul you get. I'm missing these organisms from starting my tank up with dryrock and need to source some.

+1

I'm closeish to you.:beer:

[Daddi0]

See, I've been thinking about a brittle or serpent star, but a very small one. That size defiantly gives me the creeps!
They are actually very cool, we have 2 large ones.
Cheers! Mark

[ca1ore]

Im sorry, but that pic kinda freaked me out. :eek2:

Why, because they're in a cereal bowl? I imagine if you add milk and sugar it would be rather like shredded wheat :lol:

[Reefpuck]

Sounds like you should start up a side business here!

[jayball]

Why, because they're in a cereal bowl? I imagine if you add milk and sugar it would be rather like shredded wheat :lol:

LOL, plenty of protein. Might want to do something with those bristle worms before you break out the spoon.

You dump those straight into the display after you harvest?

[ReefMaster48]

Why, because they're in a cereal bowl? I imagine if you add milk and sugar it would be rather like shredded wheat :lol:

Haha!



If my LFS can get one, then I might pick one up eventually. However, I will have to give it away if it gets to big. They are neat until they start getting really big. IMO anyway. lol

[FoxFace Fish]

Probably wouldn't like our cryptic tank


:hmm3::hmm3::hmm3::hmm3::hmm3:

This actually made my brain hurt.....

[jacksonpt]

Wow, that's some great life! The most I find is a couple asterina stars... but yes, I do pick through it before tossing.

[Daddi0]

:hmm3::hmm3::hmm3::hmm3::hmm3:

This actually made my brain hurt.....
Well then here is a pic. of the underside - Happy Holidays

[HBtank]

I feel guilty throwing out anything that could contain critters, but just not possible to save every little pod. :(

[ca1ore]

You dump those straight into the display after you harvest?

Typically, when I cull the cheato I remove about half of it. I just dump the rescued stars and worms back on top of the remaining chaeto.

[ca1ore]

I feel guilty throwing out anything that could contain critters, but just not possible to save every little pod. :(

As do I but you are right, lots of amphipods, Mysid and copepods that don't get rescued. The reality is that in a well fed tank, these things all proliferate like mad anyhow. You'll notice that many of the mini stars in my bowl are clear vegetative splits.

[Darth_Tater]

I also try to save the critters I can see, but usually only see snails in mine. Those little cereal brittles are far larger than any I've seen in my tank!

[Sk8r]

I'm a soft touch, and at a dollar each, yep, I'll rescue bristle worms, snails, you name it, if I can possibly rescue it, I will.

[phasezero]

When I purchased chaeto from the LFS i picked through it to remove the amphipods mainly because I've had bad experiences with them eating zoas.

[FoxFace Fish]

Well then here is a pic. of the underside - Happy Holidays

that is gross... :blown: glad I am not hungry today

[Frogmanx82]

I have lots of little white brittle stars I try to save and then some stomatella snails that I'm happy to get rid of. Also pull the dwarf cerith snails out.

[Mrs. Music]

That is pretty cool. Will you send me some this spring? I am restarting my tank over the winter. I will send the insulated box to you empty, and you send it back nice and full of chaeto and critters.

[Misled]

If any of you want to come over here, I can supply you with tons of critters.

[Str8linespeed]

Man, I wish you all were more local to me! I'd take you up on some critters!

[MurphyLong]

I'm not sure what happened to my chaeto. It started around softball size, and doubled quickly. I went to thin it out a couple weeks later, and the whole refugium section of my sump is just a giant ball of fanworms with a little chaeto mixed in. :/