Over 260+ items identified - by picture!

[melev]

Occasionally I post this page in an effort to help others identify what is in their tanks. I hope it proves useful. I do update it from time to time, as I did tonight.

It may take a little time to load if you use dial-up, so please be patient.

http://melevsreef.com/id/

[Dubbin1]

Thats a great idea!!!

[SeanT]

Awesome job Marc.
Thanks for this. :)

[racrumrine]

Your pictures and descriptions are so helpful, I sent a request to the moderator to make this a sticky at the top of the forum.

Thanks,

Roy

[melev]

Thanks guys. :)

[Quicksilver]

I've been watching from the start and it is really coming along. Great Job Marc! William

[melev]

Thanks William. :)

[marineaddict]

Awesome page!!!!!!

[melev]

Originally posted by marineaddict
Awesome page!!!!!!

Tell all your friends. :D :lol:

Seriously though, thank you.

[JHA1]

Thanks for the link.
Great page

[dc]

Great pictures! Are you looking for others? I have a decent isopod pic if you want it.

http://images5.fotki.com/v58/photos/2/28482/235116/DSC02586isopod-vi.jpg

[Drowningfish]

Great link. Thanks for the info. definetly will come in handy.

[melev]

I had considered it for a while, but overall, I felt I should only add the things I've had in my own tanks. Currently the octopus and one patch of zoanthids are listed that were not mine, and I've noted it that way.

Debi, do you have a picture of that isopod that is 640 x 480?

[dc]

No I don't my hard drive crashed and the only pictures I have were in my fokti album. That's the biggest I have.

[tdool]

Excellant Website. Great for newbies like me.

Thanks for your effort and time

[cwbroden]

That is going to be something great for the new people. BRAVO!!! BRAVO!!!

Chris

[sfsuphysics]

Wow melev great work, I seem to remember you (or maybe it was someone else) sometime back who mentioned wanting to do some sort of database, regardless a picture is worth 1000 words. Is this an ongoing project with more pictures? Don't think I'd have anything you'd want, off hand (red & blue crabs, margarita, cerith, turbo, astraea snails, feather duster, tomato clown, green-chromis, blue damsel, coral beauty, *gasp for breath* bubbletip, candy cane coral, bubble coral (sickly free specimin), and probably a few other things I can't think of (damn I need a sig with all this stuff like everyone else!)). But regardless keep up the good work!

Btw it said your perc chummed up with a bubble tip? I'm thinking of tempting fate and putting two different species of clowns in my 135G and was trying to figure out a suitable anemone companion and all the faqs did not list bubble tips for percs (true or false) only the more difficult to keep species, but if I could get a bubble tip for the new clowns that'd be fabulous!

[racrumrine]

Looks like they have made this a sticky. Thanks ReefCentral.

Marc:

Regarding the photos, I think it would be great if you would be willing to use other people's photos that you felt met your quality/clarity criteria. If you want to disclaim that you didn't take the photo, or give credit to another person, that's your call. The most important thing is matching the photo with the creature's name.

You've done a great job, and I'd like to think that with everyone's help, you could put together an excellant database that would help all of us with identifications. Perhaps at the bottom, you could add links to other identification sites (such as for sponges, or to Dr Ron's)

Keep up the good work,

Roy

[fish @ chips 29]

Good job, Thanks for all the great info. :)

[ri]

Added to my Favorites!

ri

[coyoteseven]

Thanks Marc! :thumbsup:

Looking forward to future updates.

[melev]

Originally posted by sfsuphysics
Wow melev great work, I seem to remember you (or maybe it was someone else) sometime back who mentioned wanting to do some sort of database, regardless a picture is worth 1000 words. Is this an ongoing project with more pictures? Don't think I'd have anything you'd want, off hand (red & blue crabs, margarita, cerith, turbo, astraea snails, feather duster, tomato clown, green-chromis, blue damsel, coral beauty, *gasp for breath* bubbletip, candy cane coral, bubble coral (sickly free specimin), and probably a few other things I can't think of (damn I need a sig with all this stuff like everyone else!)). But regardless keep up the good work!

Btw it said your perc chummed up with a bubble tip? I'm thinking of tempting fate and putting two different species of clowns in my 135G and was trying to figure out a suitable anemone companion and all the faqs did not list bubble tips for percs (true or false) only the more difficult to keep species, but if I could get a bubble tip for the new clowns that'd be fabulous!

You do have a lot of stuff. (Btw, I'm not a fan of signature lines filled with every molecule in the tank. That is what personal websites are for. :p )

My True Percula and my False Percula are sharing my BTA, which split once over a month ago, and now is in the process of splitting off one more piece, and in another few weeks it will finally split the last one I'm guessing. So my 22 month old BTA will eventually be four. :D

The True Percula was alone, as its mate jumped. It took two weeks until it decided to host, and has remained there ever since. I've had the Percula 6+ years, btw.

The new tank-raised (locally) Ocellaris is 9 months old, and within 6 hours of being added to the tank it dove right into the BTA and shares it. I've observed the false perc chase out the true perc often, but she always comes back. They are adorable.

[melev]

Originally posted by racrumrine
Looks like they have made this a sticky. Thanks ReefCentral.

Marc:

Regarding the photos, I think it would be great if you would be willing to use other people's photos that you felt met your quality/clarity criteria. If you want to disclaim that you didn't take the photo, or give credit to another person, that's your call. The most important thing is matching the photo with the creature's name.

You've done a great job, and I'd like to think that with everyone's help, you could put together an excellant database that would help all of us with identifications. Perhaps at the bottom, you could add links to other identification sites (such as for sponges, or to Dr Ron's)

Keep up the good work,

Roy

That is very nice of RC to sticky this thread. I hope to continue to make it a valuable tool for others in the hobby. I have about 5 new items to add to this page, and of course as time passes more things will be added.

I've had people offer to give me items in the past, so this is what I'm thinking:

I need a nice, crisp <b>quality</b> image (640x480) to identify the item. The item should be easy to see and fill most of the frame, rather than a large image that has been shrunken down. Cropping is ideal. If the image meets my criteria, I will consider adding it.

I will need the <b>real name</b> of the photographer, to give that person credit.

It should include a 50 - 75 word description of the item, including its name (and scientific name if possible) and whether it is reef safe or not. The description can be your personal observations or the age of creature perhaps. I may ask for you to resubmit the text if it lacks specifics. I reserve the right to re-edit the text as necessary.

Images should be emailed to me at melev@swbell.net and should be in <b>JPEG format</b>. Please do <b>not</b> send me BMP files because they will not be used and only clutter up my mailbox with gigantic files.


If you do submit an image, you are giving me permission to use it online, where it can be seen by people on other boards around the world. I do not want to have to delete images later, as I'm busy enough as it is. Please only submit your own images and don't "borrow" other people's pictures calling it your own.

If this page gets too large, I may break it up into a few depending on the quantity of items.

If you submit an image and it is used, it will be added as time permits. Please do not grow impatient as it does take time to do this right. :artist:

[nevpugh308]

Superb page, many thanks Melev !!!

[bkwudzjeep]

WOW!! Great idea.....this will helps many people of all levels. There is always something to learn at this hobby!!

[melev]

Thanks! :)

[sfsuphysics]

I got a picture of my Kole (yellow eyed) tang. http://www.physics.sfsu.edu/~mbolling/fish/kole.jpg
let me know if its sufficient quality and I'll email it to you, the glass is a little dirty making it look like the fish has a disease though :(

[melev]

sfsuphysics, could you clean the glass and try again? I'd prefer to get the best shot of the subject if at all possible.

[sfsuphysics]

Heheh I'll give it a shot, but no promises, that was THE SINGLE first time I've seen the tang out when I was anywhere near the glass.

[melev]

The more often you hang out by the glass with your camera, the better it will be. I bought an Anthias roughly two weeks ago, and tonight it actually swam right through my shot of some zoanthids.

On the other hand, I was at another club member's place today, and I couldn't get a shot of his baby Six Line Wrasse no matter how hard I tried.

[Entropy]

Best time to shoot pics of a six line is when you feed :D I will try to get some of mine tonight if you want. I really love your idea Marc. It is a great reference for anybody.

[melev]

Hi Rich,

I have a six line on my page. If you see something missing that you have, lemme know.

I was just explaining to sfs. that I know how hard it can be to get a decent shot of a fish.

[percula3]

Awesome tank! How many gallons?

[melev]

If you are referring to me, Percula3, I have a 29g and a 55g - both are reef tanks.

[edshern]

Marc, Fantastic job. Thanks
how about some insight as to how you got those great pictures.

[melev]

Sure, here's my secret:

http://www.melevsreef.com/take_great_pictures.html

[edshern]

Marc,
above and beyond the call.
thankyouverymuch
ed

[snookems]

I really appreciate your going through all that work for that web page. It's perfect for newbies like me!

[Lunchbucket]

WOW!! great job buddy!!

Lunchbucket

[melev]

Thanks Guys. In the next week, about 5 new items will be added.

[skooter571]

Great site very helpfull.... THANKS

[melev]

skooter571,

[welcome]

Thanks for the compliment!

[gwrulzmylife]

thanks for the site!

[dgphelps]

Love your site. I am working on one of my one with the critters I have in my tank. I will post a link when I am done and you are more than welcome to anything you might need or like. I have been chasing a 13 inch bristle worm for a good shot for a few weeks now. He is huge and I am bound to get one with at least 1/3 of him out.

-D

[lacie143]

Very informative site , I was actually wondering what that 'spaghetti' worm in my tank was.

[nemolover]

Nice pics- very good idea for begginers I wish I found something like this when I was a begginner.:D

[melev]

nemolover,

[welcome]

I'm glad you found it interesting. Did you know all of the critters or were there any that were new to you?

[nemolover]

Thanks melv-

I've been trying to learn as much as possible in these couple of years.The only one I have not heard of was the sacoglossa. Very interesting.
The reason I like your web site is because alot of times begginners look to the lfs for advice and get the wrong info. Not all the time but sometimes. My first set up was aggressive fish and they told me just about anything to get be to buy things. I learned the hard way after my fish out grew my 55 and a couple learning experiences. I decided to go reef now I have the beggining of a small reef. And found a great lfs. That helps alot.

[TsNod]

Ya Ty so have I

[melev]

10 new items have been aded, now totally 127 items identified. :D

[sfsuphysics]

Hey Melev, still trying to get that Kole Tang, he just doesn't want to sit in the right spot for a picture, and each time he does get in a picture he's zooming so fast that he's a blur *sigh*

Anyway here's a couple pics you may or may/not want both are reduced to 640x480 (cut to size NOT scaled)

Here's a featherduster without its feathers, it was still alive at this point, I touched it and it quickly retracted, but haven't seen it since wonder if he went to find a new place to make a new tube
featherless duster (http://www.physics.sfsu.edu/~mbolling/invert/featherless.jpg)

And here's a peppermint shrimp, the aptasia eatting variant (unsure what the difference is between the two species though)
Peppermint Shrimp (http://www.physics.sfsu.edu/~mbolling/invert/peppermint.jpg)

I kept them as URLs just so I dont foul up the topic with too many picture for those who are bandwidth-deficient :) I will get that Tang, oh yes I will!

[pnbuk]

HI,

I am tryin to ID a coral without much luck, I have attached a photo please could you let me know if you know what it is

Thanks

Paul. pnbuk@yahoo.co.uk

[newbiemarine]

There doesn't seem to be any photo attached to your post.

[HClH2OFish]

Just want to say I *LOVE* your site....I've got a 25H that is currently cycling and a 15H with a Cinnamon clown and yellowback damsel...she's getting too testy to keep in a tank that small with the clown so we're putting him in a new home.
If I can ever get a cable for my old Olympus, I'll send you some shots of hydroids and 2 stages of Upside down jellies...both in hydroid form and medusae form...I've got dozens of em now...

[melev]

HCLH20Fish,

[welcome]

Please do so.

[Zodiac]

great stuff... this will be a lot of help for me since i just started SW yesterday

[melev]

Hi Zodiac.

Be sure to read this then:
http://www.melevsreef.com/overview.htm

[djcool563]

that is a cool idea keep it updated

[SexiShrimp]

great site!!

[jesseh]

Melev,

I read your comment about the whelk snail and noticed that I have several of these in my tank. I was about to take these out of my tank and noticed the comment for the Nassarius Vibex snail. These look the same, how do I know which one I have?

[melev]

I actually posted about this a couple of times. Let me run the RC Search to find it...

Okay, it is here:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=2908306#post2908306

[smooth_9]

You have a very nice site. Very informational.

Thanks SMooTH

[melev]

SMooTH,

[welcome]

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

OH i just love that welcome sighn !

[chigars4]

melev, your website is now forever bookmarked on my computer!
Using your pics, I believe I have been able to partially identify one newly discovered critter as a worm - located in a live rock crevice, it appears to have ~6 bristled tentacles that feed its "mouth" w 2 tiny red ones "on top".
Also, as a beginner, I am astounded by the fantastic photos everyone is able to take. I am looking for tips on catching some clips. Got any tips?

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

welcome chigars to reef central !

[melev]

I'm glad that helped you Chigars. Here's a page about how to take great pictures.

http://www.melevsreef.com/take_great_pictures.html

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

welcome h2o !!

[chigars4]

Oh! Cool!! Thanks for the pic-taking link. I look it over and give the pics another try.

Thanks for the "welcome" too!

[Bloom]

Thanks for the link. I've been trying to show my hubby all of the different corals and he doesn't know names. He says I like that one, can I have it??? And now I can say oh, that is a zooanthid and it would be ok for a beginner.

[melev]

I'm glad it is proving helpful.

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

u r always helful melev !!

[pjwperth]

man thats a really cool site must have taken you ages but thankyou very much. mev I got some mushrooms, pulsing zenia, green star polyps and zoos but they have stopped growing do you think you could post your parimeters and lighting conditions as I would like to grow more of them I love it

[melev]

The ID page is a work in progress, and I think I started it about a year ago. Thanks for the kind words, pjwperth.

These are my paramaters, over both of my tanks:
http://www.melevsreef.com/parms.html

Lighting over the 29g is 165w PC lighting (50% daylight, 50% actinic)
Lighting over the 55g is 2x175w 10,000K MH and 2x54w T5 Actinics.

Lighting is roughly 11 to 12 hours a day.

[nemolover]

hi guys,
maybe one of you could help me indentify these things that were growing on my lr.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/member.php?action=getinfo&userid=53686
I was thing some kind of eggs but from what?
It is very hard to get a good pic there in a cave on the bottom of the live rock.

[melev]

The link you included was to your profile, not the thread you want us to look at.

[nemolover]

I had a blonde moment.

[nemolover]

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=44928&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500 I had two blonde moments. didnt post the url

[melev]

Sorry, I have no idea. We'll need a better picture first. Try to put your camera lens against the glass to keep things focused.

[nemolover]

There is no way of getting a better pic it is actually in a cave under the lr. I would have to move all the corals and all the lr just to get to it. I know the pic sucks but its the best I got.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=44926&papass=&sort=1&size=medium&thecat=500
That and this one is all I got.
It is white in color there are three bunches of these in a cave under Figi lr.

[rkstaggers]

Nice of you to share these with us. ThanX

[melev]

Thanks rkstaggers. I'll be adding a few more guys in the near future.

[jmk]

great pics...nice to see all the variety

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

sure is marc does an awesome job !! it is also a nice red house Marc !!

[mickey57]

.....Thanks melev,
...This guy made me smile this morning;)
....http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/19346pinklips_rockanemone_tb.jpg
....Mickey.....

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

I would smile 2 !

[shacleve]

Marc,

This is truly exceptional. Thank you for sharing.

shacleve :)

[Jack The Skeleton]

cool page!

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

welcome 2 u Jack the skeleton !

[IceCube]

finally i can identify my creatures.

[melev]

Wilkommen, IceCube:

[welcome]

I grew up in Basel, Switzerland for a few years.

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

HI ice cube thanks for giving us your first POST !!

[IceCube]

Hi,

thanks for your friendly greetings.

I dont know where i should beginn :confused: :confused:

so much informations :D

Basel, i know it, is 330miles from me.

[melev]

Try this - [nemo]

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

that is a great article and i am trying to print it to read but i cannot get it all on one page it prints with side missing can u e mail it to me Thanks !

[melev]

There is a printable version on my site, John.

http://www.melevsreef.com/printable_nemo.doc

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

Thanks i have it now !

[Smoove]

I am cycling my first reef tank! This site was exactly what I was looking for Melev....Thanks!!!

[H2OLUVSME]

I cant do the cool fish Smoove, but WELCOME! to REEF CENTRAL!

LT

[melev]

Yes, [welcome]. I hope my site helps you with your new tank. Click on the little red house above my post, and read all that you can. Reef Central is a huge resource, but my little site might help you avoid some obstacles.

[RayLovesNemos]

wow great page. learned some more stuff thanks to the great people at RC For example: Melev!

[melev]

You're welcome, Ray. :)

[washingtonbelle]

Thank you so much for posting that page!!! I'll refer back to that as I progress. I've wanted a nano reef tank for a long time and my family made that happen for me yesterday. My 16g tank is now set up with the live rock in place (finally finished late last night.....REALLY late last night). Even in it's "newness" I've found myself staring at it. Just a few minute ago I spotted movement and, OMG, out of a hole in a rock came a blue-legged crab!!!! I'm hoping that he makes it through the cycling of the tank.
I'm new to the forum as well as the hobby, but I'm enthusiastic and willing to learn and I've done a ton of research (in part thanks to Reef Central). I'll post pictures as soon as there's something to post.

[melev]

Washingtonbelle, it sounds like you are off to a great start. I hope my page continues to help you as you become more familiar with marine livestock.

[washingtonbelle]

I've spent so many happy RELAXED hours just staring at this tiny piece of the ocean that I can call my own. It seems to be a bit contagious, too. My daughter has shown more interest in it than I expected her too and she's got a sharp eye. If you watch long enough, you'll see something new. I have many (as yet unidentified) creatures that just "appeared" out of the live rock and I seem to have quite a large colony of tiny white/pink black eyed fish-like (with legs??) critters that live in a hollow at the base of one of the live rocks. They are busy constantly and have not sat still long enough for me to even get a good description of them. Cute, though. When I have a tank to be proud of I'll take a few pictures and post them. Marc, I've been to your site and enjoyed it immensely. My fear is that I'm going to do something "stupid" and hurt the very creatures that are giving me so much enjoyment. So, I'm going slowly and asking questions and researching my heart out. Thanks for all the good information.
Gail

[melev]

Hi 'belle, sounds like you're doing the right stuff. I'm not sure what you've got there, but you can post the images in a new thread, please PM the link (URL) to that thread and I'll take a look. Dr Ron's forum helps ID stuff as well.

[Kogut]

Wow! I wish I had seen that when I first got into it. Nice job indeed.

[melev]

Thank you Kogut. In about 2 weeks, I'll be adding some new creatures to the page.

[Reefpoints]

That's great, thank you!

[Neptune's Nemesis]

Thanks for the great site!!!!!!!

[melev]

You're welcome, y'all. ;)

[rx2006je]

.

[KrazyJenn]

This helped me identify the ( what I now know are) keyhole limpits in my tank, the hubby kept calling them baby snails. I would like to know more about these :)
thanks
Jenn

[melev]

Hi Jenn,

The Keyhole Limpet pictures were just recently added to that page. I've had them for years, and they are reef safe snails. If you look closely in your tank, you'll see their little pointy shell in many spots of good flow. I've seen hundreds of babies in the past year in each of my tanks, but never noticed any actually grow to a large notable size like you saw in that image.

The first one I got was a hitchhiker on my Live Rock. I love the frilly skirt they can extend. Now that you have the common name, you can use Google to get more information. You might even try www.wetwebmedia.com's site to search for info on this creature.

Searching RC's "Ask Dr Ron"'s forum might yield some information as well.

[billwynne]

A while back, I did a closed loop, and your site was the most helpful of any source I found(Well, actuallly, the loop should be up this weekend; kept fixing leaks and adding little refinements)

Now this! Many thanks for your hard work.

[68ss396]

Thanks for the page. Already answered a few questions.

[rzp669]

Thanks a lot, i am a begineer,it helpful to me.

[melev]

rzp669,

[welcome]

[fijithai]

Hi all,
I'm new (today) to this list and i'm delighted with all of the info and wonderful pics!! (FABULOUS job Marc!!!) BTW, i'm also from Ft. Worth!!
Anyway, i'm so new, i have a second-hand set-up that i bought from someone whose moving internationally. It's been set-up in my home for about 3 weeks now. I'm in Thailand and the "fish guy", who is selling me his services to help me with the maintenance of the tank, is difficult to understand. I have some anemones, lots of different fish, 2 cleaning shrimp, a clam, and 3 tube-worm type things that have dozens of stinging tentacle arms. He keeps calling them "Sea Lentus" or "Sea Lentis". Has anyone heard of this? I've come to realize that he's not entirely accurate in his identification of different marine creatures.
I know i sound like a real dummy, but please somebody educate me, and i promice to buy some good books.
Cheers,
Gina

[melev]

Gina,

[welcome]

It is nice to meet another person from Ft Worth, even if you are pretty darn far away now. ;) I'd like to suggest you copy your entire post and start a new thread in the New To The Hobby forum so that others can chime in to help.

Take your time visiting my site as well, as there is a lot of useful information there. Click on the red house above my post to access it. And be sure to click on "Hidden Treasure" because my site is broken down into many categories there.

[fijithai]

Thanks Marc! I'll definitely be spending LOTs of time at your site.
I've also posted a new thread like you suggested.
Cheers,
Gina

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

wow marc 2 newbies all at once welcome to RC and this is the place to Be Marc tells it right and shows u how it is done. one of the best threads around !

[fijithai]

:p
Thanks John!!
BTW, VERY cool head-board!!!
Cheers,
Gina

[damnnewbie]

thanks guys this is a great place to learn about this hobby

[melev]

Damnnewbie,

[welcome]

[David D'Amicantonio]

great page..........I finally got to identify my crab (Black Fingered Mud crab - Xanthid crab). I was told differently when I bought it, so thanks for the info.

[melev]

You're very welcome. I still have mine, in the refugium. ;)

[NuclearReefs]

great link marc,, I didnt see this before... your hidden websight has shares all over the place..:)

[melev]

:) Look under "Hidden Treasure" on my main page of my site, and you'll find tons of good information separated by category.

[adshuraj777]

this is really great

[Alexj716]

Very Very Helpful, what a nice thing to do for all of us!

[melev]

It was pretty frustrating trying to figure out what is what on my own, so I put together this page (as well as my site) to help others. Feel free to visit my site by clicking on the little red house over my posts. And once there, don't miss clicking on "Hidden Treasure".

[Poseidon007]

nice pics!

[melev]

Hi Patrick, and

[welcome]

Did you know there is a club in the metroplex? www.dfwmas.com

[racrumrine]

Marc:

Your site is so helpful. I've referred to it several times.

Now that I have more experience, it would be really helpful if you could start adding the scientific names as you are able to. I've noticed that people tend to use the scientific names more and more as they get experience (especially with the corals).

For example, this site is great; but, the pictures aren't as nice as yours. Thus, I find it hard to make an identification.

http://whelk.aims.gov.au/coralsearch/coralid_search.php

Keep up the excellant work.

Regards,

Roy

[melev]

Thanks Roy. If you have any scientific names that you can match to my images, feel free to email those to me and I'll update the pages as time permits.

[CPT. MURPHY]

thank you so much for doing this it has helped me a great deal to identify what I want to put in my cube puts a name to the face thanks again !!!!!

[melev]

You're welcome. :)

[Fluker]

How do you guys get these great pictures next to your Threads

[melev]

I have my own webspace, so I just use the IMAGE button when I type in a reply. (Not the quick reply box, but the Post Reply editor) At that point, I enter in the URL to my site, and the images appear in the message.

And there are now 141 items on the ID page, I made some updates a couple of days ago.

[jg013c]

Marc that page you set up was fantastic. I was wondering about what you say about bristle worms being harmless & misunderstood. I am currently setting up my first tank and I noticed that at night bristle worms roam the tank.

I am planning on putting corals in the tank so I am wondering if I should try to rid the tank of the critters. The LFS told me to get rid of them using a tweaser & a flashlight, but this has proven very difficult seeing as how well they move.

Do you (or anyone) really believe bristle worms are no threat to corals?

Do you (or anyone) know a good way to get rid of them?

[melev]

jg013c,

[welcome]

Bristleworms are misunderstood worms, because people tend to see them near something that has died in thier tank. Small worms are detrivores, cleaning the sand and eating detritus, excess food and dead livestock. Now when bristleworms get huge (3', 6', 13' long!) that is when they are no longer safe to our captive environment.

Leave them be. If they drive you crazy and you can't stand the look, you can add a longnosed hawkfish or an Arrow Crab. Both of these are hunters of these worms and will eat them, and you can find both of those on the ID page.

[jg013c]

The problem is small worms turn into big worms so I either eradicate my tank of them now or I will forever be plucking foot-long's out of my tank in the middle of the night with a flashlight and tweasers...

I have a 12G nano cube so I have to choose my fish very carefully... Do you think a 6-line Wrasse would eat worms or will it just pick off my adorable collection of amphipods?

Ohh an arrow crab? After the arrow crab takes out the worms it may go for the corals next :) I would then have to get something that eats arrow crabs... Perhaps a cat with a snorkle, would it fit in a nano cube?

[melev]

I've never had problems with Arrow Crabs. And bristleworms will be fine. Seriously.

The Six Line will eat pods.

[Reefugee]

Thanks for the great site. It is really helpful for a newbie (me). :-)

[melev]

mn95616,

[welcome] and you're welcome :D

[joking103]

You are providing a great service! Thank You much!

I have been shopping at night in my very, very new tank (only LR & LS) to see who moved in that I did not know about. A little nerve racking!

Who can you put in there to eat all the bad hitchikers :) yes snails and shrimps and yadda yadda.... So many different ones... But for a brand new person exactly what is best?



Information overload is painful ! :confused:

[melev]

Hi Joking,

If your tank is a 72g, you'll want a bunch of snails. Some say one per gallon but that always sounded like overkill to me. If you have sand, you'll want some nassarius snails, a fighting conch and perhaps a tigertail cucumber to keep the sand stirred and clean of detritus.

Do <b>not</b> get a sand-sifting starfish unless this is a fish-only tank. They eat all the life right out of your sand, and your tank will soon be covered with nuisance algae.

Some hitchhikers are good, some are bad. It is best to find out what you have, then you can determine what it will take to remove the unwanted ones.

[will_w]

Awesome post. Thanks for the id's

[melev]

Thanks will_w. :)

[sparkys24]

Awesome!

Thanks for the time you put into it!!

[wahshk]

Great link for all the new hoppiest. I wish I can have the time to do something like this...:) Keep up the good work.

[melev]

Thanks guys. :)

[Splach]

Hello Melev,

Please feel free to snag any pictures from my thread for my tank for the following critters if you want to add them (you may already have some of these):

Red Emerald crab (page 5)
Porcelain crab (page 5)
orange turnicates (page 6)
some red slug thing (page 6)
red hair algae? (page 6)
black and yellow turnicates (page 7)
gorgon (page 10)
yellow leather (page 10)

I also have a video at the end with a medusa worm. I don't know if you have the ability to pull a frame capture, but you are welcome to use it as well if you would like to.

My tank's thread (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=284088)

[melev]

Thanks Casey, I'll check that out soon.

[sman21047]

Great Idea. the coments and the pics help me a lot. It will hellp me decide on what to do

[Bilb007]

[violation]

[melev]

Wow, first time I saw that in one of my threads. Thanks Mike.

FYI, I have a few new items that I'll be adding to the page in the next couple of days.

[TwentyFivePSI]

Marc, your webpage is an excellent idea. Thanks for sharing. However perhaps you just have it temporarily offline, but none of the thumbnails are "clickable". I tried opening the page with IE as well as Firefox. Any ideas? I'd love to be able to check out the rest of your page.

[melev]

Perhaps you have a pop-up stopper installed? Each thumbnail opens to a new window.

[TwentyFivePSI]

Marc, thanks for the tip. I never even thought of that. the only pop up blocker I have is Ad-block for firefox, and as soon as I told it to allow pop ups from your site it worked. Thanks!! Keep up the awesome work!

[Angelic]

Very Nice.

[eng94]

thank you ,this has been a great help,mike

[melev]

You are quite welcome. I just updated the page on my newer site (same URL but not online quite yet) with 153 items to peruse. As soon as it goes online, I'll post in this thread and ask the moderators to update the title of this thread to the new count.

[melev]

The page has been updated. RC will update the title of this thread when they have time.

[melev]

The page has been updated with 8 new items. :)

[virgin reefer]

Mark, i would love to talk to you. You have a beautiful tank and I could use your insight with mine. I'm a new reigister and have no idea how to use this site.:confused:

[melev]

No problem. I saw your email and will reply shortly.

[priorityreefman]

I am new to this hobby and your webpage really helped me. Thanks and great job.

[melev]

Hi Priorityreefman. If you think that webpage helped you, you might take some time to visit my site and wander around. Be sure to click on Hidden Treasures!

[priorityreefman]

WOW,
awesome site!

[catwong]

Many thanks melev :)

[melev]

Catwong,

[welcome]

Thank you. :)

[Natterjak]

Wow, thanks for this page! I've had whelks in my tank for forever, and was never able to positively ID them until now. I thought they were some type of nassarius snail until I found them eating some nassarius snails I bought. They're all in my refugium now. :)

[melev]

You are welcome, Bonnie. Those whelks are sneaky, so watch for any that find their way back up to the tank. Especially little babies!

[Natterjak]

Yeah, I'm debating whether or not to even keep them in the 'fuge or get rid of them altogether.

I JUST caught 3 more - I had some more nassarius snails I just bought, added them to the tank, and those whelks came out of the woodwork. Very nasty!

[melev]

All of mine landed in the backyard. ;)

[Silversurfer]

It is really helpfull to be involed with this great group of people. I enjoy all the great info. Keep up the good work. I was wondering what are these growths on my rock are? If they are a type of algae or sponge. They grow on the underside of the rocks and corals. Is this type of growth a good thing? Thanks again!http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/49741IMG_4726.JPG http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/49741IMG_4729.JPG

[melev]

You know, I've grown both of those in my tank and never bothered to get their names or put them on the ID page.

You should post those images in Dr Ron's forum, and find out the answer. Then let me know and I'll add it to my site.

[Silversurfer]

ya, I would like to find out what they are and If i do I will get ya a better shot for your id list.

[dc]

Just checking it out to see if you have anything new and fun.
The white things are foraminiferans. Looking great as usual. :D

http://images5.fotki.com/v59/photos/2/28482/235116/DSC02539foraforams-vi.jpg

[melev]

Hi Debi,

I need to add some more new stuff. I'd like to add a few more algaes perhaps. I've been growing some nice bryopsis in my reef. :rolleyes: Should be a good one to grumble about.

[dc]

Bryopsis, my favorite subject! Not!

http://images2.fotki.com/v20/photos/2/28482/171438/4bryopsis-vi.jpg
http://images1.fotki.com/v7/photos/2/28482/68928/bryopsis-vi.jpg
http://images1.fotki.com/v6/photos/2/28482/68928/730BRYOPSISSNAIL-vi.jpg

Clown liked it tho!:D
http://images1.fotki.com/v7/photos/2/28482/68928/clowninbryopsis-vi.jpg

[melev]

Hmm. Yours looks different than what I'm dealing with. Mine is very short, coarse and stubbly. It came in on some LR and corals I'm baby sitting. Now I'm seeing more of it! :(

[dc]

Well it started out short, but grew pretty fast. Mine started with a heater malfunction. Took over a year to get rid of it.

[phuzzy3d]

nice site

[chrisstie]

Awesome site, totally bookmarked!

And I wanted to add a little sidestory-

I used to live on Don Pedro Island (just north of Boca Grande) in Florida. I've sinced moved to orlando.

When Living on the island I painted boat bottoms for income- it took a lot of work and special paint to keep algae and barnacles from growing on the bottom of the boat. Barnacles were *BAD* for a boats movement and fuel economy, so using special paint would prevent them from growing on the boats, and thus preventing harsh removal of them also.

While I would do this I would be under a boat on davits (a lift) with some diving flippers, gloves, and a wetsuit. I'd also have a thethered floating tray for my paint and would be able to work all around the boat.

If a boat came in that was messy and needed to be cleaned, however, I would use a power sprayer to spray all the "gunk" off the bottom of the boat - pretty sure it was nothing you'd really want living in your tanks, most of it was algae.

But THIS
http://melevsreef.com/id/isopod.jpg
would come off the boat and try to burrow into my arms and legs and wherever it could find a little niche in my wet suit.

After work I'd immediately have to run upstairs and hose off and go take a shower. They were GROSS.

Seeing the pic just brings back so many memories of weekends where I'd be doing the heebeeejeebee dance to get rid of those things from me! Luckily none would be on too long as i'd swim away from them hehe

Good times, good times.

[melev]

Thanks for sharing that story! I know that a public aquarium on the East Coast is 14' from the front to the back, and the caretaker uses a dive suit to work in the tank all day. He told us a story at MACNA last fall about these things attacking him in the tank, similar to your story. :eek2:

So how did you paint a boat that is in the water? Where you working only to the water line to get some of it done before it it went to the drydocks?

[chrisstie]

The boat would rest just above the water level hung up by davits.. or you could say hoists or lifts.. Not sure how common a davitt is to people who don't live very very very near the water. Sometimes words get lost in translation just from state to state in the US- ironic :)


Haha poor guy working in a tank all day, at least I know i'm not the only one to be attacked by "Sea fleas" i called them... It was so creepy having them get stuck in your arm hair and what not.. always felt good taking a good shower hehehe

If you PM me i can find a pic or two maybe that my folks may have shot (my dad would help me get the boat up out of the water first) to bettere xplain what i did :)

[melev]

PM sent.

[mecold]

nice site thanks!
Paul

[melev]

Thanks Paul. :)

[Criminal_Colt]

Great thread!

Colt :D

[christine cohen]

form a very new member, THANK YOU

[melev]

You are very welcome. A few new items will be added to the ID page in the coming weeks.

[reefD]

nice pictures! i browzed for a while...you have some great info too! is your flame angel really reef safe:smokin:

[melev]

Yes, Phoenix is a great fish. ;)

[melev]

7 new items have been added, and I have a few more to add soon. The Red Bugs page has been updated with a great super-macro image that was provided by gho!

Flasher Wrasse
Encrusting Montipora
Scarlet Hermit Crab
Byropsis
Montipora digitata
Lettuce Nudibranch
Cup Corals

That makes it a total of 168 items.

[krayzie]

meelv... i love u ur tanks kick *** ...... will u marry me ;P

[melev]

:lol: Looks like you are a tad too far away. However, if you'll bring the GBR as a dowry, I might be willing. ;)

[Silver_Stang]

can you identify these which are growing on a rock in my tank:

http://home.comcast.net/~danhruska/mush.JPG

the picture is blurry but i can't seem to get my digital camera to focus on the tank correctly. also, where should i put these in my tank so they flourish, the top or bottem, more or less current, or does it not matter. I have 65 *2 watt PC fixture, the bulbs are 420, 480 nm and 10000k and 6500k. thanks

[melev]

Those look like mushrooms - possibly ricordia. They love light and can be in full lighting. Since you have PCs, anywhere bright in the tank will be good.

[Bantamman]

Great site for those of us that are new to the hobby.
Fantastico
Greg G.

[melev]

Thanks Greg. :)

[puffer21]

thank you for the help

[guara]

graet website

[melev]

Thanks. :)

[scottwatzz]

Very excellent job with pics. Marc & great info 2!!!! About the mangrove in you're sump, do you have a seperate light for it?? I have just purchased one & have it in the same place. The seller recommended keep n low light for a few days. Any ideas?? Thanks a bunch!!

[cuti_75]

Awesome page, tons of informations. Thanks alot Marc

[melev]

scottwatzz & cuti_75,

[welcome] :D :D :D

The refugium lightbulb I use over the macro algae works well with the mangroves as well. Take a look at this page, and be sure tos scroll down to the latest information. http://www.melevsreef.com/fuge_bulb.html

Thanks guys.

[melev]

The ID page has 173 items now. Some recent additions:

Pyramid Snails - predators of zoanthids
Copepods - very tiny and the food mandarins crave
Scypha Sponges - often seen in overflow boxes and undersides of rocks
Blue Chromis - schooling fish
Cerith Snails - good clean up crew workers
Isopods - good guys

[Natterjak]

Just wanted to say thanks again, Marc, for your site, it helped me to identify a bunch of cerith snail eggs. When I saw them in my tank, I had no idea if they were good or bad, and thought there would be no way for me to ID them, and figured I'd check out your site, even though I thought it would be a long shot. I couldn't believe you had a picture!

[melev]

If I can either get the picture from my own tank or if someone gives me a good image, I'll use it. On my ID page, there are a few donated images (10?), but the rest have come from my reef tanks over the past few years.

I'd like to get a picture of a peanut worm one day, but haven't had a good opportunity since upgrading to the 280g reef.

I'm glad it helped Bonnie. :)

[melev]

A few more creatures have been added today:

Purple Nudibranch
Diadema Urchin
Black Stomatella
Acro Crab

[jimbo045]

Nice page with lots of littlt detailed names.

[Mongonius]

Thanks a lot. This was a big help.

[puffer21]

thank you for the site i had this clear thing in my tank i look at your site and i found out it was just a flatworm and that i dont have to worry your site is way faster than a google seach on clear animal is sw tank

[melev]

I appreciate your responses. :) I'll keep adding things as the opportunity arises.

[shel3702]

This is really great, Good Sir! Question: Do cyanobacteria patches always have those little bubble-like things as shown in your photo?

Tim

[melev]

For the most part, yes. During the lighting cycle, bubbles form under the mat and push up through it. Also, at night when the lights are out, cyano just seems to almost go away, with only some brown hairs flapping in the current. It darkens as the day progresses, and usually can be siphoned right out of the tank with airline tubing.

[shel3702]

Hmm, after looking at many other pictures of red slime algae, I don't think it is what I have. I don't have the "slimy part." In fact, I was kind of bummed when I thought it was bad stuff because it is very attractive, yet looks different from the red coralline algae that has started to fill in. There will be bubbles on it, then they go away in a few minutes, then they come back. In fact, I've got bubbles that come off the rock everywhere, even on the still-not-so-alive parts. I'm still very very new at this, so if anyone knows why I have small bubbles rising from my rock occasionally I'd love to know. Does it have to do with the lighting cycle as mentioned above? Sorry, I know this a bit off the topic of this thread. I'll post a picture tomorrow after the lights come on.

[melev]

That could be part of the denitrifying effect, or simply something that occurs in newly set up tanks.

[Marla999]

That info helps me alot. I like your pagealot

[melev]

Marla999,

[welcome]

I'm glad it helped you. That was my goal. There is a lot more information on my site, so when you have time, wander around. Be sure to click on Hidden Treasure from the main page, because that is where all my webpages are organized by category.

[shel3702]

I thought it could be the denitrifying effect as well, but because I'm fairly new at this, I thought that answer was too easy...heh heh. I was unable to find any larger "patches" of it with the bubbles for a photo; they are on the rock for a moment, then release and float to the surface. I'm not going to worry about it. Thank you for your help, have a good day,

Tim

[jeffrylie]

Thanks you ! I can learn a lot from there !

[bngowe]

wow. .thanks! ahah
that did help me identify some things i've found in my tank... the zoanthid predatory spider i found in the new zoos i just got. gonna go look it up right now.

[melev]

Glad this page is helping you all. Feel free to peruse my site for more information in other areas if you so desire.

[aesthetic]

your site is simply AMAZING.... being new to the hobby, this was exactly what i was looking for! between that visual guide and these forums i will be up and running in a few months im sure!

[melev]

:)

[jja]

I can't seem to pull it up.It says check address and try again.:mad:

[melev]

Sounds like a temporary problem, jja. It is working for me.

[jja]

:D working now.Great job!! Thanks for sharing so much info.:D

[TheCoralReef731]

You should put a pic of Aiptasia in there, so people dont need to ask about it sooo much.

[melev]

They are listed on Page 2, under "Anemones - Good and Bad"

[Bugs]

Good informations and a lot of nice pixs. I am not very good with name. With the pixs, now I know what I have. Thanks for posting. I am sure a lot of newbies will benefit from this site. Is the a series of pix collected from different reefers???

[melev]

Hi Bugs,

Each image can be clicked upon, if your pop up stopper is turned off. Once you click on it, a new window opens up with an image and short description. Beneath each image, it lists a photo credit. The majority are my images, but I believe about 10 or 12 images have been contributed by others.

I'm glad you found the ID page useful. Feel free to visit my website for lots of good information: http://www.melevsreef.com/

Be sure to click on Hidden Treasure to navigate my site more easily.

[Bugs]

Thanks for the tip. I just put the mouse on the pix and it show me the name this is how I know the name and the association with the pix. By clicking on the image, WOW, not only it got the name but it also has the description. This is really nice and useful. Thanks Marc....... It really make it easy for me. I can show off and tell people what I have instead of describing it..... You make my day..... Do you also have other sites that have the standard water parameters such as ORP, PH, Calcium, Alk, etc ???? This would also be helpful.

[melev]

How about this page, Bugs?

http://www.melevsreef.com/parms.html

[Bugs]

Oh yeah. This is good. I will spend some time tonight to surf your sight to see what other information is usefull. It is really a nice site. Did you do the webpage yourself also? A man with many tallents. Thanks.

[melev]

Yep, that is my handwork. One RC'er was kind enough to do the layout for the Hidden Treasure page, which organizes my site according to category. At the top of that page is a great Search engine, which will find virtually anything on my site if it is there.

My personal logs also provide thoughts and visuals that will help most understand some of the day to day efforts reefkeeping entails, without being too boring. ;)

[exacta123]

great site lots of great info!!!

[melev]

Thank you. Are you a Navy Seal by any chance?

[Jr.ReefKeeper29]

awsome

[tweetyfish]

...

[melev]

Originally posted by tweetyfish
...

What does that mean?

[Awright]

Originally posted by melev
What does that mean?

I don't know but can I do it also? ... :rollface:

[bawla47]

awesome melev, great site!

[melev]

Thank you very much.

And for anyone that hasn't noticed....

http://www.melevsreef.com/id/clicky.jpg

[CorpusReefer]

I have no idea how much I can add to what's already been said other than great job! Hopefully one day I will be able to contribute something to all of you'll whom have published the wealth of information here.