where are they coming from?!?

[Nabob89]

My fish only tank has been set up for over two years....and I purchased one large piece of LR from my LFS about a year ago for the tank (though with my low-power flourescent lighting, It is most likely no longer "alive")....and every time I scrub algae off the rock, I notice small beatle-like bugs, and bristle worms....but just last night I made some discoveries.....first, I noticed tiny white specks that were darting back and forth across the glass....I assume these are pods.....and they are EVERYWHERE (none of my fish eat them)....I'm excited to have these since I hear they're good for corals/a mandarin, but will they die when my tank cycles with the addition of more LR? Also, I noticed strange things growing on one of my snails. It is a cluster of flower-like things....they are tiny with white stems....a small, white "bulb", and small white "strings" coming off the top....When I attempted to brush these off the snail, they seemed to disappear, but several minutes later they had reappeared....similar looking things are in the corners of my tank (in the low-flow section of the tank)....are these bad?.....also, I found what appears to be a small starfish on the back wall of my tank, but he only has four arms! Is it possible that these creatures hitchhiked in with the LR, but are just coming out now? Or could they have come in with my new snails about 4 weeks ago? thanks alot
Matt

[HBtank]

It seems that people have seen things pop out of their live rock years after it was introduced. But they could have been on the snails, who knows.

I find something new everyday...

[Blown 346]

The only way you will cycle is if yu add alot of rock that isnt cured. The rock is still very much alive, you dont need light to have liverock stay alive. It is the bacteria on and in the rock that make it alive.

Sounds like your snails have feather dusters which are good and are filter feeders.

The starfish are Asterina starfish and are fine to have, they are good clean up guys.

[davidryder]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6977511#post6977511 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Blown 346
The only way you will cycle is if yu add alot of rock that isnt cured. The rock is still very much alive, you dont need light to have liverock stay alive. It is the bacteria on and in the rock that make it alive.

Sounds like your snails have feather dusters which are good and are filter feeders.

The starfish are Asterina starfish and are fine to have, they are good clean up guys.

Yes and let me stress the a lot part, because it really does take a substantial amount of rock to start a noticable cycle, especially if you rinse it off in saltwater first.

[trippyl]

this is the beauty of having a reef tank. People who come to my home and see my tank sometimes ask, why don't you have more fish. They don't realize that the tank is home to literally thousands of animals. My reef has more beings in it than many small towns.

In many ways, i enjoy the small guys just as much as the big guys. Of course, I try to give all of them equal time, otherwise they lay the guilt trip on me.

[REV]

The asternias will stay small. When they get to be about 1/2 inc or even less, they split. You will probably see some in the future that have only three legs... They are six legged... as said earlier, they are good, kinda cool too! As for the lille white bugs, I don't know exactly what they are, but have been told that they are not the copepods that mandarins generally eat. Then again, don't believe everything you're told!

[Nabob89]

now I'm confused...the little guys on the corners of my tank seem to be feather dusters as well, but they don't look like any feather duster I've ever seen. The white stems have a small white "bowl" at the end, and instead of having the sraight white stems that most feather dusters have at their mouths, these have wavy (extremely thin) strings that wave back and forth with the flow of the water....is this some small feather duster? the strings retract into the "bowl" every time my finger is near, just like a feather duster, but they look nothing like the feather dusters I see in stores. Could they be just some strange small type of feather duster?

[REV]

If it's just one jellylike string that comes out of the tube, it's a snail. I forget the name, but if that's what it is they're fine. They'll clean particles out of your water. Some pics would sure help for a good id!

[Nabob89]

it's multiple jellyfish-like strings.....and I'll have pics up soon

[Blown 346]

REV is referring to the peanut snail.