Some Things in the Tank...

[KellyFrancis]

Here are pics of some of the things I've found on my new LR. Some of them I know, others, I have no clue.

The first is a small starfish I found today while looking for more bothersome fuzz. He's tiny now, anyone know how big he'll get and whether he eats meat or algae?



These are pics of some sort of worm I found the other day. Is it a bristleworm and should I get him out the next time I see him? Its the tiny orange line under the rock in the middle. He's kind of hard to see.



This is a pic of one of the things I asked about under the Fuzz thread. Is this aipstasia (sp?)? I have no clue, it doesn't look like anything I've found online. Its the tiny white spot with the red ring around it above the ridge on the front rock. Its open in the pic.



Is the stuff in these pics coral? The green spots and pinkish areas look like corals I've seen at LFS's. If so, how do I not kill them? The rock they are on also has copepods and other tiny critters running around on it. Are they hermit crab fodder?



This one is a small red thing I found on a couple different rocks. Anyone know what this is? Its the little red poker thing in the center of the hollow.



Any help or suggestions would be appreciated! Thank you so much!

 

[KellyFrancis]

Oops. Anyone know how to not post the pics you don't use in the original thread? Still haven't figured that one out......

Well, since they're there...
The top two are some of the fuzz I've been trying to conquer
The next one is another pic of the orange worm
The last is another pic of the red poker-thing. I've got like 5 or 6 of them, all tiny like that.

 

[Jrob]

Okay in order.
#1 it is a starfish, its called a sand sifting star...or what it looks like at least at that small...you will rarely ever see him once he starts to get larger. But his max size is around a foot....i've never personally seen one that large, but they can get fairly big...
#2 I can't tell. You can pull it out if you want, using the better safe than sorry ideology...but i can't tell
#3 Aiptasia is normally brown in color, with long stems.... The white with red, makes me lean more towards a smaller species of feather duster... when you wave water at it, does it suck up inside of the rock??
#4 It could be coral, but i doubt it...When Plate coral like that dies, it tends to change colors..and the greenish pink color you could be seeing could just be a type of dye, that happened when it died, or it could be coralline algae blooming within the dead coral...If it is coral, and you have a reef tank...or a FOWLR tank without predators that will kill coral, and you wanted to keep it...you will need to monitor ph, salinity, calcium, magnesium, and alkilinity...
#5 Looks like a tubeworm...completely harmless

 

[THEcreep]

I have to disagree with the starfish ID. It is an asterina star, these can be very destructive in a reef or coral dowminated tank because they feed on zooanthid corals. The possible bristleworm is definetly not, take a look at a picture of a bristleworm they feel like fiberglass insulation if you accidentally grab one and get the bristles in your hand. The coral is way dead, sorry, that once was a plate but it's now post mortem. The fuzz is more than likely a sponge and can be beneficial as they filter feed and help remove small bits of food.


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app

 

[THEcreep]

Accidentally repost

 

[Wiggles92]

Expect all the little critters (starfish, copepods, etc.) to disappear in no time at all as they'll get picked off by the other inhabitants.

 

[Jrob]

possibly an asterina, i guess.... my computer resolution isn't too great....so because of it blending in and the size it could be an asterina...however i had one that looked like it, and its a sand sifter...

 

[KellyFrancis]

Thanks for the help! It would be so cool if that random starfish got huge! lol, I don't know what I'd do with it but it'd still be cool...

I accidentally killed the anenomone-looking thing (the third pic) taking it around for an ID. As for the rest, I haven't seen the orange worm guy since I took the photo and there are a couple more starfish, though they are just the tiny white ones. I haven't seen the colorful one around lately.

I have a bangaii cardinal in there now too so hopefully he'll munch on some of the odd critters that show up...