What is a "hitch hiker"?

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critters living in the rock, such as crabs, bristle worms, snails, ect... really anything that can survive the lack of water but staying moist, this can even include corals or eggs of stuff, you will see stuff emerging over the next few months. You can't control what is hitching in less you kill the rock first by drying it out
 
There are dips you can buy as well...but these mainly just kill inverts living in the rock.

Some people will dunk their rock in freshwater upon receiving it to ensure that flatworms and the such will crawl out of the rock and not get introduced to the tank. The good stuff that clings to the rock obviously cant try to escape, and therefore stays on the rock, and has a chance at recovery/spreading once re-introduced to SW.
 
as long as you keep an eye on whats going on in your tank, hitchhikers arent too big of a concern. as far as bristleworms, in my opinion the most common, just get a flash light and some red cellophane. Turn off your lights and close the blinds, or do it at night. Wait a few hours and go into the room with the cellophane wrapped over the flashlight. This way you can see the worms but they cant see you because they can not see red light! You will also get starfish,etc. Just pay attention to your tank
 
I am about to just set up a SW tank with LR from a guy who had it in his own reef setup. He has a 300g with 400lbs of it. Should I still expect these hitchers? Also I wont have fish in the tank for a couple months anyhow but what will the bristle worms do to the fish if they are in the tank? Or what harm can these hitchers cause?
 
beantickler;5045501; said:
I am about to just set up a SW tank with LR from a guy who had it in his own reef setup. He has a 300g with 400lbs of it. Should I still expect these hitchers? Also I wont have fish in the tank for a couple months anyhow but what will the bristle worms do to the fish if they are in the tank? Or what harm can these hitchers cause?
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There is a difference between a bristleworm and a fireworm. Bristleworms are more of an addition to your clean-up crew. They will scavenge around and find bits of old food and such. Fireworms (although a type of bristleworm) on the other hand are more-or-less opportunistic feeders. They have been know to prey on sleeping fish and have caused some harm in that manner. If you get a hitchhiker that appears to be a worm, it's most likely a bristleworm. Rarely is it ever a fireworm and rarely do they prey on animals. If this LR is coming from a 300g SW tank, I guarantee that there is some bristleworms. I have one in my eight gallon that lives in a patch of green star polyp. He never does any harm, but if I can catch him I will. I wouldnt worry about it if your not having inhabitants for a while.
If you really wanted to, you could buy a trap (for likie $8) or use nylon stockings to catch the worms. Just use a piece of market prawn (shrimp) inside the stocking and the worms will become lodged inside the nylon, unable to move.
 
Decent advice...but there is a whole world of hitch hikers out there.

I am not telling you to not use LR...I have used LR in all of my SW setups.

There are just things like aptasia, coral eating asterina stars, fireworms...and others that can be detrimental, and a huge pain in the arse if you cant deal with them.

My next tank will be mainly dry rock...with some LR spotted in here and there.
 
FLESHY;5045995; said:
Decent advice...but there is a whole world of hitch hikers out there.

I am not telling you to not use LR...I have used LR in all of my SW setups.

There are just things like aptasia, coral eating asterina stars, fireworms...and others that can be detrimental, and a huge pain in the arse if you cant deal with them.

My next tank will be mainly dry rock...with some LR spotted in here and there.
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Yes aptasia can be annoying. To get rid of these nasty pets, boil lemon juice. Get a hypodermic needle and suck some of the boiling lemon juice up. Inject the concoction into the mouth of the aptasia and it will kill them. Boiling water works as well
 
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