Hitchhikers

[pixelpixi]

Well, I haven't taken pics of my new corals yet, but I took a few of the hitchhikers that I caught during the dip/inspection process.

I think I mostly know what these are. Please correct me if I'm wrong!

#1 - Spaghetti Worm. Harmless, but ugly
#2 - Starfish. Can't remember the species, but I think they eat coral and are bad? Also an amphipod.
#3 - Unknown worm. Sorry for the lousy picture. It's tiny.

 

[pixelpixi]

PS. That starfish clearly has a clownfish tat on the back of its right thigh.

word.

 

[Swigz]

hah it totally does!!!

 

[sfsuphysics]

First is a bristleworm, awesome scavenger/detritus eater
Second, is asterina starfish, whether or not it's "bad" depends who you ask
Last is spaghetti worm, pretty harmless AFAIK

 

[pixelpixi]

Asterina! I knew it started with "Ast" but couldn't remember for sure. I'll google it and make a decision.

Bristleworm? Really? It looks very different from the other bristleworms I have. It has tentacles sticking out of its head and tail, but not spines sticking out along its length.

 

[sfsuphysics]

perhaps you're correct. I didn't look that carefully at it.

 

[ReeferGirl]

yeah that isnt a bristleworm. I have asterina starfish in my QT and i have LOADS of them. they havent eaten corals in there, they mainly chew on the coralline algae and on the glass eating stuff. so ive never had a problem with them, but ive also never had acropora or montis in my tank, or chalice in that tank either, so im not sure what i should do. i dont really see harlequin shrimps that often, any advice?

 

[ReeferGirl]

oh- the asterina i have are like blue-green and white.

 

[seminolecpa]

Asterenas are hit or miss. Some just munch on diatoms some have been know to eat zoas and aggravate SPS. I see them similar to red palneria (red flatworms). Not usually that harmful but if not watched they can get out of control and become a nuscience. I personally prefer to get them out of my tank.

 

[pixelpixi]

[quote author=seminolecpa link=topic=4279.msg51681#msg51681 date=1218342067]
Asterenas are hit or miss. Some just munch on diatoms some have been know to eat zoas and aggravate SPS. I see them similar to red palneria (red flatworms). Not usually that harmful but if not watched they can get out of control and become a nuscience. I personally prefer to get them out of my tank.
[/quote]

Hmm. It's a shame. They're so cute!

I thought that all the cute things were supposed to be beneficial and all the ugly things were supposed to be harmful. I guess nature didn't get the memo, though.

 

[ReeferGirl]

[quote author=seminolecpa link=topic=4279.msg51681#msg51681 date=1218342067]
Asterenas are hit or miss. Some just munch on diatoms some have been know to eat zoas and aggravate SPS. I see them similar to red palneria (red flatworms). Not usually that harmful but if not watched they can get out of control and become a nuscience. I personally prefer to get them out of my tank.
[/quote]


lol of course i WOULD see this after i just wrote you a novel via PM LOL

 

[seminolecpa]

That's ok I responded back to the novel too. Again my experience is for the most part they are harmless just need to be controlled or they can get out of control very quickly. Perhaps some others will chime in with their experience.

 

[ReeferGirl]

Great, thanks Bryan.

 

[Mr. Ugly]

[quote author=pixelpixi link=topic=4279.msg51682#msg51682 date=1218342244]Hmm. It's a shame. They're so cute!

I thought that all the cute things were supposed to be beneficial and all the ugly things were supposed to be harmful.[/quote]

If that were true, how would one explain Hello Kitty?

 

[pixelpixi]

[quote author=Mr. Ugly link=topic=4279.msg51700#msg51700 date=1218344225]
If that were true, how would one explain Hello Kitty?
[/quote]

I guess Japan didn't get the memo either.

 

[seminolecpa]

You didn't just break out a Hello Kitty reference. Don't make me dig up my old "favorite hitchhiker" picture.

 

[Mr. Ugly]

http://www.kittyhell.com/

You'll have to recover from viewing that web site first.

 

[Mr. Ugly]

Bryan, here's some cool stuff you can do with your Porsche:

http://www.carview.co.jp/news/0/18689/1/

 

[pixelpixi]

[quote author=Mr. Ugly link=topic=4279.msg51719#msg51719 date=1218347482]
http://www.kittyhell.com/

You'll have to recover from viewing that web site first.

[/quote]

O.M.G.

I -HAVE- to have a hello kitty welding mask!

 

[seminolecpa]

great now I am scared for life.