Feeding hitchhikers

Always42Learning · Jan 6, 2022

Howdy Folks,

I received 10lbs of live rock from KP Aquatics today (great stuff - multiple smiley emoji's) and there's a few hitchhikers aboard. The rock is in a quarantine tank.
Should I feed the hitchhikers, and if so, what should I feed them? I've seen a couple of worms (hoping they are the friendly bristle-worm type) and a couple of teeny-tiny little starfish...and found my first (possibly gorilla) crab.

Any suggestions?

Thank you,
JJ

KrisReef · Jan 6, 2022

That is fantastic. I was looking at their site today. I don't think you need to feed the hitchhikers. They should be able to forage on the rock. If you want to keep the starfish, might you move them to another tank or is QT for possible ich or?

ReefSlice · Jan 7, 2022

What I did with my TBS rock was feed reef roids via broadcast feeding every few days and everything on the rock other than some sponges stayed alive for years. Phyto would also work well for the filter feeders. I would definitely feed a little bit of something to keep all the life on the rocks alive.

Always42Learning · Jan 7, 2022

Kris, thank you for the response.
this is my first foray into saltwater, and from what I've read, QT may save me from thumb-eating mantis shrimp or that demon-bobbit-worm thing that would wear me like an Edgar-suit.
I was able to move two starfish to my main tank, pretty sure it was more traumatizing for me than for them.
JJ