Good or Bad

[Dom]

So often, I read threads asking for the identity of a creature the OP found in his/her tank. I've made some of those posts myself. And usually, the follow-up question is: Should I keep it?... Will it eat my corals?... Good or bad? Or some variation of the idea.

These are all creatures we would see in the wild... aren't they?

So why would something that coexists in the wild suddenly become a problem in captivity?

(Sometimes I think too much)

 

[Arricefe]

Lice, ticks, mice, flys are all found in nature... yup you’re over thinking it.

 

[Doh Boy]

Excellent question! Maybe the diversity of the ocean keeps pests at bay? On a reef there may be several different species of wrasses, tangs, etc that eat the pests and they don’t have the chance to annihilate the corals.

 

[Brit’s Fish]

So often, I read threads asking for the identity of a creature the OP found in his/her tank. I've made some of those posts myself. And usually, the follow-up question is: Should I keep it?... Will it eat my corals?... Good or bad? Or some variation of the idea.

These are all creatures we would see in the wild... aren't they?

So why would something that coexists in the wild suddenly become a problem in captivity?

(Sometimes I think too much)

I’m following this thread because I think just like you... sometimes I see things I know are not great in my tanks and I will let it go to see what happens. Can’t say I recommend this method but i do find it interesting.

 

[CMMorgan]

I totally follow your logic. That said, I spent many years teaching at the Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center. One of the first lessons we teach is about keystone species and food chains. What works in the natural environment is highly unlikely to work in captivity because a home tank cannot provide every link in that chain. Checks and balances. While we may see all of these things that we label as good and bad co-exist in the ocean.... EVERYTHING Has a natural predator. If you allow these things to go unchecked in a reef tank, the balance of power (if you will) is thrown off. Thus, in these faux environments to which we have taken on the role of caretaker... we become the apex predator. In order to protect those that cannot protect themselves, we assume the responsibility of removing something that may cause a domino affect throughout the rest of the tank. With great power comes great responsibility. You can introduce new creatures to control issues naturally - (i.e. Peppermints or File Fish for Aiptashia) but you need to consider the impact that may have on something else.
Nothing wrong with thinking about such things. We can get all philosophical if you'd like but you can't argue with science.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Great post! I've been saying for years that most of the critters people call pests are pretty harmless

 

[Protodad]

First, I think that most people overthink the hobby. With all the recent advances it’s possible to chase numbers and I don’t think it’s a good trend.

That said, as a counter argument, due to the confined space, many creatures that were harmless in the reefs can become pests in a tank. Most just don’t have natural predators or have favorable (bad) conditions to thrive under that aren’t present in the ocean.

I don’t think you need to chase every pest out of your tank but I surely think that a given pest can annihilate a tank if left completely unchecked.

 

[Dom]

Lice, ticks, mice, flys are all found in nature... yup you’re over thinking it.

Precisely my point. Aren't we overthinking it when we worry about every little critter we find?

 

[Dom]

I totally follow your logic. That said, I spent many years teaching at the Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center. One of the first lessons we teach is about keystone species and food chains. What works in the natural environment is highly unlikely to work in captivity because a home tank cannot provide every link in that chain. Checks and balances. While we may see all of these things that we label as good and bad co-exist in the ocean.... EVERYTHING Has a natural predator. If you allow these things to go unchecked in a reef tank, the balance of power (if you will) is thrown off. Thus, in these faux environments to which we have taken on the role of caretaker... we become the apex predator. In order to protect those that cannot protect themselves, we assume the responsibility of removing something that may cause a domino affect throughout the rest of the tank. With great power comes great responsibility. You can introduce new creatures to control issues naturally - (i.e. Peppermints or File Fish for Aiptashia) but you need to consider the impact that may have on something else.
Nothing wrong with thinking about such things. We can get all philosophical if you'd like but you can't argue with science.

Great answer... thank you!

 

[Hugh Mann]

It's the enclosed nature of our tanks is what makes the pests a problem vs the wild.

Everything eats something, so on a natural reef there's going to be some critter that eats the bristle worms, baby brittle stars, bubble algae or what have you. Those organisms may not be present in our aquariums, so the numbers of pests just go up and up until they totally take over.

The same can be said with things like ich. A cycst pops out a few thousand or however many swimmers into a reef, big whoop, odds of one finding a fish are real low. Put those same swimmers in even a 400 gallon aquarium with two dozen fish, odds of finding a fish are almost guaranteed, and with exponential growth, becomes a problem that can kill fish.