Hitchhikers

[youngtimothy]

These are pictures of some of the more common Hitchhikers in the salt water Aquarium trade.

Acro Crab (good)

Asternia star (some good some bad)

Red and Purple Corline Algae (good)

Strombella Snail (good)

Amphipod (good)

Copipods (good)

Collonista Snail (good)

Foraminiferans (good)

Bristle Worm (good)

Chiton (good)

Speggetti worm (good)

Limpet (good)

Various Sponges (good)

 

[MimicOcto8]

wow very cool post dude. some of those I had no idea what they were and didnt know if they were bad or good to have. thanks dude! very helpful

 

[youngtimothy]

Flatworms (bad)

Aptasia (bad)

Majno (bad)

Stone Crab (bad)

Bubble Algae (bad)

Algae (bad)

Hydroids

Black Sponge (bad)

Tube Worms (good)

 

[youngtimothy]

wow very cool post dude. some of those I had no idea what they were and didnt know if they were bad or good to have. thanks dude! very helpful

your welcome! just a note the, GOOD and BAD is My Opinion! meaning I had or had no problems with them!

 

[Alattner]

man this is a sweet thread its nice to have examples of some of the good and bad stuff in the hobby

 

[skinz78]

Great thread! I am just curious why the black sponge is bad?

 

[youngtimothy]

Great thread! I am just curious why the black sponge is bad?

I'm not sure if it's bad but it was really invasive. it spread rapidly and was not pleasing to the eye!

 

[dougers31]

Thank you for putting the time in on this thread.. learned several things including what Foraminiferans is. I know I'm gonna sound like a newb but why are the black sponges bad... at one time I maybe heard somthing about them and their effect on zoas... am I close?

 

[Harry_Y]

I'm not sure if it's bad but it was really invasive. it spread rapidly and was not pleasing to the eye!

I was wondering the same thing

Is it really bad for any other reasons than invasive?

 

[youngtimothy]

I was wondering the same thing

Is it really bad for any other reasons than invasive?

done that I know of, just that it was taking over a few rocks, as for benifets I'm not sure.
.

 

[laynframe]

Are hydroids bad? Ive seen these in my tank!

 

[Jcr's Reef]

I don't think the black sponge is poisonous or anything, I have just heard it like a plague. It spreads and will smother stuff faster than all the other sponges.

 

[youngtimothy]

Are hydroids bad? Ive seen these in my tank!

these I am not sure, there are different types of hydroids, these didnt cause any problems and eventually went away.

 

[laynframe]

I saw a outbreak of them in my tank but i havent seen any lately, Im a huge fan of keeping my tank "sterile" from hitch hikers and was going to get mad if it was a problem lol.

 

[fab1971]

Good stuff! My first set up has most of these bad guys and probably a few more not listed, lol. Aguacultured rock being the main culprit. It's weird but I had a ton (and I mean a ton) of spagetti worms a few months ago and they are all gone now. I have a sixline but I didn't think it could erradicate them that quickly. They were so abundant that I thought it was going to be a problem. Why are flatworms a problem? Do you mean the larger ones or smaller ones.

 

[Captain Nemo]

great thread!!! Looks good!! I would like to add a vermitid snail to the list, not really bad, just annoying........

 

[youngtimothy]

Red Bugs (Bad)

Cyno red slime (Bad)

Bristle worm (good)

 

[riosf63]

i know i'm very new to this I had the red slime at first it went away after awhile but its starting to come back any suggestions?

 

[youngtimothy]

i know i'm very new to this I had the red slime at first it went away after awhile but its starting to come back any suggestions?

there are many way to rid the tank of this. first I would try water changes, increased wated flow and less feeding. also search cyno I'm sure there are many threads about it good luck!
oh yea everyone was new at some point! Welcome!

 

[Wy Renegade]

YT nice informative threads and great pictures!

Are hydroids bad? Ive seen these in my tank!

As mentioned some are; zoanthid hydroids will sting the coral causing them to stay closed up and eventually melt.

Good stuff! My first set up has most of these bad guys and probably a few more not listed, lol. Aguacultured rock being the main culprit. It's weird but I had a ton (and I mean a ton) of spagetti worms a few months ago and they are all gone now. I have a sixline but I didn't think it could erradicate them that quickly. They were so abundant that I thought it was going to be a problem. Why are flatworms a problem? Do you mean the larger ones or smaller ones.

Spagetti worms population are also affected by food avialability, so it may not all be based on the addition of the sixline.