Live rock hitchhikers

[AKieslich]

Hi all,

New to reefing and have just completed cycling the tank.. with that said I have a star fish and coral (I believe) that has showed up in the tank... I have attached pictures.. please let me know what these species are and if I should get them out of my tank before bringing home any fish..

 

[Retro Reefer]

Those are aiptasia, your not going to like this but I would suggest before going any further pull the rock and soak in bleach for a couple days and then start over or buy new rock. Aiptasia can become a major problem so I would deal with them now.

 

[New&no clue]

Hi, as I new person as well, take it from me, any pest hitchhikers should be taken care of in a very thorough way. They will cause problems down the line and be a bigger pain than simple taking the rocks out now and soaking them. There are probably more on the rocks you don't see and they will continue to grow and spread. I know that it is disappointing when you are so close to adding fish, but you will be thankful you took the time to deal with it.

I would also research aiptasia more if you'd like. There are some inverts that will eat them, and I believe maybe a fish or two.

 

[scott11106]

pull the rock and make sure there is NO aptasia EVER as you will truly regret it. star fish are ok but I don't see that in picture

 

[monti mike]

You will thank yourself later if you get rid of them now. I started my tank over with dry rock because of aiptasia (killed one of my favorite fish)

 

[SaltyCupcake]

To echo the others, better sooner than later. Aiptasia is definitely not something you want to let get out of hand. <3