THE ULTIMATE ID THREAD! Before you post WHATS THIS? LOOK HERE!

[Blubbernaut]

This is probably the most helpful thread on the site! I found a couple 1"+ long stomatellas in my tank, and I guess they reproduced, b/c at night I see dozens of them on my tank's glass. Thanks for the free CUC, Snaily Bros!

[FlukeSlayer]

This post was very helpful. Thank you.

[dragon79]

Can anybody tell me what kind of crab this is? I went to Seaside Tropical fish store, in HB today, got 3 frags and one of them came with a little crab running around on the bottom of the bag. He's a tiny little booger, he's light brown and has those lil stripes on his legs. Is he a pest crab? I went through the entire thread here but didn't see anybody who posted this picture of this crab. Let me know if hes a keeper or not He's real tiny as mentioned and no bigger than like my pinky nail.

[Blubbernaut]

Can anybody tell me what kind of crab this is? I went to Seaside Tropical fish store, in HB today, got 3 frags and one of them came with a little crab running around on the bottom of the bag. He's a tiny little booger, he's light brown and has those lil stripes on his legs. Is he a pest crab? I went through the entire thread here but didn't see anybody who posted this picture of this crab. Let me know if hes a keeper or not He's real tiny as mentioned and no bigger than like my pinky nail.

I suggest you follow my motto "If you don't know what it is, burn it". Looks like a stone crab to me (no bueno)

[lakshwadeep]

I suggest you follow the motto "When in doubt, look it up"...

 

No, seriously, it looks like a Trapeziid, probably from some SPS colony.

http://www.chucksaddiction.com/coral_crabs.html

 

If by "stone crab" blubbernaut meant Xanthid, then he is mistaken because it doesn't have an oval body shape (and Xanthid eye stalks are rarely so wide) nor the common dark pincers of the family.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-12/rs/index.php (scroll down to get ID help on Xanthids)

[Fishfarts]

Hello, I was wondering if anybody knows what the heck this is? It looks like a skinny piece of Teflon tape, but it is most certainly alive. It shrinks up and then fills up with water any idea?

 

Here's another pic

[polarblair2000]

Stomatella

I know there is already some pics of this guy on page one but here is a video of one of them to help out with identification.

[Jai1985]

here's one for you guys.... Im stumped on this one....

[Spencer7]

Vermetids should be moved to Harmful!

 

I have multiple SPS pieces have chunks eaten by the snail

You can trace the web of slime black to a swirly shell

 

An important note is that they commonly come in/live on clam shells

[thegambler26]

here's one for you guys.... Im stumped on this one....

One time when cleaning my tank I accidentally sucked a large feather duster out of his tube. It looked very similar to what's in your pic minus the frilly pink stuff. Don't know if that's even possible in your tank just a shot in the dark.

[Jai1985]

more pics....

[Acielot]

A sea pen or sea feather it looks like

[doppelganger]

I'm thinking it's like a coco worm or something. Some type of worm at least...

[Chadf]

I agree with sea pen.

[VicD]

I have no idea what these are. At first I though they were aiptasia just because I have already found a couple and injected them with hot Lemon juice but they dont look like the ones i killed.

[fretfreak13]

Pineapple sponges

[Kickass916]

This page was very helpful. thank you for sharing.

Are there any threads/link on how to remove the harmful ones?

[lakshwadeep]

I posted this in a different thread, but I think it's important to put it in this sticky. It is mainly about the differences between "bristle worms" and "fire worms", and why I think the picture guide at the beginning of this thread should be altered for these definitions.

 

 

Taxonomically, "bristle worm" refers to a large group of worms in the biological class Polychaeta (including various groups, like feather duster worms and spaghetti worms, not commonly thought of as bristle worms in the hobby), while "fire worm" refers to one of the families in that class: Amphinomidae. It used to be that all "bristle worms" were considered bad in the hobby, likely from reports about the amphinomid Hermodice carunculata and some predators from other families (e.g. eunicid "eunice" worms). Then, this got revised to saying that the "common bristle worms" (= Eurythoe complanata because it is globally widespread) were good scavengers, while "fire worms" (= H. carunculata) were still bad.

 

Now, why is H. carunculata bad? All fire worms have no jaws and just a rasping "tongue" to feed, and so the only way they can "kill" something (if they were predatory) is to literally lick it to death. H. carunculata is a threat to corals and sessile (non-moving) livestock. It is not a threat to fish and other things because only a severely injured animal would give a fire worm enough time to eat it. In contrast, E. complanata is by far the most common bristle worm hitchhiker (besides feather dusters) and is a scavenger that will readily reproduce in captivity and create a sustainable addition to any CUC.

 

The fact that people still recommend not touching "bristle worms" because of their sting (the bristles actually cause itching, and the name "fire worm" directly refers to this painful observation) suggests that those "good bristle worms" are actually amphinomids, too. IMO, it is better to just call these common bristle worms as "fire worms," while mentioning that there are some very rare predatory fire worms like H. carunculata.

 

A very good reference on Amphinomids (incl. the two species mentioned above) and other large worms:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-04/rs/

[Voodoodol]

more pics....

 

That is one of the most bizarre things I've seen yet. Am constantly amazed at the things that come out of the ocean.

[Blubbernaut]

That is one of the most bizarre things I've seen yet. Am constantly amazed at the things that come out of the ocean.

And just think, we don't even know of everything that's out there.....

[VicD]

Pineapple sponges

Thanks!!! I was racking my brain trying to figure it out. Almost went out to buy Pep Shrimp but now I know its all good in the hood!

[SantaMonica]

Boy wouldn't it be great to be able to easily keep sea pens.

[randyplank]

I have read through all 9 pages, and haven't seen anything resembling this....help? The eggcrate is standard eggcrate for scale. It appeared on the inside of my glass today. The stalks have tentacles all the way around them, but not all the arms have the stalks. Some kind of aptasia colony?

[Lalani]

I have read through all 9 pages, and haven't seen anything resembling this....help? The eggcrate is standard eggcrate for scale. It appeared on the inside of my glass today. The stalks have tentacles all the way around them, but not all the arms have the stalks. Some kind of aptasia colony?

 

 

Hydroids, I beleive.

[randyplank]

Thanks. Based on what I saw and your response, I scraped it off the glass and sucked it outta my tank as best I could!