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Pod Your Reef

weird pod? or what?


spirasol

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I've been keeping an eye on this guy for months now and from what I've observed it stays in it's tunnel almost 24/7. It doesn't bother any of the corals, so I guess its reef safe. I pretty sure its some sort of pod but I've never seen or heard of one building tunnels. Does anyone know what it is?

It's original home

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Then it moved to a different part of the tank. That's him on the bottom right, guarding his tunnel against the goby!

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chuckfullservice
Weird, looks like a little caterpillar.

Thats the part that would scare me. What could this thing turn into ? A beautiful buttter fly or or coral killing monster , I guess only time will tell!

Either way nice hitch hiker pretty cool.

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Sort of looks like the "burrowing amphipod" here:

 

(See “amphipods burrowing in sand:”)

http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-j...rustaceans.html

 

Possibly an anthurid, but I don't know if they burrow:

Anthurid isopod:

http://museumvictoria.com.au/crust/mov1662t.html

 

Also, check out the pods (& links) at this “Chuck’s Addiction” page:

http://home2.pacific.net.ph/~sweetyummy42/hitchpods.html

 

Looks like a fun critter to watch--nice that it builds its tunnels against the glass. :)

 

--Diane

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it is most likely an amphipod. I could not tell from the picture what one, but there are many species of amphipods that make tunnels in the mud.

 

I did a 16 week research project on ones very similar a few years ago.

 

dsoz

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Thanks guys! And especially thank you Diane for providing clearer pics :)

This is exactly what he looks like. Notice the two white marks on it's head and tail end.

a_Amphipod.jpg

Amphipod2.jpg

At first I thought it would morph into something like a mantis shrimp, just cause I found a mantis in my old 29g reef once and also that this pod looked more "shrimp-like" than the other amphipods in the tank. Now that there is a definitive pic, anyone know anything about it?

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Not that particular one, but here're some pics & info about two Australian burrowing amphipods...it says one's a filter feeder, one's an herbivore...these two genera, at least, seem harmless and beneficial:

 

http://museumvictoria.com.au/crust/mov1301i.html

 

http://museumvictoria.com.au/crust/mov1301t.html

 

 

http://museumvictoria.com.au/crust/movampi.html

 

http://museumvictoria.com.au/crust/movampt.html

 

 

--Diane

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Judging from the way the legs jut out it's most likely some form of isopod, it's possible it's an amphipod but it lacks longer arm like appendages. I'd love to see a top and bottom shot of this guy for sure. In any case, if he aint hurtin nothin why not leave him be, he's cool as heck!

 

You may want to hit up the guys over at project dibs, someone there might be more familiar with it.

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Does it have two long antenna off the front end? If it does, google the genus corophium. It is a type of amphipod that builds tunnels in mudflats.

 

dsoz

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Diane, it very well could be an Ampithoe sp. This is probably the most accurate description to date! Thanks again! :P

"Distinguishing Characters:

Species of Ampithoe are often brown with paler spots and white eyes. The last uropod has two minute hooks at the end. This species grows to 8 mm.

General Biology:

Ampithoids build thin tubes in which to live, weaving them from silk secreted from glands in their legs. Hooks on the uropods and on the hind legs hold the animal in its tube which is stuck among the fronds of algae. Ampithoids are herbivores, feeding on the algae where they live. There are numerous Australian species in the family."

I'd love to see a top and bottom shot of this guy for sure.

thejrc, I'd love that also, but he's way too small and always in his tunnel. It's quite difficult to get a good shot of him.

Does it have two long antenna off the front end?

dsoz, yes it does. Searched under the genus Corophium, the description is very similar to this guy unfortunately there are 50 species and very limited descriptions of them to narrow it down, thanks though.

 

After 6 months, I first noticed him building tunnels after I cycled my tank, the pod or whatever hasn't caused any damage at all. He's always in his tunnel, night and day (believe me I check). I think its safe to say he's harmless.

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Well, I suspect we've gone as far as we can go with web sources...short of finding a PhD in pods, we might as well be content with what's been learned so far. Which is considerable, actually, even w/o an exact ID!

 

Congrats on obtaining and noticing such an interesting, if minute, critter, and spurring an interesting discussion!

 

--Diane

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I have a bunch of those in my little tank too, I just figured they were a different kind of regular pods ('cuz I'm a newb) till I saw this thread.

Do yours behave differently than regular pods? Mine tend to stay in their burrows most of the time, and occasionally dart out and right back in. They never seem to go very far from their tunnel. I think it's kind of cute!

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Do yours behave differently than regular pods? Mine tend to stay in their burrows most of the time, and occasionally dart out and right back in. They never seem to go very far from their tunnel. I think it's kind of cute!

Glad to see someone else who has this guy! He mostly stays in the tunnel, I've never seen it come out but it does poke it's head out once in a while. He can (and has) move to different parts of the tank to build new tunnels, abandoning his old ones.

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I have had these guys in tanks of mine in the past. I have no idea what they are/were, but they never caused any problems, and were really neat to watch.

 

I doubt you will get a definitive ID, but it is a cool find!

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johnsredline

i have 2 in my 12g ap. Ive always just figured they were pods, theyve been around quite awhile, and havent messed with anything so i just left em.

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