Eel-Worm-Thingy Identified!!!

[WhiteRat]

It really IS an eel-worm thingy!!! It's a cephalochordate!

 

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/chordata/cephalo.html

 

Kinda cool. Though baby eels would've been cooler.

 

Oh, I evicted a small mantis last night and installed a peppermint in his place to try to eat the aptasia. Problem is, the aptasia is way up on top of the rock and the peppermint shrimp seems to like hanging around on the underside of the rock. X)

 

How the bleep do I lead him to what I want him to eat? Bread crumbs?

 

Ratty

[SteveC]

I've never seen my peppermints eat aiptasia. I've never heard of anyone actually seeing peppermints eat aiptasia. Yet, when peppermints are put into a tank, aiptasia slowly disappear. This could be explained by the peppermints eating the aiptasia, or it could be that, for whatever reason, aiptasia find the presence of peppermints so incredibly depressing that they just wither away and die. Maybe it's all that weird swaying.

 

Anyhow, the key word is slowly. I think the peppermints regard aiptasia as an occasional "interesting" snack. I don't think they go, "Oh boy, aiptasia! My favorite! What? Seconds? Don't mind if I do! *buuuurp*"

[printerdown01]

I have had a totally different experiance than Steve. I have actually witnessed my pep eating my aptasia. I have had to go though this 3 times. The first time my pep wiped out an entire tank of aptasia (about 15-20 aptasia), within a few days of being in the tank. The next time I used a pep, nothing happend for quite some time. I actually thought that I was going to have to find another pep! But on night I woke up and all but 1 of the little buggers was gone (the next was eaten by the following morning). The third time, the pep wiped out all my aptasia within 2 days (he was a tiny little guy, and left one large one that was eaten two days later -I think he was avoiding it).

[MikeB]

Cool that you found out what that eel-worm thing is. There other name is lancelets. I did some checking and if you don't want them in the tank any more here is a good soup recipe. :x

 

Fresh lancelets are tasty in soup (cook slowly for 30 min; add lots of cayenne pepper, some onion and garlic powder, green onion, kimchi, ramin noodles, and maybe a few shrimp).

[Xavier]

That's really interesting.. I wonder if they're reef safe

[MikeB]

All the stuff I did read about them is that they are filter feeders. They like to bury them selves in the sand and stick there head out with the mouth open to filter feed. IMO I don't see how they could be bad in a reef.

[WhiteRat]

Yup. They dig into the sand, suck and filter. Can't imagine that harming a reef.

 

Ratty

[Xavier]

My main concern was size... from what I read, they are munchies in other countries (south-east asia area)... doesn't that imply they can get a bit big? In a nano-reef, size does matter...

[MikeB]

5 to 10 cm (2" to 4") guess it would all depend on the size of the nano reef. Someone with a 2.5G I guess it could be a problem even with a 10G 4" could move some things around. But if it doesn't harm anything why take it out is what I meant by should be reef safe.

We have aquariums to enjoy living things in them. If we keep takeing things out because we are scared of what they might become, then why start an aquarium in the first place. I'm the type of person that if it doesn't do any harm leave it there. It is just something more to look at....

 

And if it gets to big for someone's aquarium, or is too big in the first place then by all means take it or them out and make some soup.