In view of the unique complexity of seawater, there are often unnamed creatures in the sea tank, and Xiaobian thinks that you must have encountered this situation, so the following is a small science popularization~
The mysterious barnacles Barnacle
The most common hitchhiker on stony corals ------ barnacles, which have feathery tentacles that protrude and retract to catch particles in the water. The coral in the background is Galaxia. They are also found in SPS corals, such as Psammacora, Porites and so on. I never observed that they hurt corals, but more like a symbiotic relationship. Coral tank safety creatures.
Sea spider Pycnogonid
If there's a problem with your button, note if there's a creature on it. Once found, immediately remove from the button and continue to observe for a few weeks.
Sand Skaters
They are very small and rarely noticed. They can quickly tighten their bodies, like pins, leaving only the head out. Viewed from the side, their shells resemble pyramidal structures. They are herbivorous, safe organisms.
Rotifers
Rotifers are probably the smallest food that can be bred in an aquarium, and rotifers are very small, like dust. The image above shows thousands of rotifers gathered together. It's too small to take pictures. Rotifers need phytoplankton for food and must be provided every day. Rotifers can be used to feed juveniles and corals, especially at night when corals extend their tentacles. Coral tank safety creatures.
Red bugs
Red bugs that make a lot of sps breeders miserable, they're not even red. They are yellow with slightly orange bodies. Interceptor is said to kill them, and caution should be exercised when using them, as they may harm other worms and crabs.
Mysis shrimp
Filling the tank with small bugs can sometimes be a problem, but they are not small bugs, but a type of Mysis shrimp. They are very low-sized and translucent. Pay attention to their comparison with the size of the bottom sand. The head fish and frogs love these little things very much. These little things are found in algae tanks. Coral tank safety creatures.
Cirolanid Isopod
It is an isopod, the Cirolanid Isopod, which, like lice on hairy animals, adsorbs onto fish and gills. They are undesirable pests. If not detected in time, the damaged fish may die. Fighting them takes 2-4 months of isolation to be completely wiped out. Dangerous creatures.
Isopods
"The little bugs in the aquarium are good things. Or that aquariums need bugs" So what do they look like? They are very small insects that crawl on various surfaces such as living stones, glass, low algae, and high algae. Usually you see amphipods that look like tiny shrimp. The creature in the image above is smaller, like a translucent ant. It is isopod and is a natural food for many fish, including frogs (wrasses). They usually ride live stones or corals into aquariums and can be easily observed in places where there are no predators. Coral tank safety creatures.
Copepods of copepods
Copepods, the most favorite of the bullhead fish and frogs. They are a link in the food chain, placed in algae tanks, where they can reproduce freely. They are not only aquarium safe creatures, but also beneficial organisms. They eat phytoplankton very detritus. The addition of phytoplankton stimulates their growth, increases nutrients, and ultimately serves fish.
Flat jump shrimp
This little bug is a fish favorite snack. Mandarins and Wrasses are particularly fond of this small crustacean. In the mature algae tank, there will be many such small bugs. This is a type of flat jumping shrimp of amphipods, which are characterized by a curved body like a shrimp, and copepods have straight bodies, more like very small bugs. Footed animals are common. They are safe creatures of the reef aquarium.
Needle tree foraminiferan
Very lean little creature! The slender tubular structure of the organism is a foraminiferan. They are cell-free organisms that use sand grains to build a skeletal structure. In tropical oceans, they are often found near sponges, establishing their own structures outside the sponge bone needles. Hence the name "needle trees". The crustaceans in the tube below are filter feeders. It is also a footed animal. These small creatures are found everywhere in the ocean, but are quite rare in aquariums.
Bristleworms
Bristleworms are always mistaken for pests, but they are actually very good sweepers. Illuminating aquariums with flashlights at night may reveal their presence. They can consume leftover food. Because they are always haunted by food spoilage, people always associate them with death and corruption without any praise for their hard work in cleaning. They are safe.
Capitellid worm
Marc's tip: My friend found this strange earthworm-like worm in his sand bed. It is a typical capitellid worm that lives in an oxygen-deficient area and feeds on putrefactive substances and gravel. It is safe for organisms inside the aquarium.
Chaetopterid worm
This interesting little thing is found on most reef tanks on live rock or on the sand base of algae tanks. They should be a worm, most likely Chaetopterid (pronounced "key-top-terid") or Spionid. They secrete mucus, glue tiny grains of sand into small tubes, hide in them (two tubes in the picture), and stick out their tentacles to feed. Its own body is small, about 0.1-0.25 inches, but the tentacles are very long, reaching up to 10 times the length of the body. Coral tank safety creatures.
Fingertip hydra Digitate hydroids
Digitate hydroids (fingertip hydras) need to have fairly sharp eyes to distinguish this particular creature at night. The first time I found it inside the algae tank, it was as thin as a strand of hair, up to 1.5 inches when fully stretched. If you observe them long enough, you will find that they are thinking creatures. Their filter feeding technique is a bit like the popular fly fishing technique in Europe and the United States (a method of fishing that makes full use of the current to push the bait). The fluffy part sways in the current, then suddenly curls up and then releases again. They are an extremely elegant creature in nature, and they are very interesting to observe. In some aquariums there will be flooding, and I haven't had this problem here yet. Reef Aquarium Safety.
Bonellid Echiuran worm
Photo by Marc Levenson Marc Tip: Late at night, I spotted this strange creature sticking out of the sand bed. It looks a bit like a plant and is actually the long mouth of the Bondellid Echiuran worm sticking out. I've never seen what their bodies look like, but their tendrils can stretch out very long. In this photo, it is at least 12 inches long. According to Dr. Ron Shimek, they are harmless scavengers. If you want to look for them in your aquarium, use a low-light flashlight after turning off the lights. They are sensitive to light and shrink back immediately when they encounter light. This photo was taken with a hand flash. Coral tank safety creatures. It is said that this creature is particularly peculiar, the male is parasitic in the female body, and all the individuals we see are females.
Link animal larvae
Photo by Marc Levenson Marc Tip: At night, I saw this little worm galloping on a sandbed. I saw this creature for the first time in 6 years and was very excited. They seemed to be attracted to my flashlight. Two worms can be seen in the picture, right next to the weave snail. They are about the size of newly hatched maggots. Later I was told that this might be a larvae of a link animal.
Spirorbid worm
These small white dots the size of pin caps can be found in the display tank, overflow tank and bottom cylinder. They are Spiralbid Worms, filter-eating creatures. If they stick to the front of the fish tank, they can be scraped off, and this action will not hurt them. They are harmless, coral tanks safe organisms.
Vermetid worm
Most reef tanks find this strange calcification tubule (the calcified tube of the Vermetid worm) and spit out a reticulated substance from the inside, most noticeable when fed. The reticulated substance is secreted by Vermetid to feed on granular matter in the water, which is then eaten by the net that adheres to the organic matter. It is normal for some of them to be inside the aquarium. Hop, the photographer of the photo, found that his aquarium was particularly suitable for these creatures, numbering hundreds or thousands, causing the tank to turn over. Reticular secretions always interfere with the surrounding corals, causing them to retract completely. You can destroy the calcification tubes or block them and seal them to prevent further spread. I personally haven't encountered a situation that Vermetid can't control, but I've also found it on the bottom tank and the submersible pump.
Note: The above content is from codename 0572
—END—
Welcome to the Dragon Peak Seawater Fish National Aquarists
Longfeng Seawater Fish Editor's private WeChat: baliyuni
The stepping stone of the seawater aquarist school is also
Make friends with fish lovers all over the world, starting from harassing Xiaobian
Aquarists, sweep a try ~