LIL'' SHRIMP ON MY FILTER???

[KMyers18]

I started a 20gal. reef like two months ago and i always find these lil shrimp looking things on the filter ( HOB ) when i pull it out to clean it? Are these good bad or other? I have them in the tank too! But they dont swim like shrimp, they crall?

 

[Hara]

probably copepods

 

[KMyers18]

Are they good bad or what? What do they do for the tank?

 

[MT79]

They sound like Gammarus amphipods to me. They are completely harmless and actually beneficial. In their larval(?) stage they are good food for corals and as adults they are a good food source for some fish. They also help control waste in the aquarium since they seem to eat just about anything you don't want "lying" around in your tank like food scraps, detritus, etc. Try a search for a pic of a G. amphipod.
www.reef-aquarium.net has pics under "common hitchhiking critters". HTH

 

[KMyers18]

Yeah, i googled it. It's a amphipod! I have have hundreds 8O

 

[MT79]

Anything I put in my HOB is covered w/ them when it comes out. I usually pick them off w/ tweezers and feed them to a purple pseudochromis I keep seperate from my reef b/c he was eating them all LOL. He LOVES them. Good luck

 

[Corty]

I've got a ton of 'em too.. I think the little guys are darn nifty. They're fun to watch though - they have a field day (night, mostly) near the feeder clip.

 

[i have crabs]

when ever they get stuck in the filter floss i drop them in the other tank and 1 of the cardnials alwasys get them before the get to the bottom

sad but true