can you identify those creatures ?

[rakoda]

Hi,
All of the following creatures came from the Red Sea
Please help me to identify them

1-
Wired insect, I didn't intend to bring it with me
and I don't know how did it come to my aquarium
imga0559 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
imga0560 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
this picture was taken after its death
when attacked this insect can twist itself to be like a ball

2-
Creature in disguise
Mysterious crab on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
imga0571 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
imga0563 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
I didn't intend to get this one either, i have just picked up a plant from the sea to discover later that part of this plant is not plant at all

3-
White dots in my aquarium
imga0573 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
I have search this forum and found that they are likely to be snails
But I have no snails
I had a very small snails, there size was almost the size of this "at" sign @
But I no longer see them in my aquarium
don't they need to walk on the glass to put their eggs there ?

I have ghost shrimp, pistol shrimp, hermit crabs and a single clam
I had something that looked like hydra on one of my plant but I got rid of it

[Fluff]

1. is an isopod, good for you for getting rid of it. Some of these can be parasitic and should be gotten rid of.

2. is a decorator crab

3. are small feather dusters and harmless.

[rakoda]

Wow,
That was fast, Thanks a lot
I didn't expect some one would be able to identify them all that quickly
But about this "feather dusters"
I don't know anything about them, what do they feed on, what feeds on them, how big will they grow, etc .....

I searched online, but all of the feather dusters I found looked like a "feather" not like mine

[Fluff]

They stay tiny and thier numbers will fluxuate up and down depending on the nutrients in the tank. They will get thier food from the water, filtering tiny particals, and really do not require any special care. What feeds on them would be numerous. Fish like butterflies and some inverts like crabs etc. For more info on them you could try doing a google search for Spionid worms. HTH

[rakoda]

Thats was very helpful
Thanks a lot

[Fluff]

Awesome, happy to help.

[roka64]

By the way, Fluff lives in the ID section! LOL!

[Kurt_Nelson]

Also... regarding that isopod... I wouldn't handle them with bare hands. They can definitely take a chunk out of your fingers if they're the "bad" ones and big enough. (That one looks big enough!). I wouldn't want to find out if it's a "bad" one that way!

[rakoda]

I have no fishes in my tank
only crabs, shrimps, hermits, clams
according to what I have read about those isopod, the bad kind attach itself to fishs
but since the ispod I've got servied in my tank for more than week (before killing it), I think it is pretty safe to say it wasn't bad guy

[Fluff]

Not necessarily, these guys can live a very long time without a host fish. Either way, they are just to risky and you did well to remove and dispose of it.

LOL Scott, I do not live in the ID section, I just find it a bit more interesting than some of the others. :p I like the odd critters that find themselves in our tanks.

[roka64]

LOL! I agree, this is always a great section to learn about new hitch hikers!

[rakoda]

Hi,
I have other creatures to identify
they looks like hydra , but i thought hydra only exists in freshwater tanks

This one has been enlarged serveal times, those creatures can't be seen with naked eye
shot0023 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

This one can be seen easily with naked eye
animated gif, you will have to download it
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3018/...6406a2_o_d.gif

I have also a different one that suddenly appeared on the glass, I don't know from where those guys come from

Thanks in advance.

[roka64]

1st pic looks like aiptasia (bad) or a harmless filter feeding feather duster. Does it have a calcareous tube?
I am not sure of the video, is it mobile?

[Fluff]

The first one does look like hydriods to me, there are several different types of hydroid that are typical to sw tanks.
The second pic, I'm with Scott. Can't really see it well enough. Is it mobile or is it just the current blowing it around? Can you give some description of the body texture?

[rakoda]

Just to clarify something,
the first picture is a creature and the second picture is a different one (or thats what i think)

none of them is mobile nor has calcareous tube
One day I was giving my shrimps a very tiny piece of boiled yolk
and while they were taking it from each others it fall in the tentacles of the creature (that is shown in the video)
and they creature collapsed its tentacles and swallowed the yolk piece (bad sign isn't it?)
It was on a plant, i tried to kill it but after a few days i found it again
and so I removed it with the part of the plant that is holding it
But now there is another one, which I took many pictures of it and joined them together to show its "transparent white" tentacles,but I guess I didn't do a good job

as if all of that is not enough I have discovered yesterday a new guy growing on my aquarium glass (doesn't sound very good)

[Fluff]

It's probably aiptasia anemone (the second one as well as your new ones) and yes, they are bad. Scott has a good link on ridding your tank of them. I'm sure he'll post it when he comes back.

[roka64]

Cheap and easy to make:
Nanoreefing.Com :: View topic - Aiptasia Killer

[rakoda]

Thanks for the information
I have searched a lot and found that the best solution is "peppermint shrimp"
But where I live there is only one shop that sell such things and they don't have any kind of shrimps currently
the other predators that were suggested are also not likely to be found, but I will try

mean while, since all of what I have is some plants, ghost shrimps, hermint crabs, and some kind of fishes that remain at the bottom all of the time
is any of those guys is in danger?
won't their shield protect them?

[roka64]

Peppermints are hit or miss and they generally eat the really small ones.
So ppend the $3.59 for the lime and you will have almost a lifetime of aiptasia killer.

[rakoda]

I am sorry, I am a bit beginner and have no idea what is this "lime"
is it some kind of chemical ? does it has any side effects, does it kill anything other than those pests? will it affect the good bacteria by any mean?