Hitch Hiker ID

[Mebbid]

I went to clean the glass of my tank today and found this guy perched out on it. I already pulled 1 of them out of my tank because it looked like it was eating my leather coral so I figured I should get an ID on it before I start worrying about them. It is next to a hydroid for a size comparison.

 

[User Name]

Isopod. This is a good thing.

Scroll down and you will see them in this link.
http://www.lionfishlair.com/hitchhiker/hitchhiker.shtml

 

[mr_X]

Yep. They won't hurt anything. Not this isopod at least.

 

[Mebbid]

That's good to know, thanks for the link. That's one of the better hitch hiker id sites I've seen. I was just worried because I found two on my finger leather and one was perched on an odd red spot. The spot went away a day after I removed the one I found on it so I figured it was eating my leather.

 

[mr_X]

The asterina starfish information on that site is incorrect. It's not about lack of food at all, and they don't just clean algae off of corals, they leave bite marks in them. It's also not certain ones, it's all of them. They can be model citizens for a few years, then suddenly become coral eaters overnight.
Also, the bristle worm information is inaccurate as well. Common bristle worms are nothing to be worried about.
Corynactis are not a threat either.
Vermetid snails do stress corals they come in contact with.