ID Lineup. Want to know more!

[TeeSquared1214]

Okay. Got a lineup here. I’m not necessarily worried about anything but more curious than anything. All came from TBS live rock so just excited to see what came with it.

Have no idea what this is, but it seems to be growing. Was just on the sand bed as debris from the live rock but then stopped and started growing?

I’m guessing the below image, the orange/brown substance on the rock, is a sponge of sorts? Unsure about the fan like structure/substance on the right of it as well.

Unsure what this red stuff is. It looks nice. Based on some research it seems like tunicates?

Hard to tell on the below image but the purple and orange like pieces on the side of the rock. The purple weren’t there initially or at least very noticeable but seem to be growing more.

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

 

[scotty333]

Wow
Great live rock , not seen that stuff since the early 2000s
Well, I see sponges , barnacles , tube or feather duster worms , turnicates and there must be some baddies aswel because nobody’s that lucky

 

[TeeSquared1214]

Wow
Great live rock , not seen that stuff since the early 2000s
Well, I see sponges , barnacles , tube or feather duster worms , turnicates and there must be some baddies aswel because nobody’s that lucky

I mean are these bad? I believe the crab in the net is a gorilla crab but not sure.

 

[NonstopSoda]

I mean are these bad? I believe the crab in the net is a gorilla crab but not sure.

Hmmm im not quite sure what the snail is but the red crab is a xanthid crab and the other crab does look like a baby gorilla crab.

 

[TeeSquared1214]

This might be a better picture of the snails shell. Not sure either. I have a very small frag of zoas and a smallish size frag of GSP on the sand. They haven’t been touched so I don’t think it’ll go after them. Or anything else in the tank will go after them…yet….

 

[NonstopSoda]

This might be a better picture of the snails shell. Not sure either. I have a very small frag of zoas and a smallish size frag of GSP on the sand. They haven’t been touched so I don’t think it’ll go after them. Or anything else in the tank will go after them…yet….

Uhhh im gonna guess maybe some type of trochus maybe??? I just haven't ever seen nor can i find that orange pyramid shaped shell online. Maybe @ISpeakForTheSeas would know : D

 

[LiverockRocks]

Okay. Got a lineup here. I’m not necessarily worried about anything but more curious than anything. All came from TBS live rock so just excited to see what came with it.

Have no idea what this is, but it seems to be growing. Was just on the sand bed as debris from the live rock but then stopped and started growing?

I’m guessing the below image, the orange/brown substance on the rock, is a sponge of sorts? Unsure about the fan like structure/substance on the right of it as well.

Unsure what this red stuff is. It looks nice. Based on some research it seems like tunicates?

Hard to tell on the below image but the purple and orange like pieces on the side of the rock. The purple weren’t there initially or at least very noticeable but seem to be growing more.

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Hiya,

Looks like various sponges, red tunicates, tube worms, red mithrax, gorilla, young FL corals, hydroid (not the kind that spread - short life in reef tank) and the snail is a cutie.

It resembles a Jujube top snail - Calliostoma jujubinum.
@ISpeakForTheSeas is the expert here, maybe he can clarify.
We've observed this handsome snail on the farm and in our systems. It has been a good algae eater and a model citizen for us.

TBS Hitchhikers

 

[NonstopSoda]

Hiya,

Looks like various sponges, red tunicates, tube worms, red mithrax, gorilla, young FL corals, hydroid (not the kind that spread - short life in reef tank) and the snail is a cutie.

It resembles a Jujube top snail - Calliostoma jujubinum.
@ISpeakForTheSeas is the expert here, maybe he can clarify.
We've observed this handsome snail on the farm and in our systems. It has been a good algae eater and a model citizen for us.

TBS Hitchhikers

What a lucky lil hitch hiker snail! Its absolutely gorgeous!

 

[BristleWormHater]

Hmmm im not quite sure what the snail is but the red crab is a xanthid crab and the other crab does look like a baby gorilla crab.

Not a xanthid crab, they do not have that carapace shape. That's Mithrax Ruber a very close relative to Mithrax sculptus; the emerald crab. I had a Ruby crab(Mithrax Ruber) he was a jerk to my emerald crab and my coral only had him for a week or two before giving him back to the lfs. If you have a sump @TeeSquared1214 you should probably throw him in there with the gorilla crab, if not idk. Here's some good id pics for xanthid and mithrax crabs.
Mithrax Ruber

Very similar crab in the Xanthidae family

 

[BristleWormHater]

Hiya,

Looks like various sponges, red tunicates, tube worms, red mithrax, gorilla, young FL corals, hydroid (not the kind that spread - short life in reef tank) and the snail is a cutie.

It resembles a Jujube top snail - Calliostoma jujubinum.
@ISpeakForTheSeas is the expert here, maybe he can clarify.
We've observed this handsome snail on the farm and in our systems. It has been a good algae eater and a model citizen for us.

TBS Hitchhikers

I was wondering if that was your rocks lol! I'm gonna get some one day I swear!

 

[NonstopSoda]

Not a xanthid crab, they do not have that carapace shape. That's Mithrax Ruber a very close relative to Mithrax sculptus; the emerald crab. I had a Ruby crab(Mithrax Ruber) he was a jerk to my emerald crab and my coral only had him for a week or two before giving him back to the lfs. If you have a sump @TeeSquared1214 you should probably throw him in there with the gorilla crab, if not idk. Here's some good id pics for xanthid and mithrax crabs.
Mithrax Ruber

Very similar crab in the Xanthidae family

Ahh correct! my busted eyeballs can barely see the difference

 

[BristleWormHater]

You might want to move that snail to the rocks, trochus snails and similar snails struggle in the sandbed, and he doesn't look like he's having fun.

 

[BristleWormHater]

Ahh correct! my busted eyeballs can barely see the difference

Crabs and worms and really most small sea animals are the hardest ids, because they are so poorly researched and properly named. I don't blame you. I don't know how @ISpeakForTheSeas does it.

 

[NonstopSoda]

Crabs and worms and really most small sea animals are the hardest ids, because they are so poorly researched and properly named. I don't blame you. I don't know how @ISpeakForTheSeas does it.

I know how, Its because they are actually a bunch of small hitchhikers and other small sea animals in a trench coat with internet access....

 

[TeeSquared1214]

I was wondering if that was your rocks lol! I'm gonna get some one day I swear!

200% worth it. The biggest downside was the wait but completely worth it once I saw the rocks. Shipping was on the pricey side, about as much as the rock itself. I ordered the base live rock. However, even factoring it in to a price/lb perspective it still comes out $2/lb cheaper than any LFS "premium live rock". Wishing I would have done my entire tank with TBS live rock and not just 20lbs.

 

[TeeSquared1214]

Not a xanthid crab, they do not have that carapace shape. That's Mithrax Ruber a very close relative to Mithrax sculptus; the emerald crab. I had a Ruby crab(Mithrax Ruber) he was a jerk to my emerald crab and my coral only had him for a week or two before giving him back to the lfs. If you have a sump @TeeSquared1214 you should probably throw him in there with the gorilla crab, if not idk. Here's some good id pics for xanthid and mithrax crabs.
Mithrax Ruber

Very similar crab in the Xanthidae family

I haven't seen him since day 1. He's hiding pretty well. I've seen other crabs that I've been able to ID but not this little guy. Will put him in the sump once I find him. These are amazing reference photos for ID use. I also didn't know TBS had a hitch hikers page on they're site. It covers some of this stuff and only found it after posting.

 

[TeeSquared1214]

You might want to move that snail to the rocks, trochus snails and similar snails struggle in the sandbed, and he doesn't look like he's having fun.

I did noticed the snail struggled at first getting upright on the sand bed but was able to sort it out after a minute or so. He's been zooming around the tank, on rocks, but mainly the glass/overflow. I'll keep an eye out.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I'm not sure on this one, though I've seen similar things a couple of times now - it should be harmless.

the orange/brown substance on the rock, is a sponge of sorts? Unsure about the fan like structure/substance on the right of it as well.

The brown is a sponge - it should be harmless/beneficial. The white structure on the right is a hydroid colony; unless you're feeding lots of pods, rotifers, brine shrimp, etc. it should go away on its own soon.

Unsure what this red stuff is. It looks nice. Based on some research it seems like tunicates?

Yeah, most likely tunicates; harmless filter-feeders. I would guess Eusynstyela tincta, but I would need clearer pics to feel more confident there.

Hard to tell on the below image but the purple and orange like pieces on the side of the rock. The purple weren’t there initially or at least very noticeable but seem to be growing more.

The whitish stuff to the left of the purple and orange is probably a sponge; the purple and orange are more colonial tunicates - these ones are a kind that may potentially become invasive (with some species being able to grow over and smother healthy corals), so I usually suggest these ones be isolated on their own rock separate from the main rockwork so you can more easily control the spread. They neat little critters though.

If you want to try and help the tunicates do well, offering some phytoplankton would probably be wise. Isochrysis and Rhodomonas or a blend containing at least one of these would be my first choice. For a more intensive diet that would likely show better results, see "Table 3" in the link below:

Coupling feeding activity, growth rates and molecular data shows dietetic needs of Ciona robusta (Ascidiacea, Phlebobranchia) in automatic culture plants

The sea squirt Ciona robusta is a model organism characterized by a transparent body, exhibiting peculiar physiologic and evolutionary characters. In vitro fertilization and breeding of sea squirts is possible, in order to preserve consistent genetic ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

I agree this is a Calliostoma species - I'm not familiar enough with the genus to feel confident in my ability to ID them at the species level just yet (the genus has a lot of species in it), but the Jujube Topshell is a solid guess.

These species do seem to prefer very large substrate to grab onto (be it rocks, coarse gravel, corals, or macroalgae blades), so I probably would move it off that fine sand.

As mentioned, the first one is a Red Mithrax crab - it should be as safe as an Emerald Crab to keep. The other one is not reef-safe, but if you want a proper ID on it, I would a pic of it's back/top (the dorsal side).

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Crabs and worms and really most small sea animals are the hardest ids, because they are so poorly researched and properly named. I don't blame you. I don't know how @ISpeakForTheSeas does it.

Haha, lots of practice - after you've spent enough hours staring at critters trying to find the minute differences between them, it starts to get easier (sort of like learning a language; it can seem sort of impossible until you've tried long enough).

 

[LiverockRocks]

200% worth it. The biggest downside was the wait but completely worth it once I saw the rocks. Shipping was on the pricey side, about as much as the rock itself. I ordered the base live rock. However, even factoring it in to a price/lb perspective it still comes out $2/lb cheaper than any LFS "premium live rock". Wishing I would have done my entire tank with TBS live rock and not just 20lbs.

Thank you for this.

There is so much effort that goes into ocean live rock farming. Consider the effort it takes to farm rock in the ocean to what it takes to put dry rock in a bin with bottle bacteria, it's worlds apart...but our price does not reflect that. We know our product is a tremendous value not only in price but in quality.