questions on new tank / LRs / organisms in water

liziqi · August 11, 2004

hi fellow reefers,

i've got a few questions on the things i see in my 3 week old tank.

Q1: what are the squirts of mucus/ dirt like stuff that is discharged from the LR once in a while?

Q2: what are the tiny organisims that appear to be swimming around the tank?

Q3: worms in the DSB. are they beneficial?

Q4: what do crabs and mantis shrimps eat? is it okay to put whatever unwanted pests like these in the refugium?

am sure that these questions are quite basic for most of you but i've never seen them being asked so please try to help me out. thanks!

seamonkee · August 12, 2004

What u are experiencing for a new tank is normal...

Q1: what are the squirts of mucus/ dirt like stuff that is discharged from the LR once in a while?

These are organism that die-offs from the LR during cycling (because of the presence of ammonia and nitrite). I presume ur tank is still in the cycling stage? Hopefully u have not added any livestock at this moment. Once ur tank has completed its cycling, this should be over... Dun worry, the live organism on the LR will grow back.

Q2: what are the tiny organisims that appear to be swimming around the tank?

Good! These are actually pods and they are beneficial... some fishes feed on them.

Q3: worms in the DSB. are they beneficial?

Contrary to what most people believe, bristle worms can actually be beneficial to ur tank... they are great in sifting the sand and feeding on dead organism...

Q4: what do crabs and mantis shrimps eat? is it okay to put whatever unwanted pests like these in the refugium?

Most people will remove the crabs for two reasons. One: (They bore holes in ur LRs). Two: they can actually grab and catch ur fishes esp those slow moving ones. I lost two of my gobies previously in this manner. How to remove them? Prepare a tub/pail of high-salinity saltwater (about 0.15).... put ur LR one at a time in the pail for 15mins or so, watch them crawl out... watch many many things crawl out.... :lol:

These topics have been brought up many times before. If u are new to the club, suggest u do a search for the topics first. I have been advised the same before. Realised that some of the old topics can be really helpful and comprehensive. I dun need to ask the same question as others have already did and gotten their answers...

XPeriment 626 · August 29, 2004

Don't think anybody actually puts mantis shrimps into their tanks. Wayyy too dangerous unless that is your prime exhibit and everything else is expendable. Mantis shrimps are merciless against fish and you won't be able to keep anything else in there for long.

Most of the time mantis shrimps slip into tanks because they are hiding in live rocks. And people immediately try to remove the shrimps once discovered, else dead fish will start appearing.

Not sure what good a mantis shrimp would be in a refugium, but I'd stay away from them if I were you. Apparently large sized specimens have been known to crack safety glass aquariums.

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/msubpestm.../a/aa110498.htm