DaveR11
Well-Known Member
This was an interesting thread read. The risk of bad hitchhikers is a bit scary but I lean toward Oxylebius's view of them making a tank more interesting. My view might change if I ever have a catastrophic event due to a hitchhiker.
I reckon I've had my fair share of hitchhikers both good and bad but it has mostly been fun. I did try dipping my one of Zoathids that had the predatory slugs on it. The dip killed all the pods and snails that were sheltering on the rock but didn't touch the bad slugs. I'm not saying the dips don't work but it is a shot gun approach. You lose the good as well as the bad. I'm also attracted to the variety. Coral reefs are supposed to be second only to tropical rainforests in terms of biodiversity. A complex web of many species interacting together and we pick a few and stick them in a tank. So I tend towards the variety you get with live rock and not dipping corals and maybe I get a more diverse and hopefully stable system. But I have to take the rough with the smooth.... and if I get a baddy I have to put the time in weeding it out of the tank.
It also keeps me focused on the tank to spot the next new critter.