Day 2 LR exploration! Please help identify!

[dionysusjg]

Hi guys, Here are some photos of my hitchhikers I've managed to spot already.

I think this is a 'rock boring' urchin hangin in a hole - Please Identify if you can!

There are many of these featherdusters! - Please Identify if you can!

Some sort of Caulerpa I think - Please identify!

General rock and algae

Not sure what this is... a 'pod of some sort?

This looks like some kind of small snail?

Strong coraline algae growth!

Any idea what the phosphorescent thing in the middle is?

Anyone know what the 3 beige 'polyps' are? (just above and to the right of centre)

In the dark this fellow comes out - Please identify

and his big brother!....

(the second is just for size reference! Big fella!
I think he's Ophiocoma erinaceus??

A stripey snail - please identify.

I appreciate any advice anyone can give me on these critters, for instance, one of the hitchhiker sites on RS suggests that the urchin may be more trouble than he's worth and will eat all my coraline? any thoughts?

cheers!

 

[BarbMazz]

Beautiful rock! Was it out of water at all when you were bringing it home? If not, I'm thinking it doesn't need "cycling"; it looks ready to go.

I would just monitor ammonia levels for a couple of weeks and do water changes if it gets above 1ppm. If it does, do enough of a change to bring it down below 1ppm.

Give it light for five or so hours a day. It'd be a shame to kill any of that life off by forcing a big cycle!

I bought my rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater, and it looked much the same as your rock does. The suggestions I've given you above are the instructions I received with my rock when it was delivered.

 

[JBmynes]

NICE ROCK!!! looks like you got a bunch of little critters to take care of!! The star fish are 1. Micro brittle 2. Serpent Star/Brittle star

 

[Luukosian]

last one looks like a Bumble Bee Snail (Engina mendicaria)

 

[naperenterprise]

You have all sorts of little HH'ers.
1. URCHIN
2. FEATHER DUSTERS, HALIMEDA
3. HALIMEDA, GRAPE CAULERPA, FORAMINIFERANS, SPONGE
4. This picture didnt open??
5. Can't tell??
6. Could be a PEPPERMINT SNAILS, or a PYRAMID SNAILS
7. Like you said... Lots of CORALLINE ALGAE, and SPONGE on all of your rock.
8. This could be a BRAIN CORAL
9. BUTTON POLYPS
10. MICRO BRITTLE STAR
11. BRITTLE STAR
12. BRITTLE STAR, BUMBLE BEE SNAIL, HALIMEDA
13. BUMBLE BEE SNAIL

IMO, your going to find alot more HH'ers over the next few months from this rock!

 

[dionysusjg]

hey guys. Thanks for the reply!
The rock was out of water for less than an hour and was kept in moist newspaper. All the critters look fairly happy to me at the moment, and once I get my test kits, I'll do water changes to keep ammonia low, and therefore the cycle slow, to save my critters.

 

[lcstorc]

Nice rock.
It's so much fun to watch the critters appear.
From what I have read the Bumble Bee snails are not reef safe so you may want to investigate that one and perhaps move it to the fuge.

 

[Stacef]

Wow, gorgeous rock!

Keep an eye out, new critters will be emerging daily!

 

[Kate]

I have two bumblebee snails, and they don't seem to hurt anything. I have soft corals though, and only one SPS. Anybody know if they go for SPS? I like them. They say, if it has a checkerboard pattern on it though, that it WILL eat coral!

 

[Kate]

Make sure the green coral, gets enough light! It looks like it is a brain coral! Good find! I loved watching my live rock!