And then there it was! What has been your favorite reef tank hitchhiker?

[Floyd-]

I got a hitchhiker Urchin!
Bought some live gulf rock and one day I see this tiny little spike ball creeping around and now hes maybe 4" in diameter. Hes super active and keeps the rocks clean.

 

[Alexraptor]

I mean... I think it's gotta be a tie between theese two.

Gonodactylus Smithii, by virtue of awesomeness.


Siderastrea Radians, by virtue of rarity.

 

[SnazzyUrchin792]

Stomatella snail… and ball anemones
Edit: and a featherduster worm. Not the little pests that multiply like crazy. A big one.

 

[Angelbethany]

Stomatellas, small brittle stars, a cool bright pink tunicate, feather dusters that got big, hundreds of tiny sand dwelling snails (it was like watching an army appear for food!)

 

[Colton Yuchnewicz]

sexy shrimp!

 

[paragrouper]

Coral

 

[Ssterquel0922]

I never get any of the really cool hitchhikers so I have to live vicariously through R2R.

Same here… the only hitchhiker I always end up with is Aiptasia!!!

 

[Sump Crab]

I honestly love all hitchhikers! The only negative one has been a fireworm.

 

[radiata]

I one got two dime sized urchins in a 5lb bag of live sand that was harvested in Florida.

 

[1112-425XL]

This guy...

 

[FoolishWizard]

Had a lawnmower blenny hitchhike in some live rock I purchased from a LFS.

 

[Just John]

A gulf love rock with about 10 hidden cup corals.

 

[JoJosReef]

My favorite so far is this worm from the Clymenella genus:

I love the spaghetti worms, too, but this one doesn't seem to show up as often.

 

[LeeLoo Lola]

My little hitchhiker.

 

[Sean_B]

I brought a young lady home with me from the LFS along with some coral I was buying that day. We are married now.

close out the thread, obvious winner

 

[douglasbnyhof]

The best live rock surprise! What has been your favorite reef tank hitchhiker?

Far too often the uninvited guests in our tanks are pests and are not pleasant surprises, however, every once in a while, an interesting and maybe even welcomed hitchhiker shows up. Maybe it was a shrimp, a crab, a coral, a piece of macroalgae, or something else that you now enjoy as part of the ecosystem of your reef tank. Adding live rock to your tank can be a great place to find amazing new hitchhikers especially if the live rock comes directly from the ocean. Please let us know what your favorite hitchhiker has been. Also, please share any tips that you might have for maximizing good hitchhikers and avoiding bad hitchhikers.

Photo by @LiverockRocks; Mantis shrimp hitchhiker from the Gulf of Mexico

This QOTD is sponsored by: www.tckcorals.com

I had a halimeda macro algae pop up on a frag. I’ve never seen this in anyone’s shop or tank so I’m not sure where it originated.

 

[steveschuerger]

This coral. Probably Rose Coral.

 

[Glenner’sreef]

I agree with a handful of you. Brittle Stars. Peaceful multipliers. Oh yes, and free!

 

[tdog]

Aiptasia

 

[pygo1]

An elephant slug was the coolest hitchhiker of all time. Not sure if it came in on a coral or was accidentally locally collected(I had tossed in some local macros and inverts around the same time as some coral purchases, but I don't think they're found here locally, so probably coral purchase).

It lived in my tank for around 2 years and was constantly at work. Not sure what it really consumed, other than film algae. It just recently kicked the bucket a couple weeks ago.

*photo from google, not my snail. I called him Vanta Black because it was near impossible to get any sort of detailed photo of him, due to the dark coloring.