Help ID this hitch hiker!

Arosha Abeywarne

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Hi all,

I am new to this hobby and would greatly appreciate your help / advise / guidance; when progressing.

This guy came along with a coral that I got today. Can I keep him in my tank? Is he reef safe? Would he affect my inverts and fish?

Thanking you all in advance!

dea802c5-4569-47c0-832d-5bca65b03f19.jpg
 

vetteguy53081

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It is zoa spider and HOPEFULLY the only one which rarely the case. Where did you get the coral from (I have a clue, but curious)
There are more than 1300 known species of sea spiders as they are not zoa specific but favor zoa, and almost all of them are carnivores. Depending upon the species, they will feast on your corals, anemones, sponge, etc. These little spiders can decimate a colony pretty quickly. They may be hard to spot, some being as small as 0.04 inches in diameter. They will even crawl inside a closed polyp, making it very difficult to spot (and thats how tiny they are. Some commercial treatments claim to remove pycnogonids but often the case. The spiders tend to stay beneath the mucus layer of the zoas, and remain unaffected by treatments. The best method discovered so far is to physically remove the adults with some tweezers. Keep checking the coral for months afterwards to catch any that hatched over time.
Some crabs will kill them such AS arrow crabs. These spiders do have a few other known predators. It is important that you carry out research before adding any new livestock to your aquarium to ensure they are compatible with your existing stock, and that you can meet their care requirements.
Known predators but not guaranteed include:
-Copperband Butterflyfish
- Butterfly Fish
- Six Line Wrasse
- Melanurus Wrasse
- yellow Coris Wrasse
Additionally, they may live under the coral mucus layer, and this would further obscure them. They do not appear to be easily removed by dips, poisons, or potential predators. Frankly, if they are found on corals in any tank, it can come down to the the best option likely to be to remove the coral from the tank, and simply dispose of it.
 
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Stephen

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I've always followed the rule "if it's hairy it's scary" when it comes to crabs. I can't find anything similar after a quick browse but I wouldn't chance it in my tank. You never want to take a chance with the unknown when it comes to hitchhikers or anything else. You'll just end up regretting your decision later on down the road.
 
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vetteguy53081

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I thought crab at first too but so tiny. That would be key- Tiny as zoa spiders are exptremerly tiny.
For poster of this - Is it really tiny ?
Here are spiders:

1620572998509.png
1620573050370.png
 
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Arosha Abeywarne

Arosha Abeywarne

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It is zoa spider and HOPEFULLY the only one which rarely the case. Where did you get the coral from (I have a clue, but curious)
There are more than 1300 known species of sea spiders as they are not zoa specific but favor zoa, and almost all of them are carnivores. Depending upon the species, they will feast on your corals, anemones, sponge, etc. These little spiders can decimate a colony pretty quickly. They may be hard to spot, some being as small as 0.04 inches in diameter. They will even crawl inside a closed polyp, making it very difficult to spot (and thats how tiny they are. Some commercial treatments claim to remove pycnogonids but often the case. The spiders tend to stay beneath the mucus layer of the zoas, and remain unaffected by treatments. The best method discovered so far is to physically remove the adults with some tweezers. Keep checking the coral for months afterwards to catch any that hatched over time.
Some crabs will kill them such AS arrow crabs. These spiders do have a few other known predators. It is important that you carry out research before adding any new livestock to your aquarium to ensure they are compatible with your existing stock, and that you can meet their care requirements.
Known predators but not guaranteed include:
-Copperband Butterflyfish
- Butterfly Fish
- Six Line Wrasse
- Melanurus Wrasse
- yellow Coris Wrasse
Additionally, they may live under the coral mucus layer, and this would further obscure them. They do not appear to be easily removed by dips, poisons, or potential predators. Frankly, if they are found on corals in any tank, it can come down to the the best option likely to be to remove the coral from the tank, and simply dispose of it.
Thanks a million for your comments. Really helped! However, do you think that this is a spider, as I see two tiny claws and it also seems to have 8 legs (if two are not claws, total of 10 legs) and spiders generally have 6. Sorry, I might sound very dumb!
WhatsApp Image 2021-05-09 at 21.18.24.jpeg
 
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Arosha Abeywarne

Arosha Abeywarne

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I've always followed the rule "if it's hairy it's scary" when it comes to crabs. I can't find anything similar after a quick browse but I wouldn't chance it in my tank. You never want to take a chance with the unknown when it comes to hitchhikers or anything else. You'll just end up regretting your decision later on down the road.
Thanks a lot mate! Appreciate your comments!
 
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Arosha Abeywarne

Arosha Abeywarne

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It is zoa spider and HOPEFULLY the only one which rarely the case. Where did you get the coral from (I have a clue, but curious)
There are more than 1300 known species of sea spiders as they are not zoa specific but favor zoa, and almost all of them are carnivores. Depending upon the species, they will feast on your corals, anemones, sponge, etc. These little spiders can decimate a colony pretty quickly. They may be hard to spot, some being as small as 0.04 inches in diameter. They will even crawl inside a closed polyp, making it very difficult to spot (and thats how tiny they are. Some commercial treatments claim to remove pycnogonids but often the case. The spiders tend to stay beneath the mucus layer of the zoas, and remain unaffected by treatments. The best method discovered so far is to physically remove the adults with some tweezers. Keep checking the coral for months afterwards to catch any that hatched over time.
Some crabs will kill them such AS arrow crabs. These spiders do have a few other known predators. It is important that you carry out research before adding any new livestock to your aquarium to ensure they are compatible with your existing stock, and that you can meet their care requirements.
Known predators but not guaranteed include:
-Copperband Butterflyfish
- Butterfly Fish
- Six Line Wrasse
- Melanurus Wrasse
- yellow Coris Wrasse
Additionally, they may live under the coral mucus layer, and this would further obscure them. They do not appear to be easily removed by dips, poisons, or potential predators. Frankly, if they are found on corals in any tank, it can come down to the the best option likely to be to remove the coral from the tank, and simply dispose of it.
Got the Coral from a friend of mine, mate!
 
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