duberii
Valuable Member
I've been doing a bunch of research on the hitchhikers I've seen on my order of Tampa Bay Saltwater's live rock. Here is a compilation of my knowledge thus far (With some very novice photography-it may be useful to look up the common names of these creatures for better quality photos, but it may also be useful to see photos of the exact critters you may see):
Cup Coral:
What to look for: clustered polyps with a hard, calcium-based skeleton
Colors: Usually some shade of brown/orange or white. I also have one that glows green under blue lights.
Care: Requires direct feeding, as they are non-photosynthetic. Strong feeding response.
Micro Brittle Star (Next to cup coral):
What to look for: tiny starfish with stringy legs, usually hiding in crevices with only a few legs hanging out.
Colors: usually brown or white/cream
Care: Fantastic CUC- Feeds on detritus, usually quick to emerge from the rocks to tackle any leftover food
Tunicates:
What to look for: Siphons that can close very rapidly, often has siphons in pairs, but can also spread in mats, like the second image
Colors: Anything you can imagine- I've seen orange, yellow, clear, blue, white, and red, but they can come in absolutely any color and pretty mcuh any pattern
Care: Most will die no matter what you do because their care requirements are largely unknown. However, some can survive in certain conditions. They are filter feeders, and will require food for filter feeders (A lot of sponge foods will be good enough for them as well)
Sponges:
What to look for: Can't move around the rock, often has visible siphons, doesn't close up/closes up very slowly
Colors: Much like tunicates- Can be any color. The ones shown below are yellow, white, and purple, but other common ones are pink.
Care: Much like tunicates- usually very difficult to keep. Filter feeders, requires feeding of foods like sponge power.
Bandeye Hermit Crab (Paguristes tortugae):
What to look for: White/cream colored body, potentially hairy legs, black and white striped eyes
Colors: White/cream with black accents
Care: Reef safe-ish, much like other hermits may eat corals if hungry enough, will eat snails for their shells, they get about 3' in size so probably not ideal. Likes meaty foods and leftovers in the tank.
Decorator Crab (Hard to photograph!):
What to look for: Triangle shaped body, covered in algae/ anything it can place on its body, narrow claws
Colors: You usually won't see its body, so the color is dependent on what it's covered in
Care: Considered reef safe, can pick up softies like zoas when large enough, Some eat algae, other like meaty foods.
Bivalve:
What to look for: 2 siphons (Hence, bivalve) in a hard shell
Colors: Like tunicates+sponges, can be any color. The one shown below is orange, but on my rock I've seen white and brown ones as well.
Care: Filter feeders, feed on plankton. Like tunicates and many sponges, they are very hard to keep alive. Phyto is the best route.
Feather Dusters:
What to look for: feathery tufts coming out of the rock. When you wave your hand over them they will retract back into their tube.
Colors: Extremely diverse. There are red ones, pink ones, white ones, yellow ones, and the one shown below is green
Care: Like any other filter feeder, they're pretty hit or miss. Many starve and disappear over time. May find luck with fine particulate food.
I'll update this thread as I positively ID other creatures, which may be slow as many of these hitchhikers are pretty abstract.
Cup Coral:
What to look for: clustered polyps with a hard, calcium-based skeleton
Colors: Usually some shade of brown/orange or white. I also have one that glows green under blue lights.
Care: Requires direct feeding, as they are non-photosynthetic. Strong feeding response.
Micro Brittle Star (Next to cup coral):
What to look for: tiny starfish with stringy legs, usually hiding in crevices with only a few legs hanging out.
Colors: usually brown or white/cream
Care: Fantastic CUC- Feeds on detritus, usually quick to emerge from the rocks to tackle any leftover food
Tunicates:
What to look for: Siphons that can close very rapidly, often has siphons in pairs, but can also spread in mats, like the second image
Colors: Anything you can imagine- I've seen orange, yellow, clear, blue, white, and red, but they can come in absolutely any color and pretty mcuh any pattern
Care: Most will die no matter what you do because their care requirements are largely unknown. However, some can survive in certain conditions. They are filter feeders, and will require food for filter feeders (A lot of sponge foods will be good enough for them as well)
Sponges:
What to look for: Can't move around the rock, often has visible siphons, doesn't close up/closes up very slowly
Colors: Much like tunicates- Can be any color. The ones shown below are yellow, white, and purple, but other common ones are pink.
Care: Much like tunicates- usually very difficult to keep. Filter feeders, requires feeding of foods like sponge power.
Bandeye Hermit Crab (Paguristes tortugae):
What to look for: White/cream colored body, potentially hairy legs, black and white striped eyes
Colors: White/cream with black accents
Care: Reef safe-ish, much like other hermits may eat corals if hungry enough, will eat snails for their shells, they get about 3' in size so probably not ideal. Likes meaty foods and leftovers in the tank.
Decorator Crab (Hard to photograph!):
What to look for: Triangle shaped body, covered in algae/ anything it can place on its body, narrow claws
Colors: You usually won't see its body, so the color is dependent on what it's covered in
Care: Considered reef safe, can pick up softies like zoas when large enough, Some eat algae, other like meaty foods.
Bivalve:
What to look for: 2 siphons (Hence, bivalve) in a hard shell
Colors: Like tunicates+sponges, can be any color. The one shown below is orange, but on my rock I've seen white and brown ones as well.
Care: Filter feeders, feed on plankton. Like tunicates and many sponges, they are very hard to keep alive. Phyto is the best route.
Feather Dusters:
What to look for: feathery tufts coming out of the rock. When you wave your hand over them they will retract back into their tube.
Colors: Extremely diverse. There are red ones, pink ones, white ones, yellow ones, and the one shown below is green
Care: Like any other filter feeder, they're pretty hit or miss. Many starve and disappear over time. May find luck with fine particulate food.
I'll update this thread as I positively ID other creatures, which may be slow as many of these hitchhikers are pretty abstract.
