Memory Test - Do you remember your first hitchhiker?

[Reefing102]

So another thread got me thinking…Do you remember your very first hitchhiker? Whether it was a huh what’s that? Or wow that’s cool?

Mine I would have to say is a core memory (don’t ask why, as I have no idea) but bought one of my first pieces of Fiji live rock in 2003. It had a neat little cave on the back side. Bought it from Today’s Pet, the second set of their wall of fish tanks, bottom left tank, towards the middle, in the Columbia Mall in Maryland. Put it in my 12 gallon JBJ Nano Cube and that night a black brittle star, about 6 inch leg span or so, crawled out of the cave. That thing lived for years and I still have that piece of rock.

Okay you can call me wierd now. But do you remember your very first hitchhiker?

 

[StartingATank]

I mean, I see dry rock, so my first hitchhiker was spirorbid worms I got off a blasto

 

[mcarroll]

Copepods, mysid shrimps and amphipods. (Pukani rock from mid-early 2000's)

I've never seen live mysids since then. (In my tank or any others I've seen.)

I regret adding the one fish I added to that system....it completely wiped out the mysids, and even the copepods and amphipods never recovered to previous levels.

 

[sixty_reefer]

Pretty sure it was Aipatasia and hydroids

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Does gsp that my urchin brought to our tank count?

 

[Reefing102]

Does gsp that my urchin brought to our tank count?

Absolutely!

 

[Reefing102]

Copepods, mysid shrimps and amphipods. (Pukani rock from mid-early 2000's)

I've never seen live mysids since then. (In my tank or any others I've seen.)

I regret adding the one fish I added to that system....it completely wiped out the mysids, and even the copepods and amphipods never recovered to previous levels.

Which fish was it?

 

[RoanokeReef]

Mine was GSP

 

[kitti-fish]

Those dang tube vermatid snails I still have it too. I tried to kill one and then it became 2. I gave up and let it be for now.

 

[PapaFishRocks]

Don’t need to remember, because it is still with me 2 years later.

Our friendly neighborhood aipstasia.

 

[Terry Le]

Mantis Shrimp

 

[mcarroll]

Mantis Shrimp

"Go big or stay home," eh?

 

[Reefing102]

Mantis Shrimp

Did it come in on Carribean live rock?

 

[Terry Le]

"Go big or stay home," eh?

This was back in the late 80 . Took a while to figure it out

 

[EricR]

I'm sure this isn't what you meant but:
The first time I saw large amphipods running around on my new aqua-cultured rock, it shocked me.
*I was in no way educated about what all to expect when I started (haphazardly)

 

[Terry Le]

Did it come in on Carribean live rock?

Sorry I don’t know this was back in the late 80. I ordered a bunch of base rocks and live rocks ( The store suggested). They were ugly nothing like what available now aday lol

 

[Andamaite]

I've never seen live mysids since then. (In my tank or any others I've seen.)

I was shocked that I got some on what I was pretty sure was dry "Real Reef" chucked into a big system to cycle. The thing other thing you just don't see anymore are the micro-dusters. I really miss those.

My first "that better not be what I think it is" hitchhikers circa 20+ years ago were a few baby cone snails that came out of my live sand. They were in there for quite some time before I managed to get them all removed. I also had a few gorgeous curlyque anemones.

 

[Euphylliaphyle]

Vermatids, Aiptasia and a Discosoma Mushroom. Welcome to reefkeeping, noob.

 

[exnisstech]

A large black brittle star came in on my first order of live rock for my first tank. I was so excited I texted my Gal to show her a picture of the baby octopus

 

[X-37B]

When I setup my first reef in 89 it was a standard acrylic 55 with corner overflow.
I went to the lfs and bought enough live rock to fill 3/4 of the system which created the great rock wall.
That night I went down and looked at the tank with a flashlight.
I have yet to see so much life from any current live rocks I have purchased.
When I turned on the flashlight there were thing moving around everywhere.
So the first hitchhikers I saw were things I had never seen before.
It was a tank full of hitchhikers/life.