# Bad or good hitchhikers?



## NakedSavage (Apr 9, 2008)

Just got about 30 ponds of indo-pacific live rock and found a few things including a crab that i didnt get a good pic of... but heres a few im unsure of.... any ideas?

the first im unsure of but i have 4 of them that have a long shaft with green spot in the middle(others are closed in the pic).... the last two are alittle hard to see but it is a small polyp like thing that is brown with a light colored star shape in there center with little tenticals.... now i know i have a couple aiptasia(not pictured) but this doesnt look anything like the others... they are wider and darker with a color pattern... i have two


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## redbellyman21 (Jun 27, 2004)

u have some helathy kelp, and looks like a polyp of some sort, but in the last two pics of the rock it looks like u have aiptasia which is bad so get that bitch off!~!! other than that looks nice from these pics..


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

I would nuke the crab, odds are its something bad... you can make a crab trap pretty easy, add some food, and leave it in over night, just use google and search "catching nuisance crab" or something. They are basically a Gatorade bottle, with the top 1/3 cut off and flipped around, propped at an angle in the sand so the crab cant escape once inside.

As for the other things, the polyp by the plant (that could grow beyond control?) is fine, but the one in the last picture is aptasia and should be nuked using kalk, joes juice, or a blow torch....


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## NakedSavage (Apr 9, 2008)

dang... i was afraid of that, there are a few others that look different but more like the googled aptasia ive seen.... was hopeing these would be something different, what if i got a pepperment shrimp? you think it would eat them?


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

NakedSavage said:


> dang... i was afraid of that, there are a few others that look different but more like the googled aptasia ive seen.... was hopeing these would be something different, what if i got a pepperment shrimp? you think it would eat them?


pepermint shrimp do work, but slowly, and beings you only have a couple i would target them before they multiply... joes juice, or lemon juice injected into the mouth works great, as does a propane torch until they are carbon chunks... remember that if you try to manually remove them any pieces will regenerate into new anemones so, dont just cut them or pick them... only makes it worse

Pep shrimp also eat zoas and other good things once the aptasia are gone, im facing that in my tank as we speak, and have lost 2 whole colonies, almost 150 polyps total... sucks, and wish i could just remove the shrimp all together


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## NakedSavage (Apr 9, 2008)

When you say injected does that mean stabbing it into them or just squirting it on to the mouth part? Wouldnt they just withdraw into the rock if you try to do that?

Also i got rid of the crab.... but then when i turned the lights on this morning i found another looks the same but way smaller... and ive been researching and now his claws look like it has the flat tips for eating algea! Was wrong in getting rid of the other? Only pic i have hes so small its hard to get, but he seems tobe picking at algea and stuff of the rock.. good or bad?


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

NakedSavage said:


> When you say injected does that mean stabbing it into them or just squirting it on to the mouth part? Wouldnt they just withdraw into the rock if you try to do that?
> 
> Also i got rid of the crab.... but then when i turned the lights on this morning i found another looks the same but way smaller... and ive been researching and now his claws look like it has the flat tips for eating algea! Was wrong in getting rid of the other? Only pic i have hes so small its hard to get, but he seems tobe picking at algea and stuff of the rock.. good or bad?


yeah, you just get it reallly close to the mouth, inject while shoving it in, and then it withdraws full of joes juice, only to implode a few minutes later. Personally i like the blow torch method better....

With crabs, you can always banish them to your sump if you have one... its really hard to tell with crabs, because getting an accurate ID is nearly impossible, and the "claw" rule isnt always true and you would never know until its too late.

Did you make a trap or what? the only crab i have had to remove was an emerald crab who got a taste for fish, and hermits that he could catch... it worked for me so thought i would ask


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## NakedSavage (Apr 9, 2008)

I was rearranging some rock and turned out he was right there so grabbed him..... this little one tho... i havent caught yet and am gonna try the glass cup trap..
thanks for the info, i havent decided on the torch or aptasia x/joes juice... ill post results.


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## NakedSavage (Apr 9, 2008)

Aptasia x is what i went with... its the second day and all looks good







Thanks for the IDs guys im glad i got rid of the aptasia after seeing some picks of what it can do to tanks.

Havent caught the little crab yet.... kinda want to keep him... but hes out every morning so he shouldnt be to hard to catch before i add the next batch of liverock.. also i found some kinda flessy tube that looks like it might be another type of polyp or something, it was in a hole on the underside of the a rock so i moved it over into the light hopeing it will come out.. ill post pics when it does, its already extending outward. Thanks again guys!


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## b_ack51 (Feb 11, 2003)

Stupid question, I picked up some Aptasia killer stuff. It says to inject it into the stem or whatever. Where the hell do you get syringes or do they sell them at the fish store?


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## NakedSavage (Apr 9, 2008)

I was told to ask at your local pharmacy... i guess as long as they dont think youll use it for drugs theyll sell you one.... i baught aptasia x and it worked well, it comes with an injecter kinda like a thicker syringe without the sharp tip and you drip it on there mouth.
It worked well xcept on my two smallest ones that i dont think i got it into there mouth.


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## redbellyman21 (Jun 27, 2004)

NakedSavage said:


> I was told to ask at your local pharmacy... i guess as long as they dont think youll use it for drugs theyll sell you one.... i baught aptasia x and it worked well, it comes with an injecter kinda like a thicker syringe without the sharp tip and you drip it on there mouth.
> It worked well xcept on my two smallest ones that i dont think i got it into there mouth.


most of the aiptasa killers come in kits with all that is needed... so check the packaging, it might be missing and the store would swap it out for u..


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## b_ack51 (Feb 11, 2003)

redbellyman21 said:


> I was told to ask at your local pharmacy... i guess as long as they dont think youll use it for drugs theyll sell you one.... i baught aptasia x and it worked well, it comes with an injecter kinda like a thicker syringe without the sharp tip and you drip it on there mouth.
> It worked well xcept on my two smallest ones that i dont think i got it into there mouth.


most of the aiptasa killers come in kits with all that is needed... so check the packaging, it might be missing and the store would swap it out for u..
[/quote]

hmm. It was a bottle. I'll have to open it up and see if the syringe is inside. If it is, it's really small.

I tried walking around meijers looking for a syringe yesterday. That was fun.


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## b_ack51 (Feb 11, 2003)

Well definately not in the bottle. Looks like I'll be stopping by CVS or Walgreens looking for a syringe.


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## NakedSavage (Apr 9, 2008)

I dont know man.... AptaisiaX comes with an injecter..... i think u need a prescription for like insulin or something?


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## b_ack51 (Feb 11, 2003)

That's what i thought too with a prescription. i know my friend has a syringe for his fish tank. I don't want to take my brothers or fathers syringes (diabetics). But when I purchased the stuff I got, no syringe.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

b_ack51 said:


> That's what i thought too with a prescription. i know my friend has a syringe for his fish tank. I don't want to take my brothers or fathers syringes (diabetics). But when I purchased the stuff I got, no syringe.


Insulin syringes are far smaller than the ones that SHOULD come in the box... If you go to wallgreens or any pharmacy you can buy them with no problem, but the catch is you are just buying the plunger and not the hypodermic needle used for the actual injection.

Judging by the size of mine (about the size of my middle finger), you may want to try a veterinary clinic or something like that?


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