need id's on hitchhikers please

Thunil · #1 08/15/2005, 06:53 AM

i got live rock in my tank on thursday and i need some id's on some of the hitchhikers i got. i've got all of the crabs and shrimps in the fuge untill i get an i'd on them for safety

these are the crabs:

this is one of my many mystery shrimp i have a larger one (that i can't find) and he has his tail tucked under like a pistol shrimp:

these are the soft corals that came:

and this is what i am guessing is an sps:

any replies are welcome

cheers,
Daniel

CaptiveReef · #2 08/15/2005, 07:57 AM

All the critters will benefit your tank, they are not Mantis shrimps. Also you got some great corals that came in on the rock!!! Get some actinic lighting and your set.
Looks like some nice rock.

CaptiveReef

greenbean36191 · #3 08/15/2005, 09:18 AM

The crabs won't be reef safe.
The shrimp in the picture is a pistol. It will be pretty much harmless, but the popping noise may get annoying.
All of the corals are hard corals, you can see the skeletons in the pictures. The second one is probably Porites, but the other two it's hard to tell what they are.

Thunil · #4 08/16/2005, 02:29 AM

Thanks for the replies. i'll chuck the shrimp into the display and keep the crabs in the fuge

dickeybrazil · #5 08/16/2005, 06:06 AM

gorilla crabs

Thunil · #6 08/16/2005, 06:30 AM

what should i do with the crabs, just leave them in the fuge? i feel really bad when i kill things. the pink crab seems to burrow into the sand is this normal for a gorilla crab?

greenbean36191 · #7 08/16/2005, 07:58 AM

Gorilla crab is a term that people in th hobby use for just about any hitchhiking crab. It has no real meaning, so there is no way to say what is typical for them. If you want the fuge to truly act as a refuge, which is what they're designed for then there shouldn't be any predators such as crabs in there. I would just put them in the freezer and then toss them out. If you can't kill them yourself, the LFS might want them as food for agressive fish.

tld · #8 08/16/2005, 10:57 AM

I think the last coral is probably Pocillopora. It looks to be in pretty rough shape, but it might survive. I agree with Greenbean on the Porites ID on the second coral. I don't have a guess on the first one.

fishboy19 · #9 08/16/2005, 12:01 PM

I'd say that the pocillapora is a goner

-MatthewM

Thunil · #10 08/17/2005, 02:32 AM

yeah the pocillapora had bleached out when i had gotten home from school today. the other corals look good. i also found a few zoos with bright green centres and brown skirts and a coral banded shrimp.