JohnnyReeftank Posted September 29, 2010 Report Share Posted September 29, 2010 I recently picked up about 60 lbs of live rock for my new tank and most of it came from an established tank off of kijiji. I had a barrel setup with saltwater in it and i swished every rock to dislodge any unwanted hitchhickers but some of those lilbasterds managed to hangon.... but I got a few good ones too so I guess I cant complain. I've got Aipstasia in 2 places, a various assortment of orange and red bristleworms ranging from 1-6", 3 blue hermit crabs, an unknown number of sandsifter starfish, a bunch of white inchworms living in my 'dead sand' and a big @$$ crab that I think is a xanthid. Could you all provide some removal tactics for all of these (except the hermits)..........oh and will having this much of a bioload (including a significant amount of coraline) affect my cycle in anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vitaminz Posted September 30, 2010 Report Share Posted September 30, 2010 I recently picked up about 60 lbs of live rock for my new tank and most of it came from an established tank off of kijiji. I had a barrel setup with saltwater in it and i swished every rock to dislodge any unwanted hitchhickers but some of those lilbasterds managed to hangon.... but I got a few good ones too so I guess I cant complain. I've got Aipstasia in 2 places, a various assortment of orange and red bristleworms ranging from 1-6", 3 blue hermit crabs, an unknown number of sandsifter starfish, a bunch of white inchworms living in my 'dead sand' and a big @$$ crab that I think is a xanthid. Could you all provide some removal tactics for all of these (except the hermits)..........oh and will having this much of a bioload (including a significant amount of coraline) affect my cycle in anyway? Ok to get ride of Aipstasia, you can go one of 2 routes that I know that work. One is pepermint shrimp, they love to eat that stuff....Two is Chemical, lots of them out there, just have to do your research. Your Bristle worms can be removed by obtain a piece of PVC pipe and drill a number of holes in it that are approximately 1/4 inch in diameter (larger holes may be necessary depending on the size of the bristleworms you are attempting to remove). Once the lights have gone out for the night place a piece of fresh shrimp or scallop in the pipe, cap both ends and then set the pipe on the bottom of your aquarium. In the morning remove the pipe, uncap one end and dispose of the worms that it contains. You will have to use this technique over a period of weeks to make an impact on a large bristleworm population. As for your cycle, it depends on if the live rock stays alive or dies off from your water parameters... Hope this helps. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cale262 Posted September 30, 2010 Report Share Posted September 30, 2010 How about club soda to rid the rock of your unwanted pests.... http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=67665&highlight=soda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayfong Posted September 30, 2010 Report Share Posted September 30, 2010 I recently picked up about 60 lbs of live rock for my new tank and most of it came from an established tank off of kijiji. I had a barrel setup with saltwater in it and i swished every rock to dislodge any unwanted hitchhickers but some of those lilbasterds managed to hangon.... but I got a few good ones too so I guess I cant complain. I've got Aipstasia in 2 places, a various assortment of orange and red bristleworms ranging from 1-6", 3 blue hermit crabs, an unknown number of sandsifter starfish, a bunch of white inchworms living in my 'dead sand' and a big @$$ crab that I think is a xanthid. Could you all provide some removal tactics for all of these (except the hermits)..........oh and will having this much of a bioload (including a significant amount of coraline) affect my cycle in anyway? Most of those hitchhikers aren't bad. Like Vitaminz said, peppermint shrimp can eat aiptasia, I know I had some that cleaned up my aiptasia. There are other ways that can work as well. Bristleworms aren't bad, I had some in the tank and they didn't kill anything that I noticed although anything that did die in there disappeared. The starfish can keep your sandbed turned so that it won't build up too much anaerobic bacteria. I would keep the rock alive until your main tank is cycled then add in the rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyReeftank Posted October 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 Thanks for the advice....I managed to trap the Xanthid and boot him out of the tank, so I've got the biggest problem sorted. I think I will try that pvc trap for a few of the giant bristles so thanks for that. I've only got 3 small aiptasia growths so I think I may try the boiling water in a turkey baster.....anyone tried this? Oh and I was also wondering whether a peppermint shrimp would survive after the aiptasia is depleted....or do you guys all have refugiums? Please let me know cuz this seems like the best option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murminator Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 Leave the bristle worms they good to have the crab I would "rock" him and feed him to the fish the aptasia I use a syringe full of vinegar and zap em....don't let them get outta hand I had over a 1000 of them and took a filefish 6 months to clean it all up. The white inch worms worries me the most of all could be flatworms can you get a pic of them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vitaminz Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 (edited) The Peppermint Shrimp is a carnivore, scavenging the bottom of the aquarium, and sifting sand for food. In captivity it will accept a varied diet of prepared fresh and frozen foods suitable for carnivores, vitamin enriched flakes, freeze dried krill, or live adult brine shrimp or nauplii. Best fed at least once per day. This shrimp is known for eating aiptasia anemones! It eat them like candy! Place 3 or 4 to a tank to really clean up infestations. Once all the anemones are gone though, you must provide food for them. Don't allow the aiptastia to grow larger than an inch or so, because the shrimp won't go after really large ones Edited October 1, 2010 by Vitaminz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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