Just an unimportant question about live rock inhabitants.

SimonWoodstock

SimonWoodstock

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Sep 14, 2003
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Just wondering what those little creatures are I see crawling in and out of live rock. They almost look like shrimp. If I had to guess, I would say they are around 1/8" long and semi-tranparent.

Not an important question, just curious. I would assume they are some type of "clean-up crew"..?
 
Sound like amphipods. Little crustaceans that feed on debris and get preyed on by fish. Do they look like this?
faq_amphipod.jpg


This FAQ is a great resource for this kind of stuff.
 
yeah, that must be it. this also explains another question i was wondering about......this must be the "pods" that the Mandarin Goby needs to eat i was researching on.

2 birds w/ 1 stone, thanks!

* 1 more thing...how do you get these things? are they "hitch hikers" that come w/ live rock you purchase, or do you have to buy eggs or soemthing to get them? i noticed it said not to put a mandarin goby in a tank unless you had it for a year or more so it would have enough "pods" to eat.

thanks
 
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They will come in on the live rock, but you can also buy cultures from places like ipsf. They breed readily in tanks, but will be rapidly depleted by a mandarin.
 
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