View Full Version : Just an unimportant question about live rock inhabitants.
SimonWoodstock
10-23-2003, 6:14 PM
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"..?
mogurnda
10-23-2003, 6:23 PM
Sound like amphipods. Little crustaceans that feed on debris and get preyed on by fish. Do they look like this?
http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/img/faq_amphipod.jpg
This FAQ (http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/) is a great resource for this kind of stuff.
SimonWoodstock
10-23-2003, 11:34 PM
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
mogurnda
10-24-2003, 9:10 AM
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.