MCMAC Presentation: Bob Fenner - The pros and cons of coral hitchhikers

Laura and Jim will be hosting the May meeting this Saturday the 12th and it will be the usual of food, drinks, raffle and fun.
 
Doors will be open at 6:00 pm for social talk and the meeting will start at 7:00.  Parking gets a little tight and the city says you can't park on 4th but there is a parking lot a block away.   Meeting is usually held in the backyard so feel free to bring your favorite lawn chair, weather permitting of course.

If you need address/directions, contact a club member.

Best if you park at Mini Mall (where the spaghetti establishment use to be)
 
You will get to see his new frag tank set up in the making.
 
Hope to see you there!

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The pros and cons of hitchhikers in the reef aquarium
(see next post, below, for bibliography/further reading and links)

Anything from live rock to fish can bring hitchhikers into the tank.  Even frozen food can bring in microbes.

Number one source of help/trouble: Live Rock

Many unwanted hitchhikers come in with traded corals

Almost anything can be a hitchhiker, except for "higher vertebrates".  Defining a pest is much like defining a weed.  Most hitchhikers:

• are benign
• serve as food
• clean rock and substrate
• make things interesting

Alternatives to hitchhikers are worse: toxic treatments or only keeping one or two forms of life in the tank.

Prevention is the best medicine.  Quarantine and isolate.  Dips and baths can help, but use them with care.

Hitchhikers:

• Blue Green Algae (Cyano).  Very toxic, changes its environment to suit itself.
• Other Algaes
• Hydrozoans.  Stinging growths, often Christmas tree-like in appearance, which require physical removal.
• Pest anemones:  Aiptasia, anemonia, tulips, etc.  Can be an effective water filter if not stinging other creatures.  Physical removal is ineffective, though chemical injection can work.
• Flatworms.  He does not recommend treating them, since they are usually harmless and treatments can kill the rest of the tank.
• Polychaetes (bristleworms).  Ignore unless they get out of hand or dangerous.
• Molluscs:  Nudibranchs, gastropods, bivalves.  Predatious snails and slugs, etc.  Physically remove them and their eggs.
• Crustaceans.  Crabs, etc.  He would remove most all crabs because they are opportunistic feeders which will remove other forms of life from the tank.
• Stomatopods and Alpheids:  Mantis and Pistol shrimp.  Not usually a problem, though they can really hurt your hands.  Monitor and remove if necessary.  Often very interesting and beautiful.
• Smaller crustaceans: copepods, isopods.  Red Bug (mainly Acroporids).  Isopods are mainly fish parasites, often in the mouths.  Treat red bug with chemicals, preferably before it gets in the main tank.
• Echinoderms: Brittlestars, Asterina seastars.  Can be predatious in huge numbers, but not usually a problem.

[psa]

Bibliography/Further Reading:

• Pests Invading the Reef Aquarium Hobby: Part 1 - Red Bugs & Nudibranchs:
  http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/general.cfm?general_pagesid=351
• Pests Invading the Reef Aquarium Hobby: Part 2 - Flatworms, Snails & Limpets:
  http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/general.cfm?general_pagesid=362
• Busing, R.T.; T. Fujimori. 2002. Dynamics of composition and structure in an old Sequoia sempervirens forest. J. of Vegetation Sci., 13 (6): 785-792.
• Fenner, Bob, undated. Aiptasia, my least favorite anemones...
  http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/aiptasia/aiptasia.htm
• Fenner, Bob. 1999. The best live rock: from Fiji. FAMA 10/99.
• Fenner, Bob. 2000. Live sand: beautiful and functional. FAMA 2/00.
• Levenson, Marc, undated. You just got that new {insert item here}, is it safe to put it in your tank? http://www.melevsreef.com/pest_control.html, http://www.melevsreef.com/flatworms.html
• Michael, Scott W. 2009. Invertebrate Helpers. These invertebrates make it easier to maintain a reef aquarium. AFI 2/09.
• Michael, Scott W. 2009. Utilitarian Aquarium Invertebrates to Avoid.  Bonus content from the February 2009 AFI magazine article "Invertebrate Helpers." http://www.fishchannel.com/fish-magazines/aquarium-fish-international/february-2009/invert-help.aspx?cm_mmc=Vanity-_-InvertHelp-_-na-_-na
• Nilsen, Alf J. 2007. Pest animals on live rock. Ultramarine Magazine (UK) 1:1, 07
• Pro, Steven. 2003. Impressions of methods to eliminate pest anemones. http://wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_1/cav1i3/aiptasia_impressions/aiptaisia_impressions.htm
• Shimek, Ronald L. 2001. The importance of deep sand. AFM 3/01.
• Theisen. 2004. Fiji vs. Florida: The live rock debate. FAMA 10/04.