Marine fleas?!?

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deuce11705

New Member
Hey guys! Last night I decided to take a look at my tank with the lights off using a flashlight. It was interesting. I noticed one end of my LR was covered in what looked to be like fleas. They have 2 large antennae (sp?) and 2 small antennae. At first I thought they were shrimp because they seemed to curl at the end, then I thought maybe worms of some kind, but I then noticed they had long legs (about 6 of them from what I could tell) on their hind parts. The largest one measured probably about 1/8 inch. They vary in color from clear to grey and brown. They are capable of moving extremely fast, and my cam sux so getting a pic isn't possible. Any ideas? Also, I have what I believe to be aiptasia. There is only one I've seen in the tank. Is it ok if there's only one in there?
 
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incysor

New Member
Amphipods.

I'd go ahead and kill the aiptasia as well. Once they start to multiply it becomes much more of a hassle.

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Master Er

New Member
Yup...Amphipods. I was told they were harmless but then again that information may be wrong if there were alot.

Incysor, could you shed some light on this? I too have amphipods in my tank which makes me think that my tank is healthy but what are the pros and cons in having alot of them? Personally I dont like them but they are a bit too fast to catch. I didnt have them before. They came in as hitchhikers from a frag I temporarily placed in a friends tank.
 
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drty811

New Member
i have a bunch of them also....i dont do anything to get rid of them for the same reasons....to fast.

i have noticed when my lights turn on in the morning....my clowns go nuts and eat up as many as possible....so does my tang....

i would also be interested in info for pros and cons........thanks for any info
 
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incysor

New Member
There aren't any cons. Other than perhaps you not liking the look of them.

Pros are that they're great detrivores, and as small as they are they can get in nooks and crannies that larger critters can't get to, and lots of fish will eat them.

That's about it.

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deuce11705

New Member
Thanks for the heads up that they are amphipods!! I did some research on them on reefkeeper.com and found out that the kind we have are a variety of gammaridean. It stated that most of the types found in aquaria are herbivores or detrivores, but there are some which are carnivores. It showed a pic of one that actually "attacked" the author of the article. We watched them last night and noticed that they mainly stay on the LR and have moved to the new coral we picked up. So we're guessing ours are herbivorous. Thanks again for the heads up!!
 
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Chubosco

New Member
Pods are most wonderful. You will also see some that look like cockroaches running across the rock. They are great too. Some look like little white knats. The beginnings of a very healthy tank. Congrats! You might begin to see little white dots on your back and glass. They don't move because they are barnacles. A recent addition to my tank. I am tank proud!
 
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Master Er

New Member
Drty811, whats with the barnacles? I have alot in my tank, back wall and rocks. What are the benefits to have barnacles in the tank? Curious to know.

Incysor, any comment on this? Arent they calcium consumers?
 
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drty811

New Member
im pretty sure there filter feeders.....not to mention its just something different to look at....i love finding new little things, its almost like christmas....
 
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incysor

New Member
Not really any pros or cons that I can think of. Unless you want to look at them as the parakeet in the coal mine. If you've got them growing, your tank is very healthy. I suppose they might die off if you started having water quality issues.

Yes they consume calcium, but not much, certainly not as much as a tank full of coraline algae.

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