Bugs on my reef?

[Tinman]

Hi,
I have been noticing some new critters in my tank that I am not quite sure what they are.
First I have these white thread-like worms (?) crawling up the back wall. They look like thin threads and almost seem headless. I have tried to photograph them but can never get them in focus through the walls of the tank.
The second bunch are these little bugs (?) crawling around the back wall of my little tank as well. They are grey/green in color I think, small, about 1 mm in length and they almost look like small roaches. Again, anytime I try to get a picture it never comes into focus very well. I looked at it under a microscope and it appears to have a head, legs (can't tell the number) the body appears to be clear with the organs as dark green. The head has two long antennae on it and it moves very fast.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mike

[Parrothead]

Leave them be, if you have to use a microscope to get a good look at them, they are probably some type of pod, I'd leave them, as far as the white thread like worms go, leave them as well, there are creatures in our reefs that we don't even know about, they are part of the program.

Tanks,
Robert

[Tinman]

Thanks Robert,

Good to know, I just find it fun to see what else has magically appeared in my tank. I'll leave them be then, or else I might buy a Mandarin fish and he can have a feast.

Thanks,
Mike

[Parrothead]

Mike,

Keep in mind once he feast, you gotta feed him, or he will perish, think responsibly, try this, after lights out, carefully scope out your tank with a flashlight, you'll see all sorts of cool stuff

Tanks
Robert

[Tinman]

Thanks Robert,

I couldn't agree more which is why I haven't bought a mandarin as yet. The LFS folks keep telling me to get one and that my 34 gal is more than big enough. I have my doubts and would never want a fish to starve to death because I was ignorant. That being said, what does a Mandarin fish eat other than the copepods?

I have done the flashlight thing. I have little shrimp like things living in my live rock, they are armor plated and shed often. I never see them out during the day and once the light hits them they take off. I also have a mystery crab who just appeared in a static tank that had nothing new added to it in 3 months. I also got crushed by a bunch of nudibranches, they destroyed one of my corals. I know what you mean by the cool stuff that appears as the tank matures at night.

Thanks again,

Mike

[Parrothead]

More pods, and a mandarin needs at least a 55 to support it's diet, sorry, keep in mind 99.9% of all lfs's will tell you what ever they need to make a sale, thats how they pay their bills, read, read, and read some more before making a purchase, whether it's livestock or hardware, study and learn, then buy.

Tanks,
Robert

P.S. Put a piece of red tissue paper over your flash light next time you want to do a lights out road trip.

[SpokaneReef]

Two of my local fish shops will not sell to anyone that does not have at least a 75 gallon tank and it has to been up for at LEAST 6 months.

One of the other ones will sell to you without even asking and always say yeah it "should" be ok in your tank.