And then there it was! What has been your favorite reef tank hitchhiker?

[Peace River]

The best live rock surprise! What has been your favorite reef tank hitchhiker?

Far too often the uninvited guests in our tanks are pests and are not pleasant surprises, however, every once in a while, an interesting and maybe even welcomed hitchhiker shows up. Maybe it was a shrimp, a crab, a coral, a piece of macroalgae, or something else that you now enjoy as part of the ecosystem of your reef tank. Adding live rock to your tank can be a great place to find amazing new hitchhikers especially if the live rock comes directly from the ocean. Please let us know what your favorite hitchhiker has been. Also, please share any tips that you might have for maximizing good hitchhikers and avoiding bad hitchhikers.

Photo by @LiverockRocks; Mantis shrimp hitchhiker from the Gulf of Mexico

This QOTD is sponsored by: www.tckcorals.com

 

[blaxsun]

I never get any of the really cool hitchhikers so I have to live vicariously through R2R.

 

[NVYCPO]

My favorite was tiny jellyfish! It was pretty cool watching them at night.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Im generally not enthused with hitchhikers as i really dont welcome what I havent placed in my tank however if there were one - Starfish such as serpent or brittle

 

[Gumbies R Us]

My favorite was tiny jellyfish! It was pretty cool watching them at night.

Neat that you got a jellyfish!

 

[oliverout]

Octopus

 

[afrokobe]

Coral!

 

[shadow_k]

Mysis shrimp !

 

[mfinn]

Can't say I've had many hitchhikers that would be classified under favorites, except for one and that is the mini brittle stars.

 

[MDAquatics]

I brought a young lady home with me from the LFS along with some coral I was buying that day. We are married now.

 

[Reefer Matt]

I used to enjoy the fan worms that came on live rock. I have one on an acan frag right now, and it will stay on it.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

Rock is always interesting but I always did appreciate the acro crabs u would get from the mariculture shipments.

 

[MDAquatics]

I brought a young lady home with me from the LFS along with some coral I was buying that day. We are married now.

This is of course completely false and only a dream, But I did bring my wife with me last time with the intention of leaving her there and somehow she always finds a way back home.

 

[MantisShrimpMan]

It still blows my mind that, when I bought a piece of live rock from a LFS whos tanks were covered in big aiptasia, I didn’t get any aiptasia. So, a pleasant non-hitchhikers if you will.

 

[design.maddie]

SPONGES!

I have had some amazing looking sponges come in as hitchhikers. Bright orange and bright blues are my favorites.

 

[SeaShine]

Tiny red serpent star!

 

[Reefing102]

Mine had to be the Curley Que anemone I got off my KP rock

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

A few brittle stars that came in on a Pectinia but unfortunately the dip killed them. I dipped a hammer coral and flat worms came off so I always dip corals since.

 

[1979fishgeek]

Yellow torch coral, it grew out a patch of zoa.

 

[Mechano]

I’ve had :
A mantis shrimp (uncolorful type)
Micro Brittle stars
Snails (stomatela)
A xanthid crab (he was fun to catch and remove and looked evil)
Pods and micro fauna
Vermatid snails
Sponges
Even had a small goby once

The coolest was the mantis shrimp though , I saw ut at the corner of my eye one evening poking its head out of a hole about 1/8”. It was about a half inch long. Really cool

***oh and aptasia and bristleworms—-yay