Sand Crabs? Red mushroom/bubbles things on live rock.

[travisw30]

Hey i had a few questions the first is i have a few of these little critters that look almost like shrimp. really small maybe 1/4" long are they a sand crab? will they hurt anything? Also i have a bunch of these round red/maroon bubble looking things growing off one piece of my live rock. Any ideas?
Thanks for all your help and putting with all my questions.

 

[FOSELONE]

amphipods ???
red bubble algae ???

 

[travisw30]

Are amphipods a bad thing or are they harmless?

 

[ibefishy]

Amphipods , if thats what they are are harmless to your tank and a good food source for several types of fish like wrasses and mandarins. Although I dont recommend getting a mandarin, they need lots of lr and a very well established tank, and more room than your 10g has. You would want to wait on a mandarin until your your 65 is established for at least a year. Is there anyway to get a clear photo of them? If not could you do a search online to try and find them under amphipod or you might look up copepods.

 

[travisw30]

Yeah i looked on google images and they are amphipods for sure. I think the only fish i want for my 10 g is a goby. What do you think?

 

[ibefishy]

I just picked up a Diamond Goby from Tropics. They are good little cleaners but from what I hear they are jumpers so a cover over the tank is a must unless you want a dried up Goby. I can keep you posted on this newest addition if you want.

 

[Dooly]

10g is way too small to keep a sand sifting goby

 

[travisw30]

Yeah keep me posted! Hey join the social group I made.( central coast crew ) I sent you an invite. I want to try and get a bunch of local guys on here. So that one day when i have a big tank of my own we can have frag meets or something like that. What do you think?

 

[travisw30]

Why is 10g too small? Are there gobies that stay small that would be good?

 

[ibefishy]

There are a lot of websites that will tell you about the proper care of different fish. I usually go check these out before making any purchases. It can save a lot of fish deaths and people getting after you about having a fish in a tank that is too small.