# Stomatellas galore!?!?



## carmenh (Dec 20, 2009)

I know these guys are supposed to be great algae eaters, but how many is too many??? I just stopped counting at 42 on the front glass only of my 90g reef, and there are lots more on the sides and back! Should I be concerned? This happens every night. I never see them during the day, so it's not a cosmetic issue, it just seems bizarre that they're breeding so fast! It's not like there's a major food source, I've never had a green algae issue, unless I did and they just ate it all 
Anyone want any??? (Burlington)

Carmen


----------



## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

How long have you had the set up?

When I first set up my tank I had a million and ahalf of them. Now, I almost never see them - once in a while in the sump maybe.


----------



## hojimoe (Mar 7, 2008)

ameekplec. said:


> How long have you had the set up?
> 
> When I first set up my tank I had a million and ahalf of them. Now, I almost never see them - once in a while in the sump maybe.


yeah same here, in the beginning I think they overbreed, then they self regulate to the tanks needs? and availability of food I think


----------



## brandon4 (Apr 21, 2010)

*--*

agreed on what's above, they self regulate in time. I even have a few in my small reefs that I didn't put in there, they must have hitchhiked in on live rock at some point and I just see them cruising around the glass at all hours. I am sure they will not harm your tank, in fact if that many are still there next year Id be totally suprised but either way it's a good sign I think,


----------



## carmenh (Dec 20, 2009)

I hadn't heard about it being a "stage" thing. The tank has technically been running for almost 2 years but was brackish, going slowly to marine. It's been full marine for almost a year. It housed my fugu puffer until he died about 4 months ago, at which point I accellerated the addition of corals and CUC, and added more LR, which must have been when these guys hitched in...
So I'll just hang tight and see what happens...
Thanks! 

Carmen


----------



## brandon4 (Apr 21, 2010)

hey by the way I had never heard of someone converting a tank from brackish to marine with all the same internal substrate, that's really cool. I would have really like to see macro pics of your rocks before and then well-established after just to show if there were any changes in the communities that inhabit the rock, did you see any
B


----------



## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

ameekplec. said:


> How long have you had the set up?
> 
> When I first set up my tank I had a million and ahalf of them. Now, I almost never see them - once in a while in the sump maybe.


I would be dead by now (or still be counting) if i had to sit down and count them by hand - a million and half!


----------



## carmenh (Dec 20, 2009)

It was quite a long process. I got Douggie the fugu "accidently". I went to buy a 2nd hand tank and was told I had to take the previously unmentioned inhabitant with it. It was a 20g tank with clown puke gravel and a really crappy filter. The guy said he just did a water change with a python then dumped some salt in! Within a week of getting him, having done some research, I bought him a 90g tank, and filled it with samoa pink aragonite sand and a few bits of base rock and some fake plants (ugh!) just to add a bit of visual interest. I started upping the sg from low brackish. It wasn't until it was at 1.020 that I started adding live rock, and that's when I got some really interesting critters. I now have lots of pods, worms and other little buggers, and the stomatellas, and a limpet (I think) named Steve 
Unfortunately, I don't have a good macro camera. I was going to add a few not-macro pics but apparently I'm a moron cuz I can't figure out how 

Carmen



brandon4 said:


> hey by the way I had never heard of someone converting a tank from brackish to marine with all the same internal substrate, that's really cool. I would have really like to see macro pics of your rocks before and then well-established after just to show if there were any changes in the communities that inhabit the rock, did you see any
> B


----------



## cablemike (Jan 7, 2009)

you have to upload your pics to a site like facebook. then when replying to a thread here there is an icon in the menu for linking a picture. you have to have the site with your picture open in another window and right click on it and click cope image location. then in your message right click and paster the link in the image link location..


----------



## carmenh (Dec 20, 2009)

Finally had a chance to play with photobucket...
Here's my fugu in his previous home, with his 1st owner...
Who thinks clown puke gravel is a good idea?!?!?! And the castle...seriously???


----------



## carmenh (Dec 20, 2009)

From the 20g to a 90g, still brackish. Aragonite sand and java moss...not big on fake plants but there was no point experimenting with real plants when it was in transition...


----------



## carmenh (Dec 20, 2009)

Yeah, 1.020...live rock time! And even a couple of easy corals...
(the filters were still running but were gradually removed shortly thereafter)


----------



## carmenh (Dec 20, 2009)

Our first fun hitchhiker...


----------

