more life in thank than i thought

[fishandchips]

i had a freind come round so i thought i whould show him my tank. but i had turned the lights off a few hours ago so i thought i whould not hurt to turn them on for a few mins. once i turned them on he said too me "oh i like your little star fish". i said where i carnt see one. it was a baby brittle star great my brittle star must of had a baby he also noticed that there was like little ants running over my ocean rock now i dont know what these are has anyone got any ideas are they good or bad?

 

[TurbineSurgeon]

The "little ants" are most likely copepods. They are a natural food source and very common with live rock. They are also about the only thing Mandarin fish eat. All part of the circle of life that exists in a saltwater tank.

I'm a scuba diver, and my favorite dives are at night. That's when the lobster, shrimp, crabs, octopi come out, certain corals and anenome extend their tentacles to feed, etc.

When I had my reef tank, I would often make "night dives" also. Take a peek using a small flashlight a few hours after the lights have gone out. You'll be amazed at what you might find

 

[dbacksrat]

red light is supposed to be undetectable to fish---at night, shine red light into your tank--you'll be surprised

 

[1979camaro]

you could consider setting up a moonlight setting...i believe it is a dark blue?? which runs at night...supposed to simulate, you guessed it, the moon!

 

[fishandchips]

i have an arcaida light that sits on top of my tank and it takes 4 t5 tubes i could fit 2 blue marine tubes in their how long whould i have too leave the blue lights on? if the are meant to be "moonlight" whould i leave them on allnight?

 

[TurbineSurgeon]

The blue marine tubes are usually actinic 03's. They supplement the blue spectrum, and make some inverts fluoresce. They are much brighter and higher wavelangth than moonlight. Setups to simulate moonlight that I have seen are usually just a few LEDs, usually blue (although from what I've seen while diving at night, white or perhaps even yellow could be more accurate). Try Googling it and see what you come up with.