A Little Night Viewing of your Reef Tank

So, do you ever look at your tank at night?  I don’t mean in the evening after the metal halides have gone off and the actinics are still on.  I mean, about an hour after the last light has gone out.  There is a whole other world in your reef tank that many people never get to see.  If you are squeamish you may never put your hand in the tank again.  But, there are some really cool creatures in there that you never get to see in the daytime.  In fact, you might get to see that emerald crab that you put in last year and never saw again.  And, your corals, especially the LPS will look completely different.  It is quite fascinating.

The best way to look at your aquarium at night is to use a small flashlight with a red LED or a maglight with a red filter on it.  But, I tend to use just a plain old mini maglight.  The problem with a regular flashlight, like I use, is that the light scares away the critters.  So, you have to look fast or the disappear right before your eyes!

Here is a small list of the things I have found in my tank at night:

• Bristleworms and tons of them.  Some are bigger than others and these are the things that made my wife squeal
• Chitons.  I have quite a few of these in there.  The pic to the right is the coolest one.  You have to look hard for these because some blend right in.  But, they can’t move too quickly either so you have a few seconds to get a look.
• Peanut Worms.  Peanut worms are very cool little worms.  You can watch them pull detritus off the rock and suck it right down their body
• My long lost emerald crabs, they always are out at night

This is also a good time to find out what might have been eating your zoanthids or fish.  Some of the nocturnal creatures are not nice.  I am sure you have all seen it already, but if not, this is the creepiest story ever!  And, to think, something like that may have hitchhiked in on your live rock and is just laying in wait!  You have to check it out.  I am not telling you any more.

The Worm Incident

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