Longest time before finding new hitch hikers?

[Reefer420]

Just curious as to the longest amount of time someone has had a tank and suddenly found a new hitch hiker...

I've had my tank since August - I had gone for at least 4 months thinking I had seen all of the hitch hikers that came on my rock (granted it was Tampa Bay Saltwater rock, so it came with a ton)- but within the last two weeks I have now seen a very small mantis, what I believe to be a guerilla crab (or not- I only saw a claw), and yesterday I just noticed a small urchin!!

Of course they all have to be 'bad' hitch hikers - but I haven't had any problems in my tank to date from them that I've noticed (other than missing hermits)- so I haven't gone too far out of my way to trap them

Since that is in a 16 gallon tank I wonder how many months/years someone with a larger tank has gone...

 

[alrha]

the last rock i placed in my tank was about a year and a half ago.
about a month ago, i found a crab that i never bought.

 

[inkblue]

i haVe freaKy/cryPtiK spoNgez :sgrin: :bigeyes2:

 

[alrha]

i haVe freaKy/cryPtiK spoNgez

:bigeyes2: :lol:

 

[inline6]

I also found strange crabs, not sure if they're reef safe. Kinda look like emeralds.

 

[Tonyscoots84]

nuttin out of the ordinary yet.. just some white with pink head worms and little tiny black bugs that crawl around at night... thats all i found so far...

 

[Reefer420]

How do most of you get your rocks? Fully cured, uncured, etc..

Mine were shipped in water- uncured (you have to like the tank to look a littel more natural though- lots of hitch hickers, macro algae, etc...)

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

I have had my tank for about 10 years and I have found at least three new critters in the past two months. (Some cool snails in the sand, a nudibranch I never saw before, etc.)

-Alfred

 

[Reefer420]

thats pretty cool- ten years is an amazing amount of time to find something new in a tank (or to even have a tank running)!

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

If you want to find a whole bunch of new things get a flashlight with a red filter and look at your tank after the lights go out when the room is pitch black.

This is the best time to find out if you have nasty critters as well, I found out I had parasitic worms by doing this- saw one nibbling on a clam. Before doing this I was always wonder why my clams would just die eventually. Now I have caught most of them. I plan on starting the hunt again soon.

-Alfred

 

[Reefer420]

hmmm- thats a good idea. So the moonlights on my tank are probably keeping things from coming out too? They are on for half the night- then go off around 3am...