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[Sealybomb]

@Tired thanks for the advice 👍 he seems to have moved somewhere now so now idea where it went!

[Jerad81]

After looking through the pictures I believe these are a type of sponge. Although there are some similarities to the tunicate and spirorbi pics I'm thinking those are kinda long shots. Either way I just wanted to verify these are harmless. I've found 3 of them and so far they don't appear to be bothering anything so I've just left them alone. I am a little curious though what they officially are if anyone recognizes them.

 

 

 

Yes, I know there are flat worms in my pics. I have an infestation popping up that I'm trying to figure out. I'm just asking about the white blobs. Thanks. 

[Tired]

Yep, looks like sponges. Probably harmless. Some species can grow fast, though, is the only potential risk. Fast-growing sponges should be pruned regularly, since any rock they touch is pretty much permanently going to have sponge on it.  

[Jerad81]

2 minutes ago, Tired said:

Yep, looks like sponges. Probably harmless. Some species can grow fast, though, is the only potential risk. Fast-growing sponges should be pruned regularly, since any rock they touch is pretty much permanently going to have sponge on it.  

Oh wow, I didn't realize that. I found these a few weeks ago and they don't appear to be getting much bigger but I will definitely keep a closer eye on them now. Thanks for the heads up!

[Tired]

If they aren't growing at a notable rate, they're probably fine. Most sponges you're likely to encounter either do poorly in aquaria, or sort of putter along. The invasive ones are a minority, and are easy to handle- just pull pieces off sometimes. They're tricky because it's hard to remove every cell from a rock and be sure they won't come back, but they aren't dangerous or anything to be worried about. Just, if you happen to notice that there's suddenly a lot more than before, consider removing some. 

[Jerad81]

6 hours ago, Tired said:

If they aren't growing at a notable rate, they're probably fine. Most sponges you're likely to encounter either do poorly in aquaria, or sort of putter along. The invasive ones are a minority, and are easy to handle- just pull pieces off sometimes. They're tricky because it's hard to remove every cell from a rock and be sure they won't come back, but they aren't dangerous or anything to be worried about. Just, if you happen to notice that there's suddenly a lot more than before, consider removing some. 

I actually started looking closer at my rocks yesterday and found about 4 or 5 more. It's hard to tell because they are all in some pretty dark/deep crevices that make it impossible to see them unless you're looking really hard. 

 

I've actually been dealing with some REALLY high phosphate and nitrate levels in my tank (probably a big contributor to my flatworm problem). I  kinda wonder if that's been a reason why they're popping up in my tank right now. As long as they're not bothering my coral I'm content to leave them be. Thanks for all the info, I really appreciate it!

[DigitalDem]

Looked through this thread and I'm still not 100% sure on my critters. There are a handful of them floating around my water column of various sizes.

I was able to pull one out to snap a photo. This one was the biggest, sizing in at about 1/8th of an inch. 

Is it a pod of some sort?

 

Any thoughts/help would be welcome.

 

Thanks!

[Tired]

Any pics of it in the water? How does it move? 

 

Doesn't look like a crustacean of any sort I've seen, no legs. 

 

By any chance have you scraped the walls of the tank recently? Almost looks like a dislodged pineapple sponge. 

[DigitalDem]

Hi, sorry for the delayed reply.

No pics of them in the water yet, but they kinda of get pushed around aimlessly by the powerhead flow.

They didn't come from scraping, but I have seen a couple of them hanging on my leather cabbage coral

[DevilDuck]

Looks like a dislodged pineapple sponge to me too. They typically grow in dark places. Check your filter or pump area, probably a bunch growing there too.

[pixiebell1988@gmail.com]

Hi I have fresh water fish I can't find what this is ..... orange threats moving in the corner coming out my sand ... like hair orange hair in the water 

[Nova Scotian]

I have not found another ID matching these creatures in my new tank. I have looked up mantis shrimp life stages, since it seems to have the piston-type claws, and both claws are the same. It is may 2 mm long or less, and mostly translucent. I’ve noticed two so far. It seems to enjoy moving about in front of me, while avoiding my tongs. I got some chaeto from the reef store and only let it drip before putting it in the back chamber, because I wanted to keep as many copepods as I could. Sorry for the bad picture, I will need to buy a macro lens.

 

[mcarroll]

6 hours ago, Nova Scotian said:

I have not found another ID matching these creatures in my new tank. I have looked up mantis shrimp life stages, since it seems to have the piston-type claws, and both claws are the same. It is may 2 mm long or less, and mostly translucent. I’ve noticed two so far. It seems to enjoy moving about in front of me, while avoiding my tongs. I got some chaeto from the reef store and only let it drip before putting it in the back chamber, because I wanted to keep as many copepods as I could. Sorry for the bad picture, I will need to buy a macro lens.

 

Are you asking for ID on the algae in the pics?  It looks like a tuft of hair algae that needs to be yanked out by hand two or three days ago. 😉 

 

Oh I see....there's an amphipod in the pic.   One of the large "pods" you're likely to see.  

[Nova Scotian]

1 hour ago, mcarroll said:

Are you asking for ID on the algae in the pics?  It looks like a tuft of hair algae that needs to be yanked out by hand two or three days ago. 😉 

 

Oh I see....there's an amphipod in the pic.   One of the large "pods" you're likely to see.  

Thanks, glad to know it’s just a large amphipod. I have been hoping that my new little hermits will eat the hair algae. Although it will take them a while to go through all of it. I will try to thin it out by hand.

[mcarroll]

2 minutes ago, Nova Scotian said:

Thanks, glad to know it’s just a large amphipod. I have been hoping that my new little hermits will eat the hair algae. Although it will take them a while to go through all of it. I will try to thin it out by hand.

Once algae gets that long it's unlikely (but not impossible) that anything will eat it.....you're the #1 member of the cleanup crew, so it's up to you to clean that off.  (Sorry to say it....)

 

Use this technique to remove it (but ignore the other advice in the vid):

 

[Flguy1]

Has anyone encountered these?  They are extremely small. 
 

[Tired]

Weird. Definitely looks like some sort of flatworm. Have they done anything other than exist? (eaten corals, etc.)