Hitchhiker ID request

[Goofnut]

Hey folks,

 

I could use a bit of help with identifying some lifeform growing on my glass. I've searched quite a bit and read through hitchhiker FAQs, etc., but I haven't really seen anything that matches what I have. Your help would be appreciated

 

Description: 1-2mm wide, white, multi-legged, apparently stationary creatures that resemble 8-15 legged "starfish" (for lack of a better word). They have two concentric rings of "spines" originating from a small circular base. The internal (closest to top of the organism) ring is slightly shorter than the bottom ring. (When I say "top", I'm referring to the side that points toward the center of the tank, as they attach horizontally to the glass). They appear to only attach at the base pedestal, as the "spines" flow in the current.

 

These guys are all-white and along the length of the spines are small white dots, which sort of make these guys look like tiny snowflakes. I'm going to attach a HORRIBLE MS Paint drawing I made -as I can't take pictures since my AF digital camera can't get a focus on them. Hey.. it's the best I can do, but if you absolutely need good pictures to make an ID, I'll bug my friend with the $600 camera

[karlas]

could this be what u r looking at heres a couple of pics

 

hydroid jellyfish

 

hyd jelly

 

hyd jelly

 

this is exactly how these pics are decribed dots with legs

here is the info with the pics

 

Dots With Legs - Staurocladia oahuensis - Tiny Hydroid Jellyfish That Walk Around Tanks

 

The animals are between one and two millimeters in diameter.  These are organisms which are turning out to be relatively common.  They are  crawling hydroid jellyfishes, which do not swim, but rather move around the tank sort of like a small, soft, slow spider.   They move by fastening on to the substrate with their adhesive patches.  The tentacles are tipped with concentrations of nematocysts.  There is a red eyespot at the base of each tentacle.  These organisms become quite abundant in some reef systems, and then rapidly disappear without a trace.  

[tinyreef]

i thought it's one of the larval stages of copepods or amphipods. anyone, any thoughts?

[BustytheSnowMaam]

They are definitely hydroid jellies- and the article is right- they do disappear (or at least diminish in number) after awhile. I had them all over the glass in my tank and was getting a little frustrated but now only have one here and there.

Tasha

[anthony812]

i agree with thta they are hyd jellies, i had a few on my glass too..but it seem to be eaten or dissapeared so i guess there is no worries..

[Goofnut]

Excellent! Thanks for your replies.. I believe we have a winner. They look exactly like the first photo from outside the tank, but don't specifically resemble the other two pictures (I don't see the branched tentacles) -probably because I'm not looking at them with a compound microscope like Dr. Ron is

 

"The image at the above left was contributed by Kathryn Metcalfe and taken with a digital camera from outside the tank. It shows what a dense population of them looks like from the outside of the aquarium.. The remaining images I took using a compound microscope, and various lighting arrangements."

 

I was really amazed at their rate of asexual reproduction. Even at this moment, I have 30+ of them and there are at least 3 that are going through fission right now

[karlas]

i forgot to mention also that they may look different because i read that there are 17 different species of these