A bunch of I.D. type questions, and what eats them.

[nstiesi]

I just posted some info in my meet and greet thread. Basically, this is a really simple 20 gallon setup, one fish, a few zoas. I just had some general questions about rando stuff:

1 & 2: Two things. A.) is the green stuff a type of coralline? It is harder like the pink stuff, but is there green coralline? B.) Those little white things, I have been told, are spyhea (sp.?) sponges. I was told they are safe, but they are also EVEYRWHERE; any way to remove them other than manually? Anything use them as food?



2. I know this pic is a little blurry. In the hole in the middle, there is a fleshy white cylindircal thing, with a white string coming out of it. Earlier I witnessed it trying to pick up a small piece of debris with its "lasso".



3. Simply, what are these? I thought maybe aiptasia, but I thought aiptasia where bigger.



4. All these little roots are in my sand, any thoughts?



5. This is a little white thing all curled up on the rock, I have a few. They have little feathery heads that come and go. Are they feather dusters?



Wow, that is alot of info, I know. Thanks in advance!

Nick

[tippMANn98]

1) no, no green coraline, just green algae, and yes, they will go away eventually, they are commonly known as pineapple sponges.
2) spaghetti worm( i have too, they come and go, pop up in weird places, harmlesss)
3)Majano anem, cousin aiptaisia
4)????????
5)Hard tubed feather duster(tube worm) i have tons of these red ones, they are pretty....

hows that? most of these things you are finding are normal, especially for a new tank.....

[BEELZEBOB]

i concure with the tippster.

the only "nasty" is the manjano, they grow quick and can sting/harm the fancy corals you'll be paying for farther down the road...

[rlcline76]

1) yep, scypha sponge...their population will wax and wane. You can remove them manually. I would just leave them and focus on not overfeeding your tank and keeping the parameters in check and so on and so forth.
2) Vermitid snail
3) Reminds me of hydroids. Check your parameters, those can be a real PITA if not controlled.
4) I am guessing you have worms...Congrats!
5) Yep, a duster.

I see a few people on this thread, so I am guessing by the time I hit post, all of your questions will have already been answered!

[BEELZEBOB]

edit, cline is right. they're hydroids.

same issues with those as aptasia/majanos

[blue_eyes53813]

1&2. Yes there is a green coraline algae, Thats what it looks like to me. The sponges may be a pain but can be beneficial for nitrate reduction. As far as removal I dont know. On glass they can be simply scratched off.

opps you got 2 #2? Anyway looks like a vermatid gastropod or snail. they use a web to pull in food. I have tons of these and they can become a nuisance. A few isnt bad but mine a spreading like crazy. i would leave it in there though. They can be good for cleaning the water column as well.

3. Looks like grouping of feather dusters to me??? Not sure from the picture though... are they all seperate tubes with feather dusters in them.??? It does not look like aptasia to me...Feather dusters are good as well.

4. Very hard to tell. Looks like center of the picture down below the surface of the sand there is a bristle worm??? From the looks of your live rock you have alot of life. You may have some worms digging tunnels. bristle worms are ok too. Some times you can get big ones or they can become big over time and need to be removed, But the little ones are ok.

5. Feather duster again. Is that about the same as your #3 picture ? Just different colors?

[tippMANn98]

hydroid? i have the EXACT same thing pictured, and have had them since i set the tank up...NO issues, they dont sting anything, they are amongst my zoas and shrooms, in All areas of the tank, they make a tube with sand and what not, similar to a duster tube.

these are hydroids: NOT HEMROIDs

[blue_eyes53813]

You all think 3 is majano??? The picture is hard to tell but if you put it in full screen it looks like feather dusters??? I dont know.... lol

It looks like each tip has dusters...

[tippMANn98]

you know, blue eyes is right, after closer inspection i have these too....mine are very very small, and brown, and resemble a BROWN yellow Polyps, they are in a small congregation on ONE piece of LR

[rlcline76]

Hard to say blue eyes. I've seen that crap in my tank. Took them for a type of hydroid. I do not think it is majano...

Xtalreef

[tippMANn98]

#2 is definatley SPIONID WORMS thats what they are...


#3 are the hydroids...now thats what those are...and i have them...UH OH!

[nstiesi]

wow people, thanks for all the responses!

Looking at the link cline gave, the brown things do like like the hydroids....they each have a "duster head".

What should I do about the roots, manual removal? Does stirring the dirt release nitrates and other nasty stuff from the sand bed? Would using a different type of sand help? (this stuff is just playground sand, but I am planning a 29 gallon switch soon, and can get new sand then.)

[rlcline76]

I have heard that injecting vinegar (along with good flow in that area) helps out with hydroids, have I gotten it to work? No, best bet is to check the parameters and adjust as necessary. Would I suggest vinegar around corals, like Daniel has...I don't know if I am that brave.

[BoomerD]

#2, My opinion is vermetid snail, but it could be spaghetti worm.
#3 may indeed be hydroids. The pic isn't very clear, and while my first thought was majano, upon closer inspection, it is definitely NOT a majano anemone.

The rest have been correctly identified IMO.

[Triggerjay]

I have #3 as well. They spread like wild fire. I have removed a couple rocks with them, and cit them off. They are in hard brown tubes, and have a tiny fether duster like head. They always grow in groups, and grow FAST. My water quality is very good in my tank these days, so I would not attribute them to water quality. I think they are just a fast spreading bad hitchhiker. I have never had them touch a coral, so I do not know how a coral would react to that.

Jason