They're taking over! What are these creatures?

[corrado007]

I added some small chunks of LR to my refugium over the past week and now I have these white things all over my sump. They are on the overflow side of the sump where water enters it, in the return section around and on the pump, and in the refugium. There are just a few that I can see in the refugium and a ton in the other two chambers. The only thing I can think of is that these creatures don't like the light I have over the refugium. Are they some sort of tunicate??? They don't seem to move and if they do it's really slow because they seem to just sit there. They appear to be white jelly like things with a "feathered" opening or something on one end. I'm a bit concerned because they showed up so quickly and in such great numbers. Thanks in advance for any advice, help, opinions, or experiences with these.
Here are some pics.
This is a close-up of them in the return section by the pump

And here's a bunch of them on the wall of the sump to give an idea of how many I have.

 

[DrHank]

Jump for joy, they are pods. Great to have. Many reef fish love them. If you decide you don't want them just let me know and I'll pay the shipping. They eat micro algae.

 

[nijunet]

I think they are Q-tip sponges, good filter feeders

 

[reefjitsu]

They larger things are sponges, commonly called q-tip and pineapple sponges. The little coiled dot things are a type of duster worm of the grouping Spirorbidae. Both are harmless filter feeders most common in new setups. They often disappear as the tank matures, but not always.

 

[vdituri]

I concur with reefjitsu.
Wholeheartedly and without reservation (or compensation)
ahem...

 

[prow]

They larger things are sponges, commonly called q-tip and pineapple sponges. The little coiled dot things are a type of duster worm of the grouping Spirorbidae. Both are harmless filter feeders most common in new setups. They often disappear as the tank matures, but not always.

:bluenod:

 

[corrado007]

Jump for joy, they are pods. Great to have. Many reef fish love them. If you decide you don't want them just let me know and I'll pay the shipping. They eat micro algae.

Forgive my inexperience with the jargon but by pods do you mean copepods? I thought these were copepods. Great, I have some mutant water fleas running loose in my tank too.

 

[DrHank]

They are. Didn't take a close enough look at your original pictures. Sorry! Your others are sponge. still good to have. Filter feeders. My bad. Guess I'll have to clean my glasses.

 

[lcstorc]

Are you guys sure on the sponges? I am awful at the id game but the things in the middle of the first pic have 2 somethings coming out of the front of them. I don't know what they are but they don't look like sponges to me.
Then again I stink at the ID game so I could be all wrong.

 

[corrado007]

They larger things are sponges, commonly called q-tip and pineapple sponges. The little coiled dot things are a type of duster worm of the grouping Spirorbidae. Both are harmless filter feeders most common in new setups. They often disappear as the tank matures, but not always.

Hey reefjitsu, Thanks for the reply. I was wondering what coiled dots things you're looking at. I only see a bunch of those things that you identified as pineapple sponges. I have a bunch of dwarf feather dusters in my display tank but don't see any tube worms in the sump. Also, I don't know, is it likely that sponges would show up so quickly (over a few days) and in such great numbers? I'm not trying to be difficult, I just want to be as sure as possible about what has shown up in my tank. Thanks for your help.

 

[Dentoid]

I think the white coiled things Reefjitsu is describing as "duster worms" are actually bubbles on the acrylic face. Photographs are so deceiving!

 

[reefjitsu]

Forgive my inexperience with the jargon but by pods do you mean copepods? I thought these were copepods. Great, I have some mutant water fleas running loose in my tank too.

There are all sorts of pods, but most commonly, pod refers to either copepods or amphipods. The creature in the pic is an amphipod.

You Can't Tell Your "Pods" Without A Program by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com

I circled the some sponges in red and some of the worms in blue (sorry, the blue is barely visible). Yes, these can show up very quickly in a matter of days.

Are you guys sure on the sponges? I am awful at the id game but the things in the middle of the first pic have 2 somethings coming out of the front of them. I don't know what they are but they don't look like sponges to me.

Yep, they are sponges, just odd looking ones.

I think the white coiled things Reefjitsu is describing as "duster worms" are actually bubbles on the acrylic face

nope, they are worms. Figure 1 in the following link shows a picture of a larger species of this type of worm. Perhaps one of the most common of all hitchikers.
The Worms Crawl In… by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com

 

[corrado007]

Thanks guys and gals, I appreciate all the help I.D.ing these things. They really do look like little pineapples, I see where they get the name. reefjitsu, thanks for the clarification on what you were refering to. I can't even tell what those things circled in blue look like from the pics but they are gone now that I'm looking at the sump again. Perhaps they are some sort of worms or perhaps as dentoid suggested they were just bubbles, hard to tell. Also, icstorc mentioned two things coming off of them, that's what had initially made me think they were tunicates (prefer the dark & inlet and outlet holes). If anyone else has some other guess feel free to chime in but it looks as if these guys have been positively identified as q-tip/pineapple sponges.

 

[kathywithbirds]

Hey I just noticed these too! The worms circled in blue, i mean. They're on the rock.
Um, are they OK in the tank itself?

 

[corrado007]

I'm sure others are much more qualified to answer but as far as I understand, just about any filter feeder such as tube worms are perfectly safe and in fact quite beneficial to your tank. Anyone can feel free to correct me if I'm wrong please.

 

[Dentoid]

Re: They're taking over! What are these creatures?UY

...I can't even tell what those things circled in blue look like from the pics but they are gone now that I'm looking at the sump again. Perhaps they are some sort of worms or perhaps as dentoid suggested they were just bubbles, hard to tell...

A quote from the Previously mentioned article in Reef Keeping Magazine by Ronald L Shimek, PhD.

...Once they start to secrete their tube, their options for movement are decidedly limited...

It would stand to reason that if they were there when you posted your first picture at 6:24pm and they were gone when you posted at 11:23pm the same day, then they were not a calcareous worm that has limited mobility to just its shell. They were bubbles.

 

[corrado007]

Re: They're taking over! What are these creatures?UY

A quote from the Previously mentioned article in Reef Keeping Magazine by Ronald L Shimek, PhD.



It would stand to reason that if they were there when you posted your first picture at 6:24pm and they were gone when you posted at 11:23pm the same day, then they were not a calcareous worm that has limited mobility to just its shell. They were bubbles.

Very good point, are you a CSI :smirk: Thanks for your help.

 

[reefjitsu]

They are quite harmless.

Look at the first pic. I can clearly see the coiled tubes. They are not bubbles. The things on the pump in the first pic are not bubbles. If I had any doubts, I would qualify my statement as such. I would say something like maybe they are worms or bubbles, I can't really tell. I can 100% say that they are/were worms. I am not sure of the mechanism, but they can disappear too. I have never removed them from my glass, but sometimes they are gone.

How about another picture from the same view?

If I am unsure on any ID, I always make that clear. If you ever see me give a definative ID on something, as in this situation, you can take it to the bank.

 

[corrado007]

Reefjitsu you are quite right. Now that you have very specifically explained that you are refering to the dots on the pump I understand what you're talking about. Sorry for the mix-up. The dots I was refering to were bubbles and are gone but the ones you refer to are indeed some sort of worms and are still there. I was so caught up with concern for the sponges that showed up seemingly overnight in great numbers that what you were saying didn't even click in my mind.

 

[sompa]

they r sponges and dusters