tiny id please

exhumed07

exhumed07

Superstar Fish
#1
Apr 30, 2006
1,774
0
36
Illinois
#1
ok got another id question lol. first off what happened. friday I left for the twin cities to see my brother so thursday I did all my tank cleaning in preperation. well I came back sunday and when I turned on the lights everything looked great. got unpacked and came back to take a closer look and noticed about 2 dozen of these little star shaped critters. at first I thought they were some baby starfish till I noticed they were anchored to the glass, with the tenticals not touching. so now here I am with the best pics I could get. they are just tiny. I'd say their diameter is about as wide as a quarter is thick. so take ur guess what these guys are :p
 

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exhumed07

exhumed07

Superstar Fish
#4
Apr 30, 2006
1,774
0
36
Illinois
#4
I don't get saltwater. All the sudden things just pop up. change nothing in the tank and pow things decide to say hi lol. also I got like these lil tubes of sand on some of my live rock. have not seen any critters come out of them so no idea what those are either.

so any idea how big these lil guys get?
 

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Newman

Newman

Elite Fish
#6
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
0
0
Northern NJ
#6
agreed with mlipst. you shouldnt really worry about them, they'll remain tiny. even if they go into colony mode, usually you can just wait them out and something can outcompete them for food.

yes thats why SW is so fun, always something awesome to be found! niches in your tank change and new surviving critters will emerge given the opportunity. It really is an awesome ecosystem, even if it does pale in comparison to the real world outside your glass box lol.
In FW all we can really hope to find that isnt the usual pond snail infestation or hydras, is FW annelids (not planaria, which are too common) and tiny FW limpets. but thats about it.

the sand tubes maybe just fan worm tubes if theyre small.
 

Newman

Newman

Elite Fish
#8
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
0
0
Northern NJ
#8
pics 1 and 2 show hydroids in their polyp form. theres a lot of them there. try feeding your tank just a tad less. they seem to be exploiting the extra food.

3rd pic is a whole bunch of clear-looking tunicates.
i cant really be sure about the sand tube on the rock in the 4th pic. safe to say it is some sort of worm(as in annelid).
 

exhumed07

exhumed07

Superstar Fish
#9
Apr 30, 2006
1,774
0
36
Illinois
#9
anything I need to clear up? and all of them are all over under my live rocks, and I only feed maybe 5 pieces of food to my damsel and it eats it all. not sure how my crabs are surviving to be honest.
 

Newman

Newman

Elite Fish
#10
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
0
0
Northern NJ
#10
hmm well if your feeding like that then maybe its just a phase and it will pass and their numbers will drop to normal. i doubt you could clear them up if you tried, they are a resilient pest.
 

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