Another tank discovery?

SammiMitch · Mar 14, 2016

hi
I started a tank about 2-3weeks ago and I have noticed tiny itty bitty specks towards the bottom of my tank. They are clear and are star shaped...there's about 50 or so of them...are these baby starfish? This is the best pic I could get of them.

TinaFoster · Mar 14, 2016

Following, cause I want to know!

cloak · Mar 14, 2016

Hydroids. These usually just run their course and then disappear over time. No worries.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/hyzoidf3.htm

pugcrush · Mar 14, 2016

I'm thinking hydroid jellyfish (not good). Do they detach & float away, then reattach? They should go away with after a cycle though & your tank matures.

SammiMitch · Mar 14, 2016

They don't go anywhere just hanging out on the glass. That's very interesting! So neat to see. It seems like every day I find new things crawling out of my live rock.

TinaFoster · Mar 14, 2016

Me too! Just yesterday I found a baby sea urchin. That was the coolest thing ever!

SammiMitch · Mar 14, 2016

TinaFoster said:
Me too! Just yesterday I found a baby sea urchin. That was the coolest thing ever!

Whhaaaa!!!??? That's awesome!!!

SammiMitch · Mar 14, 2016

Omg omg omg youre not gnna believe this but I just found another piece of coral growing in my reef! I can't get a good pic of it though the current makes it move too much. But it's tan and has long arms that point at the end and some of them have a white ring around them. Its cute.

Sabellafella · Mar 14, 2016

Hey there, guessing you used live sand right? Their just the regular hydroids that dust your glass when your tank is fairly young, then they go away withen a month. Wouldnt worry about it

SammiMitch · Mar 14, 2016

Sabellafella said:
Hey there, guessing you used live sand right? Their just the regular hydroids that dust your glass when your tank is fairly young, then they go away withen a month. Wouldnt worry about it

Yup live rock and live sand.

Bdog4u2 · Mar 14, 2016

SammiMitch said:
Omg omg omg youre not gnna believe this but I just found another piece of coral growing in my reef! I can't get a good pic of it though the current makes it move too much. But it's tan and has long arms that point at the end and some of them have a white ring around them. Its cute.

Sounds like aiptasia better take a pic if it is your tank can get over run fast.

SammiMitch · Mar 15, 2016

Bdog4u2 said:
Sounds like aiptasia better take a pic if it is your tank can get over run fast.[/QUOTE
I googled it since I can't get a good pic of what's in my tank and it looks like this..exactly what you named! You're good is this a bad thing to have there's only one sprout of it right now.

Bdog4u2 · Mar 15, 2016

SammiMitch said:
[/QUOTE
bad get rid of it now b4 they multiple

Chibils · Mar 15, 2016

If it looks like that picture, you've got aiptasia. You want to kill it before it starts to multiply - once they do, they're very difficult to get rid of!

Chibils · Mar 15, 2016

To clarify, aiptasia are not particularly dangerous or worth losing your mind over. They are simply annoying little pests that can quickly take over your aquarium. They will sting corals, fish, clams, snails, etc. and can kill them if given the chance.

Glass anemones are an eyesore and will become a problem if allowed to spread because they are good at hiding in crevices and popping up out of nowhere. They reproduce from little bits of their body that get torn on rocks or if you try to rip them up. Aiptasia are also known to be pretty resilient. Commercial products like Joe's Juice and Aiptasia-X are pretty foolproof, but a pipette full of lemon juice or vinegar squirted into their mouths will do the trick for free. Just make sure to watch for them coming back. Wouldn't be the first time a glass anemone retreated into a little hole in the rock and came back just as strong as before. More information here:

http://reefcorner.com/reef-database-index/hitchhiker-index/aiptasia-anemone/

SammiMitch · Mar 15, 2016

Awe that's too bad it's cute lol I saw a video of a guy who boiled some water and used a syringe and squirted it directly with the water then the aiptasia just let go and he sucked it off the rock. I think I'm going to give that a try. I feel bad though lol but I don't want a tank of aggressive things that's gnna kill my other fish

Breakthecycle2 · Mar 15, 2016

The original picture is a hydroid. This species is harmless in a reef.

mcmc1717 · Mar 15, 2016

you could just get some berghia nudibranch's they will eat the aiptasia. though they are expensive...

Chibils · Mar 15, 2016

SammiMitch said:
Awe that's too bad it's cute lol I saw a video of a guy who boiled some water and used a syringe and squirted it directly with the water then the aiptasia just let go and he sucked it off the rock. I think I'm going to give that a try. I feel bad though lol but I don't want a tank of aggressive things that's gnna kill my other fish

It's always a sad day when you have to harm or kill any inhabitants of your reef. You can try sucking him out if he releases his foot, but watch that rock for new ones budding out.

SammiMitch · Mar 15, 2016

I have to buy a syringe to get him out I don't have any. I also have this guy growing too. Pleas tell me it's not bad too. At night when I shut the lights off he closes up into a neon green pouch looking thing. I really like it lol