Critter ID

[AKL1950]

Pulled a rock out of my sump to put some Zoas on it. Found it was already covered with other inhabitants. Need help IDing them. They appear to be attached to the rock and have little antennas. If good, will they survive in the brighter main tank environment?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Pineapple sponges - harmless filter feeders that are common in newer tanks.

Edit: they typically go away on their own after a while.

 

[AKL1950]

Pineapple sponges - harmless filter feeders that are common in newer tanks.

Edit: they typically go away on their own after a while.

Thanks. I started checking the undersides of the DT rocks and now I can see them everywhere. Didn’t realize they were there. Tank is only 9 months old. Guess it’s filling up with more life than I thought.

 

[resortez]

Second pineapple sponge. Harmless & a great sign that your system can sustain diverse life so it’s a plus. Some dwarf angels will munch on them if you want to control the spread but not all dwarf angels, it’s a hit or miss in my experience. They will grow in dark places away from light, unde rock, overflow box, inside filter socks & sumps with no lighting schedule. Crabs & urchins will mow them down in their search for algae too.

 

[AKL1950]

Second pineapple sponge. Harmless & a great sign that your system can sustain diverse life so it’s a plus. Some dwarf angels will munch on them if you want to control the spread but not all dwarf angels, it’s a hit or miss in my experience. They will grow in dark places away from light, unde rock, overflow box, inside filter socks & sumps with no lighting schedule. Crabs & urchins will mow them down in their search for algae too.

Cool. I’ve got two Bellus angels. I’ll have to watch and see if anyone goes for this crop of new critters I’ve put in plain sight in the DT. For the most part, the Bellus pair act just like tangs. They are constantly grazing algae and have no problem fighting for position on the algae clips.

Is the expansion of diverse critters part of the reason I have trouble keeping my phosphates up? I’m having to dose it weekly now. Nitrates are stable around 10-11, but phosphates keep dropping to 0.01 if I don’t dose. I have started adding reef roids one a week to help.

 

[landlubber]

Cool. I’ve got two Bellus angels. I’ll have to watch and see if anyone goes for this crop of new critters I’ve put in plain sight in the DT. For the most part, the Bellus pair act just like tangs. They are constantly grazing algae and have no problem fighting for position on the algae clips.

Is the expansion of diverse critters part of the reason I have trouble keeping my phosphates up? I’m having to dose it weekly now. Nitrates are stable around 10-11, but phosphates keep dropping to 0.01 if I don’t dose. I have started adding reef roids one a week to help.

to me they're unrelated.
Does your display have considerable amounts of green hair algae? that alone is likely to cloak your true Po4 values as algae is very effective and absorbing it from the water column.

 

[AKL1950]

Tank is looking okay. I’ve had a few algae blooms, but nothing really bad. Hair algae comes and goes. Tangs and urchins seem t keep it down. I have added a lot of frags over the last few months. Just started having to monitor alkalinity more closely.

The annoying noise in the video I the Apex doser doing the daily water change. I’ve kind gotten used to it.