Cyano eating flat worms??

[chris85]

Ok guys I usually can I.D. my critters, but I need some help with this one!?!?

I have seen these guys around for awhile and I am just curious what they are? I always see these white blobs on the glass by a patch of cyano biggest blob is 1/8in. and they are definitely eating it!! Any thoughts?

@Lionfish Lair @ReefSquad

 

[chris85]

Best pics. I can get I broke my camera on my phone!!

 

[chris85]

 

[chris85]

Anybody?? They will be leaving this spot soon and I will have to wait for picture again!!

@Diesel Do you know anybody that can help?

 

[Maritimer]

#reefsquad . . . does anyone know what these guys are called? I don't, but if they eat cyano, I sure do want to!

~Bruce

 

[dbl]

@KJ, any idea here?

 

[Flippers4pups]

#reefsquad . . . does anyone know what these guys are called? I don't, but if they eat cyano, I sure do want to!

~Bruce

Isopods do eat algae, I'll have to look up which ones they are.

Do they look like this on closer inspection?:

 

[Flippers4pups]

 

[HotRocks]

When I set up my tank originally I had some very similar looking "pods" in my tank and also noticed them eating cyano...

@4FordFamily do you remember me sending you pics of these?

I can tell you they didn't eat much of it as I had a bad outbreak at the time. I have not seen ANY of them now that I have Wrasse in the tank! Back when I saw them originally my tank was "fallow".

 

[chris85]

No I know my bugs!!

Look at post 2 that is with a diy microscope. You can also see them in the third picture of this post in the middle at the bottom. You can see the line they have been munching they clean of the cyano and then the bugs get the rest.(you can see the feeding pattern of both in the last picture of the post. Bugs up topin the picture, white blobs in the bottom.

Let me say my tank is mostly natural so I have to look hard sometimes to i.d. stuff. The white blobs don't move fast enough for me to actually see, but I can tell they moved in the morning when I check on them.I am not sure if it is bacteria, worm what. There is no main shape just random. I need to get a microscope.

I would love to share just need to get some info on them.

 

[chris85]

You can also see the way they change shapes from the 1st post and then the next morning in post 4.

I will try and get another picture in the morning.

 

[4FordFamily]

When I set up my tank originally I had some very similar looking "pods" in my tank and also noticed them eating cyano...

@4FordFamily do you remember me sending you pics of these?

I can tell you they didn't eat much of it as I had a bad outbreak at the time. I have not seen ANY of them now that I have Wrasse in the tank! Back when I saw them originally my tank was "fallow".

It’s very common for pods to “bloom” some time after a new tank is set up. Not sure about eating cyano.

 

[Victoria M]

they do not look like pods to me and by the pictures it sure looks like they are eating the cyano. Very interesting.

 

[taricha]

When I've had rings of clearing biofilm on glass like that, the organisms doing the work under the microscope were found to be ciliates.
Are those pale blobs masses of organisms, or single individuals?

 

[chris85]

Thank you!!! I will look in to them.... never thought to look up ciliates!! It make sense. I would say the blobs are many organisms by the way the blobs split and change shapes. I need to get a microscope the only thing I have right now is a diy microscope made from a bb gun scope. I will work on getting a microscope!!

Do you happen to know what type they were?

 

[chris85]

When I've had rings of clearing biofilm on glass like that, the organisms doing the work under the microscope were found to be ciliates.
Are those pale blobs masses of organisms, or single individuals?

Well looking into it for a few minutes and haven't found anything substantial yet, but now I am kind of leaning towards protist. I will keep you updated with any new facts.

In the meantime my little bug loving microscope reefing friends on here ...anything would help!!

Thanks everybody!!

 

[taricha]

Do you happen to know what type they were?

most common ones I've seen were uronychia, several kinds of euplotes, and some red hypotrich ciliate of some sort.

 

[chris85]

Thank you!!

All done up top.

Time to finish the bottom.

 

[chris85]

@Cruz_Arias
Any articles for me maybe?

 

[chris85]

@Lasse