What in the world is this!!?!

Name That Tuna · 08/28/2016, 08:00 PM

I went out of town this past weekend for less than 48 hours..... I came home to a few surprises:
1. Snail eggs, 1st time ever... Not sure which sort of snail geometrically decorated the tank side of the overflow chamber, making it hard to learn how to feed/ensure success
2. I have 3 different types of mushrooms; all of which have literally doubled in size.
3. *most confusing to me* I found some white cob-web/mold-looking growth near a chalice frag that I've had for over a month...then I noticed it's all over the inside of the overflow chamber. Initially, I thought it was mysis somehow stuck to the glass, but noticed every little bit of it appears to have an antenna/feeler/horn on top, and 2 or 3 more on the bottom... The largest of them are attached to the overflow but seem to look different, with tons of tiny ones on the glass... I don't see a single one in the tank though

I can't imagine what's going on; all parameters are on point, salinity is normal... I have a 90G, VHOs, no changes to lighting or feeding schedules. I added a few frags 2 weeks ago; a palm, "aviators" zoanthids, and a small sun coral, but none of which are anywhere near the overflow... I haven't touched them, wondering if I should turkey baster them out?

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Ican · 08/28/2016, 08:04 PM

looks like a healthy population of amphipods and copepods to me... they probably came up from the sump and decided to stay in the overflow box... Have any more pictures with better detail?

Potatohead · 08/28/2016, 08:07 PM

Pineapple sponges. Completely harmless, as nutrients in the tank decrease they will start to die off. I'm going to guess the tank is about 4-6 months old?

Name That Tuna · 08/28/2016, 08:24 PM

I set it up last October, so almost a year... But I faced terrible complications early on; a friend who has been in the saltwater biz for over a decade set my tank up w tap water, so I battled algae earlier on than expected (apparently due to trace elements and tons of bad advice). Since I've been buying RO, it's cleared up BIG time. Lots of hair algae still, but as I've added varieties of snails, it's thinning out. ...I wish those were Copepods, but they seem way too big. I have a big fat mandarin (biggest I've owned/seen), he's eaten frozen since before I picked him up, but I've been breeding pods and he just depletes them like an appetizer, before eating whatever the others let hit the bottom. I don't have an orange gel filter, so my pix are pretty bad.... Here's a few more detailed ones.

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Name That Tuna · 08/28/2016, 08:27 PM

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Name That Tuna · 08/28/2016, 08:27 PM

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Name That Tuna · 08/28/2016, 08:28 PM

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Name That Tuna · 08/28/2016, 08:29 PM

Tapatalk always seems to put the same pic up repeatedly, despite the thumbnail previews that aren't duplicates... Sorry about that

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BigBlueTang · 08/28/2016, 08:32 PM

Goodness. They are pineapple sponges. I am dealing with them too. I know they are completely harmless but my sump is covered in them, as well as places in my DT that have less flow going to them. Increasing flow toward areas with massive populations of the sponge should help, and manual removal if you really hate them. I gave up long ago, because for the one you see and remove, there are about 10 more hiding

Name That Tuna · 08/28/2016, 08:35 PM

I'm just afraid they could end up clogging the plumbing if they continue to accumulate lol.. As for the snails, should I be dosing with with anything in particular?

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Dkuhlmann · 08/29/2016, 04:28 AM

Just let your tank run it's course of ugglies. Otherwise you'll drive yourself crazy. As your tank matures they will dwindle away and the pods will multiply to many different kinds, your Mandarin will be happy with the snacks

Stevenrickard · 08/29/2016, 11:16 AM

Pineapple sponges. Had them at the 9 month marker of my tank. They'll start to disappear after the tank gets a bit more seasoned. More frequent water changes really helped me as well. Less food in the water column and they shrink away.

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08/28/2016, 08:00 PM	#1
Name That Tuna Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 36	What in the world is this!!?! I went out of town this past weekend for less than 48 hours..... I came home to a few surprises: 1. Snail eggs, 1st time ever... Not sure which sort of snail geometrically decorated the tank side of the overflow chamber, making it hard to learn how to feed/ensure success 2. I have 3 different types of mushrooms; all of which have literally doubled in size. 3. most confusing to me I found some white cob-web/mold-looking growth near a chalice frag that I've had for over a month...then I noticed it's all over the inside of the overflow chamber. Initially, I thought it was mysis somehow stuck to the glass, but noticed every little bit of it appears to have an antenna/feeler/horn on top, and 2 or 3 more on the bottom... The largest of them are attached to the overflow but seem to look different, with tons of tiny ones on the glass... I don't see a single one in the tank though I can't imagine what's going on; all parameters are on point, salinity is normal... I have a 90G, VHOs, no changes to lighting or feeding schedules. I added a few frags 2 weeks ago; a palm, "aviators" zoanthids, and a small sun coral, but none of which are anywhere near the overflow... I haven't touched them, wondering if I should turkey baster them out? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

08/28/2016, 08:32 PM	#9
BigBlueTang Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Boulder, Colorado Posts: 1,430	Goodness. They are pineapple sponges. I am dealing with them too. I know they are completely harmless but my sump is covered in them, as well as places in my DT that have less flow going to them. Increasing flow toward areas with massive populations of the sponge should help, and manual removal if you really hate them. I gave up long ago, because for the one you see and remove, there are about 10 more hiding __________________ 75 gal, 20 L using as sump, MP40Qd , Eheim 1260 Return,Royal Exclusiv Bubble King Mini 160,Kamoer FX-STP Calcium Reactor Setup, ATI Sunpower 6x54W

08/29/2016, 04:28 AM	#11
Dkuhlmann Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: NW Iowa Posts: 8,823	Just let your tank run it's course of ugglies. Otherwise you'll drive yourself crazy. As your tank matures they will dwindle away and the pods will multiply to many different kinds, your Mandarin will be happy with the snacks __________________ Previous tanks: 200 gal fowlr 9" Emperor Angel and many different butterfly fish 4" maroon clown and several other fish, 50 gal sump, 40 gal mixed reef/fish mostly softies and LPS. Current Tank Info: 40b 750 gph 45 lbs lr, 2"-3" sand, 165w full spectrum dimable LED, 20 gal sump/refugium 30 lbs lr, Bak Pak 2 skimmer, 4" sock temp 79-80, sg 1.026, NH3 0, NO2 0, NO3 <10, ph 8.2, calc 400, mag 1300

08/28/2016, 08:04 PM	#2
Ican Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 7	looks like a healthy population of amphipods and copepods to me... they probably came up from the sump and decided to stay in the overflow box... Have any more pictures with better detail?

08/28/2016, 08:07 PM	#3
Potatohead Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Vancouver Posts: 1,596	Pineapple sponges. Completely harmless, as nutrients in the tank decrease they will start to die off. I'm going to guess the tank is about 4-6 months old?

08/28/2016, 08:24 PM	#4
Name That Tuna Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 36	I set it up last October, so almost a year... But I faced terrible complications early on; a friend who has been in the saltwater biz for over a decade set my tank up w tap water, so I battled algae earlier on than expected (apparently due to trace elements and tons of bad advice). Since I've been buying RO, it's cleared up BIG time. Lots of hair algae still, but as I've added varieties of snails, it's thinning out. ...I wish those were Copepods, but they seem way too big. I have a big fat mandarin (biggest I've owned/seen), he's eaten frozen since before I picked him up, but I've been breeding pods and he just depletes them like an appetizer, before eating whatever the others let hit the bottom. I don't have an orange gel filter, so my pix are pretty bad.... Here's a few more detailed ones. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

08/28/2016, 08:27 PM	#5
Name That Tuna Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 36	Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

08/28/2016, 08:28 PM	#7
Name That Tuna Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 36	Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

08/28/2016, 08:29 PM	#8
Name That Tuna Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 36	Tapatalk always seems to put the same pic up repeatedly, despite the thumbnail previews that aren't duplicates... Sorry about that Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

08/28/2016, 08:35 PM	#10
Name That Tuna Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 36	I'm just afraid they could end up clogging the plumbing if they continue to accumulate lol.. As for the snails, should I be dosing with with anything in particular? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

08/29/2016, 11:16 AM	#12
Stevenrickard Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Corona, CA Posts: 40	Pineapple sponges. Had them at the 9 month marker of my tank. They'll start to disappear after the tank gets a bit more seasoned. More frequent water changes really helped me as well. Less food in the water column and they shrink away. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk