What do we have here? ID please.

jailbird371 · 03/30/2011, 10:14 PM

I've had my tank up for about 11 months and all is going pretty well...no thanks to me I might add.

I've seen these a couple times in the past, but they usually disappear. There is usually only 1-3 bubbles together and maybe just a couple groups throughout. Bubble algae?

What exactly are these? I know some type of star, but I must have at least 100 of these. All very tiny. Here's one next to my giant mushroom.

Finally I think this is a sponge but not sure. It is good? Bad?

thegrun · 03/30/2011, 10:50 PM

#1 & 2 Botryocladia pseudodichotoma (bubble algae)
#3 Brittle Star, exact species very difficult to ascertain, good scavenger.
#4 Sponge, harmless filter feeder.

r33fbuilder · 03/31/2011, 12:31 AM

the first one kinda hard to tell... I've never seen bubble algae red before...

but i agree with thegrun on number 3 and 4... Both are normal and perfectly safe. The stars are great to have... you'll see lots of them in the first year or 2 usually... then as the tank becomes more balanced they'll kinda even out with how much food is available (unless you way overfeed, in which case there'll be tons al the time)

for the sponge, its perfectly safe, unless it dies of course. I know they can release some pretty nasty stuff and cause some spikes when they die, but i've never been able to kill one aside from exposing it to the air.

NirvanaFan · 03/31/2011, 05:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thegrun

#1 & 2 Botryocladia pseudodichotoma (bubble algae)
#3 Brittle Star, exact species very difficult to ascertain, good scavenger.
#4 Sponge, harmless filter feeder.

agreed

gweston · 03/31/2011, 10:42 AM

Also in #3, I see a tiny whitish snail thatmay be a mini turbo. Not the turbo we normally think of. I don't know their scientific name.. but they stay extremely tiny and reproduce readily. Great algae scavenger. My tank is loaded with them. The last remaining small hermit that massacred all my other hermits (and a few snails) hunts them down occasionally. Which gets me mad.

jailbird371 · 03/31/2011, 11:20 PM

I must have hundreds if not a thousand of those tiny snails.

HanoverFist · 04/01/2011, 01:13 AM

colonista snails

shifty51008 · 04/01/2011, 09:09 AM

i will agree on all but the 1st. to me the 1st pic. looks more like nitrogen bubbles under canyo.

zigzag1 · 04/01/2011, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thegrun

#1 & 2 Botryocladia pseudodichotoma (bubble algae)
#3 Brittle Star, exact species very difficult to ascertain, good scavenger.
#4 Sponge, harmless filter feeder.

+1 what Grun said.

paraletho · 04/02/2011, 10:15 PM

Small snail looks like a Dibs Turbo.About 15 mm max good breeders and excellant algae eaters. They will get in holes others cant reach.

WhoDey64 · 04/02/2011, 10:38 PM

#2 you won the reef lotto imo if you have a multitude of those guys.

04/01/2011, 09:09 AM	#8
shifty51008 12-5 Chiefs record Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: NW Iowa Posts: 10,134	i will agree on all but the 1st. to me the 1st pic. looks more like nitrogen bubbles under canyo. __________________ 75 gal. mixed DT, 100 gal. sump, 50 gal. fuge, Clownfish breeder

04/02/2011, 10:15 PM	#10
paraletho Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Sabine Pass TX Posts: 433	Small snail looks like a Dibs Turbo.About 15 mm max good breeders and excellant algae eaters. They will get in holes others cant reach. __________________ There is no better feeling in the world than waking up in the morning and knowing you're doing what you were born to do. It's your life just do it Current Tank Info: 32month old 58 gallon (GBTA,Mushrooms,Dendros,Ricordea,Red Planet,Lobo, Open Brain,10" Torch,Hammer/Frogspawn Xbreed, Mated Pair Ocellaris, Powder Blue ,CB shrimp, assorted cleanup crew) mag 9, 6x39 T5 ATI; 21 mth old 125 gal SPS 50 gal sump/refugium

04/02/2011, 10:38 PM	#11
WhoDey64 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Ft Lauderdale Florida Posts: 1,311	#2 you won the reef lotto imo if you have a multitude of those guys. __________________ My name is Robert and I am addicted to Nitrates.

03/30/2011, 10:14 PM	#1
jailbird371 Registered Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Kenosha/Racine, WI Posts: 57	What do we have here? ID please. I've had my tank up for about 11 months and all is going pretty well...no thanks to me I might add. I've seen these a couple times in the past, but they usually disappear. There is usually only 1-3 bubbles together and maybe just a couple groups throughout. Bubble algae? What exactly are these? I know some type of star, but I must have at least 100 of these. All very tiny. Here's one next to my giant mushroom. Finally I think this is a sponge but not sure. It is good? Bad?

03/30/2011, 10:50 PM	#2
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	#1 & 2 Botryocladia pseudodichotoma (bubble algae) #3 Brittle Star, exact species very difficult to ascertain, good scavenger. #4 Sponge, harmless filter feeder.

03/31/2011, 12:31 AM	#3
r33fbuilder Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Avondale Posts: 30	the first one kinda hard to tell... I've never seen bubble algae red before... but i agree with thegrun on number 3 and 4... Both are normal and perfectly safe. The stars are great to have... you'll see lots of them in the first year or 2 usually... then as the tank becomes more balanced they'll kinda even out with how much food is available (unless you way overfeed, in which case there'll be tons al the time) for the sponge, its perfectly safe, unless it dies of course. I know they can release some pretty nasty stuff and cause some spikes when they die, but i've never been able to kill one aside from exposing it to the air.

03/31/2011, 10:42 AM	#5
gweston Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Gardner, MA Posts: 961	Also in #3, I see a tiny whitish snail thatmay be a mini turbo. Not the turbo we normally think of. I don't know their scientific name.. but they stay extremely tiny and reproduce readily. Great algae scavenger. My tank is loaded with them. The last remaining small hermit that massacred all my other hermits (and a few snails) hunts them down occasionally. Which gets me mad.

03/31/2011, 11:20 PM	#6
jailbird371 Registered Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Kenosha/Racine, WI Posts: 57	I must have hundreds if not a thousand of those tiny snails.

04/01/2011, 01:13 AM	#7
HanoverFist Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Phoenix, Az Posts: 626	colonista snails