Weird spider-web like substance in the tank

PeTong · 12/21/2017, 03:51 AM

We have a salt-water tank with a web-like substance in it, and we're not entirely sure what it is! Here are some images:

We used to have some seahorses but sadly they did not take well to the change of location and passed on. We ran the tank for a week or two with no fish inside, just some hermit crabs and some turbo snails. During the period with no fish, this web-like substance has appeared within the tank.

We were advised by the aquarium people that this is fine and the fish we were adding will probably just nibble away at it (2 clown fish and 3 dither fish, pictures below).

I was just wondering what it actually was so I can be certain there's no problems! We had the water tested and according to the Aquarium owners, the water is fine.

These are our new inhabitants, apologies for the bad quality of the images!

PeTong · 12/21/2017, 03:54 AM

Apologies for the MASSIVE SIZE of the pictures, didn't expect that!

PeTong · 12/21/2017, 03:55 AM

Here's a link to the imgur album: https://imgur.com/a/i8ReW

Rover88 · 12/21/2017, 08:32 AM

Vermetid snails?

https://www.lionfishlair.com/hitchhikers-guide/

Go here, look at the bottom and tell us if it looks like that

And if you see any little snail like things around!

PeTong · 12/21/2017, 09:12 AM

With vermetid snails, they seem to have a central point. I've had a look and can't seem to find any vermetids either, it's focussed more on the only live plant in the tank, rather than the rocks...

I'm thinking (after much googling) that it is more likely to be an algae called "Staghorn" but i'm not sure the colours match for it :/

Staghorn is at the bottom of this page: http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm

Reefpuck · 12/21/2017, 09:55 AM

Do you have any live corals in the tank? I ask cuz those black spots on your clownfish look troubling.

PeTong · 12/21/2017, 10:03 AM

There's no coral in the tank.

According to the supplier, they've come from a tank with coral/anemone's inside and the black spots are from where they were getting stung, they should apparently clear up.

New to this though so they could have said "That's because they like to use facepaint" and I'd have had to believe them.

All the fish have gone in today, the tank was originally setup for Kuda seahorses, but they did not acclimate well and sadly died off, so we decided to try something a bit easier.

jlmawp · 12/22/2017, 03:33 PM

First, you should never buy fish that are in bad health, and if you are buying from an LFS that is trying to sell you less-than-healthy looking fish, they might not be a good source of reliable information. Maybe I'm jumping the gun here, but I wouldn't have bought those fish, I'll tell you that.

Second, since you are pretty new, maybe we should back-track and find out what you have done with your tank so far that might be causing the web stuff.

What are your tank's water parameters?

Did you fully cycle the tank? "We ran the tank for a week or two with no fish inside, just some hermit crabs and some turbo snails" makes me think your tank might not be properly cycled yet. Is your rock actual porous rock or is it plastic?

What source is your water coming from? RO/DI unit, distilled, tap?

Helping us understand more about your tank will help you to get better, more informed answers.

PeTong · 12/22/2017, 05:46 PM

Okay answers incoming:

It's the best rated LFS in the area, we travel a little further to get there because they just seem to care more than the others and tend to know what they're talking about (according to reviews and people we've spoken to)

I have some tests coming for ammonia, nitrates, nitrites and ph etc within the next few days (Will add results when I get them). We did get the LFS to test the water, they just told us "It's fine, it's at the right levels for everything."

All I can tell you at the moment is the specific gravity is about 1.025 and we try to keep it about there. Temperature is set to within 1 degree of 25C. Tank is an AquaOne Minireef 120. Everything in there is plastic apart from a single plant which can be seen in the first picture.

Not sure what a full cycle is so probably not. What happened was we got the tank and had it set up for 2 sunset kuda seahorses along with 5 hermit crabs (they're about 1cm in size). We added some Turbo snails to ensure the glass stayed clean.

Sadly the seahorses didn't survive the acclimitisation to the new tank so we decided to try some cheaper inhabitants. It took a little while for us to be able to get the fish, this is the reason for the week or 2 of having no fish inside.

We get water from a closer LFS (too expensive to go to the one we get fish from), it is distilled I believe with a specific gravity of 1.000, we add the salt to the bottle and ensure it's fully mixed to 1.025 (or lower if we need to drop the salinity in the tank due to evaporation. Once a week we take out about 10% of the water and bin it as advised by the LFS.

In an attempt to keep the crabs from killing the snails, or each other, whilst there was no fish, I believe they may have been overfed which has caused the web-like substance that has appeared. At first I was thinking maybe vermetid snails, but it doesn't fit their general style, given it's focussed more on the live plant than a rock or the sand, plus I can't find any of their homes. My current thought is that it is Staghorn, caused by overfeeding, but I'm not 100% on this.

Any other information I can give to help?

PeTong · 12/22/2017, 05:47 PM

Also, thanks for the reply, I'm hoping it's not a serious thing and fairly easily remedied!

12/21/2017, 03:51 AM	#1
PeTong Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2017 Posts: 15	Weird spider-web like substance in the tank We have a salt-water tank with a web-like substance in it, and we're not entirely sure what it is! Here are some images: We used to have some seahorses but sadly they did not take well to the change of location and passed on. We ran the tank for a week or two with no fish inside, just some hermit crabs and some turbo snails. During the period with no fish, this web-like substance has appeared within the tank. We were advised by the aquarium people that this is fine and the fish we were adding will probably just nibble away at it (2 clown fish and 3 dither fish, pictures below). I was just wondering what it actually was so I can be certain there's no problems! We had the water tested and according to the Aquarium owners, the water is fine. These are our new inhabitants, apologies for the bad quality of the images!

12/21/2017, 09:55 AM	#6
Reefpuck Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Georgetown, TX Posts: 1,122	Do you have any live corals in the tank? I ask cuz those black spots on your clownfish look troubling. __________________ Josh Current Tank Info: 90g mixed reef w/ 55g sump/fuge.

12/21/2017, 03:54 AM	#2
PeTong Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2017 Posts: 15	Apologies for the MASSIVE SIZE of the pictures, didn't expect that!

12/21/2017, 03:55 AM	#3
PeTong Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2017 Posts: 15	Here's a link to the imgur album: https://imgur.com/a/i8ReW

12/21/2017, 08:32 AM	#4
Rover88 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 590	Vermetid snails? https://www.lionfishlair.com/hitchhikers-guide/ Go here, look at the bottom and tell us if it looks like that And if you see any little snail like things around!

12/21/2017, 09:12 AM	#5
PeTong Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2017 Posts: 15	With vermetid snails, they seem to have a central point. I've had a look and can't seem to find any vermetids either, it's focussed more on the only live plant in the tank, rather than the rocks... I'm thinking (after much googling) that it is more likely to be an algae called "Staghorn" but i'm not sure the colours match for it :/ Staghorn is at the bottom of this page: http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm

12/21/2017, 10:03 AM	#7
PeTong Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2017 Posts: 15	There's no coral in the tank. According to the supplier, they've come from a tank with coral/anemone's inside and the black spots are from where they were getting stung, they should apparently clear up. New to this though so they could have said "That's because they like to use facepaint" and I'd have had to believe them. All the fish have gone in today, the tank was originally setup for Kuda seahorses, but they did not acclimate well and sadly died off, so we decided to try something a bit easier.

12/22/2017, 03:33 PM	#8
jlmawp Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Posts: 595	First, you should never buy fish that are in bad health, and if you are buying from an LFS that is trying to sell you less-than-healthy looking fish, they might not be a good source of reliable information. Maybe I'm jumping the gun here, but I wouldn't have bought those fish, I'll tell you that. Second, since you are pretty new, maybe we should back-track and find out what you have done with your tank so far that might be causing the web stuff. What are your tank's water parameters? Did you fully cycle the tank? "We ran the tank for a week or two with no fish inside, just some hermit crabs and some turbo snails" makes me think your tank might not be properly cycled yet. Is your rock actual porous rock or is it plastic? What source is your water coming from? RO/DI unit, distilled, tap? Helping us understand more about your tank will help you to get better, more informed answers.

12/22/2017, 05:46 PM	#9
PeTong Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2017 Posts: 15	Okay answers incoming: It's the best rated LFS in the area, we travel a little further to get there because they just seem to care more than the others and tend to know what they're talking about (according to reviews and people we've spoken to) I have some tests coming for ammonia, nitrates, nitrites and ph etc within the next few days (Will add results when I get them). We did get the LFS to test the water, they just told us "It's fine, it's at the right levels for everything." All I can tell you at the moment is the specific gravity is about 1.025 and we try to keep it about there. Temperature is set to within 1 degree of 25C. Tank is an AquaOne Minireef 120. Everything in there is plastic apart from a single plant which can be seen in the first picture. Not sure what a full cycle is so probably not. What happened was we got the tank and had it set up for 2 sunset kuda seahorses along with 5 hermit crabs (they're about 1cm in size). We added some Turbo snails to ensure the glass stayed clean. Sadly the seahorses didn't survive the acclimitisation to the new tank so we decided to try some cheaper inhabitants. It took a little while for us to be able to get the fish, this is the reason for the week or 2 of having no fish inside. We get water from a closer LFS (too expensive to go to the one we get fish from), it is distilled I believe with a specific gravity of 1.000, we add the salt to the bottle and ensure it's fully mixed to 1.025 (or lower if we need to drop the salinity in the tank due to evaporation. Once a week we take out about 10% of the water and bin it as advised by the LFS. In an attempt to keep the crabs from killing the snails, or each other, whilst there was no fish, I believe they may have been overfed which has caused the web-like substance that has appeared. At first I was thinking maybe vermetid snails, but it doesn't fit their general style, given it's focussed more on the live plant than a rock or the sand, plus I can't find any of their homes. My current thought is that it is Staghorn, caused by overfeeding, but I'm not 100% on this. Any other information I can give to help?

12/22/2017, 05:47 PM	#10
PeTong Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2017 Posts: 15	Also, thanks for the reply, I'm hoping it's not a serious thing and fairly easily remedied!