Critter ID
Hello,
I have been enjoying this hobby for about 6 months now and with all of the information I have gathered from here I have had very good success at starting and maintaining my marine aquarium.
<Ah, good>
I started with some live rock that didn't appear to have much of anything other than coralline on it and now have a thriving tank growing so much life that I find something new about once a week. Thanks for all of the great advice!
<Welcome>
I saw this critter yesterday and haven't seen it since or I would have taken a picture. At first glance it looked like some sort of snail but upon further investigation and not looking like it has a shell, I'm not sure. I have searched and browsed but haven't read anything that resembles it. It resembles the aft section of the common house wasp with the stripes being orange and white and is about the size of a grain of rice. It appears to have an antenna (only one) about 2/3 the length of its body that seems to sample it's intended path. Any ideas?
Thanks
William
<Good description, but "doesn't ring a bell"... any chance of a pic? Bob Fenner>

"Thing" on Firefish
I just purchased a firefish on Sunday, and yesterday, Monday, I noticed that he has something coming out of a hole behind his pectoral fin. The hole is in his "armpit" and there is not one on the other side. This thing is a yellow-white curlicue that comes out, and looks like it goes back into the hole it came out of. It is maybe 1/2 cm long. By curlicue I mean kinda like wood shaving, or piece of sawdust. He is having no problems swimming or eating. This thing doesn't seem to be bothering him at all, but I would like to know what it is and if I can do anything to make it go away. (The way it is shaped, I think it may be a piece of intestine, maybe?)
Thank you!
<Mmm, my guess is that this is an external parasite... a copepod likely (do put the terms "copepod fish parasite" in Google and look at the "images"... Can be excised with forceps likely... and careful holding while in a net... Bob Fenner>

- 'Pod or Sponge? -
I have found some information on your web site that states these are probably Syconoid Sponges. One good picture is shown as "Non-Vert IDs7". I have numerous of these growing on various rock and they do grow larger (size of a pencil eraser). A couple of days ago the opening seemed to be getting larger. Then last night the pod was gone and a small white/brownish snail was in its place and seemed to be attached to the rock where the pod was located. The snail continued to move until it seemed to pull loose of the rock and is now moving everywhere.  So... could this pod actually be an egg that has hatched? 
<Think you were right the first time... a sponge that was likely dislodged by the snail.>
Thanks for any information you can give.
Beverly L.
<Cheers, J -- > 

- Odd Critter ID -
Hi Guys,
First time on your Forum. I have a well established (3years) 150 gal. reef tank. 250lbs of live rock, 4 soft corals, 5 fish and a sea urchin. Also have lettuce, lots of polyps and a clam. Coral line algae was doing nicely. Everything was great until about 5 months ago when I supposedly had a nutrition explosion which caused the tank to be overrun by hair algae. It was a hard fight with the introduction of more snails, 3 different types of crabs and a lawnmower.  Tank is finally l turned around, but now the soft corals are dying. (probably from the constant water changes). 
<Huh... unless you're not matching the new water parameters to the old, this should have no affect... reef animals get an influx of millions of gallons of new water each day in the wild.> 
We introduce Photoflex to the tank for the first time. Within 1 week, the corals are happy but we now have what appears to be small white parasites. They remind me of maggots with tiny antenna. 
<Do they move around like maggots?> 
They are all over the glass. and we siphoned quite a few out.
What are these critters and are they dangerous for the tank? 
<Very hard to say with any precision based on your description - they could be amphipods if they move around, they could be sponges if they don't. A photo would help.> 
How do we control them or get rid of them all together? 
<If they are amphipods, they don't really need control... they're beneficial [eat detritus, etc.] and tend to multiply to numbers only as large as their food sources will allow. If these are sponges, you can continue to siphon them out, but they are likely the result of overfeeding.> 
The only new addition to the tank was a soft coral about two months ago.
<Cheers, J -- > 
 

Sponge? Greetings: Have searched your archives and forum, but haven't seen these, and I'd like to know if they're "bad" or "good". They resemble small (.5 to 1 cm) pineapples, but appear to be sponges. They prefer lower light in my 125 reef tank and my 44 FOWLR, judging by placement. I've attached a small photo. One or two reside on live rock, but most are on "reef bones" or other dead / ornamental rock. Bob's book discusses sponges that can harm other invertebrates, and I have various corals / anemones. Any worries?  <Don't think so... do they move about? Looks like a small sea cucumber to me... oriented as it is on its apparent side... with processes/tentacles grouped on one end> Also, I have very small (1mm) hard, white objects on plumbing and glass. They're semi-circular, looking like miniscule gnocchi (sans alfredo or marinara sauce). Any concerns there? <Nope... these are very likely tubiculous tubeworms... large ones are often called featherdusters...> Indispensable web site and archives! Have found answers to every question (few hundred or so!) since starting a year ago. Someone needs to collate your archives into a curriculum. <Yikes... you're frightening me...> My fish and invertebrates most sincerely THANK YOU for putting in all the hours answering these questions. Jon in da Nort'woods <Bob Fenner in strangely rainy Southern Cal.>

Can you identify this Coral? I was wondering if you can tell me what kind of coral this is? The store I bought it from said they couldn't find any information on it. If you can let me know where I can get more info on it , I would really appreciate it. <Mmm, not a coral. Please see here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/sponges.htm  Bob Fenner>

Re: can you identify this coral  YOU'RE RUDE!!!!! What kind of answer is that?  The site didn't tell me what kind of sponge it was!  If you don't know what it is, that's all you had to say was "I'm not sure" not "Mmm not a coral" <Ummm, was a sponge... IS pictured where you were referred> Why is it that when a question is asked of you, you people are so rude! Like we hobbyists are so freakin' stupid.  I tried to do research, but came up empty.  I thought I would ask your crew.  This has happened more than once. It's one thing to be confident on what you know, it's another being an arrogant idiot.   We come to you for help, not smart ass comments.  If you know so much, tell me exactly what kind of sponge it is, (name)!  From now on, I will find someone else who isn't rude help me! <Good luck to you. Bob Fenner>

Re: Can you identify this coral.. err sponge.
Bob and crew,
Please don't allow this type of lowbrow behavior to influence you in helping the rest of us that come here for questions/knowledge.
<Will, would not>
Even if you did spoon feed the answer (re page 2, 3 photos down the page) to them I still don't think they would have
liked the 'tone' you wrote in.. Some people... Craig
<Agreed... some days think I'm missing a grand opportunity to try a go as "Dr. Phil" of petfish... or bartending... BobF>

Squid like animals
Fri, 4 Feb 2005
I have only had my tank for about 4 months. For the first two months, I had  
live rocks and live sand in, and no livestock. I kept the filter running and  
always tested the water. It was fine. I have recently added 2 clownfish which  
are doing fine, and two different kinds of anemone. The most recent  addition
is a Bubbletip anemone. Well, this morning I looked in the tank as I  fed the
fish and I noticed several extremely tiny animals swimming around.  Maybe you
can tell me what they are. They swim by expelling water  similar to a squid
or jellyfish, but I am guessing they might be baby  anemones? They definitely
have tiny tentacles.<Well they aren't anemones for sure.  I'm guessing a type of hydra, not sure, but they won't last long.  The food supply they require won't be there.  Should be nothing to worry about.  James (Salty Dog)> They are not attached so I'm a  little confused. Please
help me if you can.
Danielle

Small white sponges (?) in skimmer - Tube worms, Maybe
Dear All, 
Hope you are well.<We are and hope you are well to.>
I know you hate trying to ID stuff without a picture... <It is not the easiest in the world to do.> 
... and I do have a new digital camera as a Xmas gift, but these little fellows are tucked well away so here goes.  Inside my skimmer are a collection of small shapes, white, conical around 5 mm in size, with possibly a tiny filament/pair of filaments on the top end (as always, hard to see).
<From the description it sounds like you have something called tube worms.>
Should I leave them, or will they impair, (could they even improve?) the skimmer's functioning.
<Well that is not an easy question to answer. Your skimmer won't run more efficiently but you water quality will improve. The tube worms feed off of tiny particulate mater such as zooplankton and phytoplankton. So you water will be cleaner. Your protein skimmer pulls out dissolved organic matter which prevents the "Yellowing" of your fish tank.> 
I like all these weird things inside the system, so I will keep them, unless you say otherwise.  Many thanks. Peter
<I would keep them. They are a benefit to the tank. Good Luck. MikeB> 

What's That Popping Noise?
Hi Bob,
<Simon>
With regards to the popping noise coming from my tank - I have done some snooping around at night with a torch and it appears to be a crab?! Do you think its the crab or a hidden shrimp making the noise?
<Could be either, neither>
I have looked around your site to try and identify the crab and from what I gather it appears to be an emerald crab - however the colour is more like an orange brown.  I found a picture on another site - which is the closest I could find to what I have. I actually have never seen the whole thing - mainly just its feet. Do you think this is the cause of the clicking/popping noise?
<Maybe>
There are a bunch of dead snails lying around. Would my Harlequin tusks have eaten the snails or the crab ? 
<Possibly>
I have never had any green algae on any of my live rock. So maybe he is doing a good job.  Is this guy okay in my tank? My Harlequin Tusk sleeps wedged between some rocks so I wouldn't want him to be attacked - albeit he is relatively quite big.
Thanks for your help once again.  Regards,  Simon
<Keep reading on WetWebMedia.com re marine crustaceans my friend... Bob Fenner> 

Identification - White Squigglies on the Glass: Snail Eggs 1/25/05
I seem to find these weird patterns on my glass from time to time. Do you have any idea what this might be? 
<clearly gastropod (snail) eggs of some kind>
The only things that I see roam the glass are snails and slugs.
<BINGO... you win the hairy kewpie doll <G>>
For reference, that line is about 4 inches long.  Thanks!
<best regards, Anthony>

- Something Sprouting -
Hi Crew,
Had a good search round but can't find a similar picture! Any idea what these are? About 5mm in size, stationary (or not visibly moving anyway!). There are quite a lot growing in the "non-functional" parts of my sump, i.e.. where the overflows run in, skimmer return, not where the plenum etc is. Got a couple in the display too. Good, bad or indifferent? <They are sponges... usually show up in systems that are overfed. Not harmful.>
Marine critter ID link http://www.tcnj.edu/~maughme2/faq.htm is no longer there unfortunately.
<Yes, unfortunate.>
Thanks
Peter
<Cheers, J -- >