Something squirting white stuff in tank  - 05/13/2006   Hello sorry to be a bother but I noticed something weird going on in my tank this morning.  I was on the phone and was looking in my tank when all of the sudden I saw some white stuff come out of the rock (looked like milk).  I tried to see what exactly it came from but I didn't see anything.  A few minutes later I saw it from another spot, a few minutes later it came from another spot, a total of about 6 times.  Anyway what the heck is going on, is this a method of reproduction for Aiptasia or possibly sponges, maybe bristle worms?  I noticed that my torch coral and bubble tip anemone were not happy about white stuff when it hit them they retracted, now half of my torch coral is closed and my anemone is closed up. The torch and anemone could just be a coincidence and maybe I'm worrying for no reason.  I have heard of snails doing this but there were no snails where this "stuff" came from.  Any ideas of what this could be.  Water parameters are Ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 0, phosphate 0.2 calcium 400ppm.  I have in tank Favites brain, Trachy brain, several sponges, green star polyps, torch coral, bubble tip, Kenya tree, cleaner shrimp, serpent star, kole tang, clown fish, and about 10 snails.  Also since I am already being a bother the Favites brain has some recession along the edges, I have been feeding him and he's about 12 inches away from 230 watts of power compact lighting (55 gal tank). Is there anything I can do or just wait and see what happens. Thanks a lot, Ryan Nienhuis. <<Ryan:  There are many reported cases of worms and/or other critters spawning in our tanks (though Aiptasia usually reproduce through fission).  Often, if you frequent other reef forums, you will hear many people making the same comment about the same time of the year.  This lends support to the theories that spawning events are tied to lunar and/or solar cycles.  That said, your other critters are not happy because they have found themselves living in a love fest and they can't excuse themselves to another tank.  When spawning events happen, most people do extra water changes and/or add carbon to help pull some of the extra stuff out of the water.  If you have a protein skimmer, they often will go into overdrive during spawning events.  Usually, the negative impact on the other critters will go away within a few hours.  Congratulations, you are now a proud Papa (you just don't know of what)!  Regarding the Favites, you don't say how long you have had it.  If you have had it for awhile and the recession is new, you have to figure out what changed.  If it is a new addition, it might not like the amount of light it is getting.  You can try to lower it in the tank to see if that helps.  Best of luck,  Roy>>

Re: something squirting white stuff in tank   5/15/06 Thanks for the quick response.  I have had the Favites brain for about 2-3 months but upgraded my lighting from 130 watts to 230 watts so I will try your suggestion of lowering it in the tank.  Thanks, Ryan. <<Quite welcome I'm sure Ryan but, with whom did you correspond?  Do please include ALL of the previous email (don't edit out responses) in the future so we know who to give this/give credit to.  Regards, EricR>>

Squirting live rock  - 5/12/2006 Quarantining live rock lifted a piece out for closer inspection to have a jet of water shoot out and hit the wall, guessing 20-30mls worth. Couldn't spot the culprit,  what do you think? john <What a planet eh? I'm not leaving! There are many groups of organisms that this jet of water might imply... crustaceans, worms, mollusks... Enjoy! Bob Fenner>

Re: reproductive goo? help!    5/4/06 Thank you for your quick response! <Welcome>   I currently have 3 ocellaris clown fish 1 blue damsel 1 yellow tailed blue damsel 1 lawnmower blenny 2 emerald crabs 1 Condy anemone 2 blue legged hermit crabs 1 flame scallop 2 small hitch hiker snails I have a 55 gallon tank, been established for approx 6 months.. I wonder what this thing is? - Taryn <Mmm, from the list above... only the Clowns look to be likely... are two of them hanging about the area? Might be another invertebrate that you don't see/list... didn't buy expressly. Bob Fenner> Re: reproductive goo? help!    5/4/06 I never knew the clowns eggs would look like that, I didn't even take them into consideration! I'm sure there's things in my tank I'm unaware of.. I didn't think there would be anything big enough to leave that many eggs though. I guess I'll find out in a few days if they 'hatch'? <Yes... if they do> How strange.. Thank you again, I feel more comfortable with 'the blob' knowing you're confused too. :)- Taryn <All the time... some intentionally. Bob Fenner> Re: reproductive goo? help!    5/4/06 oh, and no, they generally all swim around differently, I haven't seen any signs of paring. <As stated, could well be "something else"... not purchased, or even an organism "surfacing" on its own... a sponge, tunicate... many other possibilities. Microscopic examination... Bob Fenner>

Re: reproductive goo? help!  - 5/5/2006 something surfacing? That sounds like a big possibility actually. <Is> Do you think I should leave it in there? <If it were me, mine, I would> Sorry to bother you again, I'm just unsure if I should watch it, or remove it.. Or bring it to a fish store? I'm not really sure. thanks, - Taryn <Doubtful the store could be of help... unless they had a dissection microscope. Bob Fenner>

Serpulid Worm Explosion - 04/19/06 Hey Crew, I got a question and my local pet store has no idea what I am talking about. <<Hmm, okay...let's see if I can help>> I have seen "tubes" that are slowing forming on my live rock. <<Very likely these are Serpulid worms>> We have had our tank set up for almost 3 years and have noticed out of  these tubes we are seeing opaque hair like worms. <<Mmm, not the "worm" itself, but rather a sticky filament the worm uses to trap/retrieve detritus for feeding>> Rarely are they ever out of the tubes but there have been a few. Some of the tubes we see nothing in them but when I do my water change, I see "webs" coming from them.  Do you have any idea what they might be and how I can get rid of them? <<?!... Why do you want/think you need to get rid of them?  They are a harmless and beneficial detritivore.  Populations will typically wax and wane based on the amount of available food stuffs...high populations "might" be an indication of overfeeding>> They don't seem to be creating a problem and all my fish are healthy but it just looks bad. <<A matter of perspective I suppose...>> I do have a nice established tank with 2 pajama cardinals, a  tomato clown, a red brittle star, a large green brittle star, hermit crabs (3), 2 turbo snails, and a dragon goby.  I just recently added a banded shrimp hoping  that it will get rid of these "worms".  Any type of help would be welcomed. <<The Coral-Banded shrimp may prey on the worms, as might some of the smaller wrasses...and if the tank is large enough (75+), a Copperband Butterfly will certainly thin their numbers.  But my advice is to leave them alone as they are serving a beneficial function...the population will be self-limiting and will likely reduce on its own>> Dawn from Florida <<Regards, EricR from South Carolina>>