Help with an ID.....NOW WITH PICS LOL
- Thread starter cdeakle
- Start date
I'm pretty convinced those are hydroids now. They aren't a big problem IME; these types, for whatever reason, seem to like to adhere to glass as opposed to rock and substrate. I also don't think they are very aggressive (although some hydroids like Millepora can be). I have had regular blooms of these things for years with no problem. Mine always go away on its own.
Hm. From your description I'd say it would be those teeny little starfish you get on the glass alot.
do they have sort of a central body, seem to move about on the glass randomly and have alot of arms, right?
I get those on the wall of my nano all the time mixed in with random podage.
do they have sort of a central body, seem to move about on the glass randomly and have alot of arms, right?
I get those on the wall of my nano all the time mixed in with random podage.
Len,
You are right as always sir! I could not get a descent photograph on my own but I found an exact match online as far as a pic and description. Here is what I found:
The animals are between one and two millimeters in diameter. These are organisms which are turning out to be relatively common. They are crawling hydroid jellyfishes, which do not swim, but rather move around the tank sort of like a small, soft, slow spider. They move by fastening on to the substrate with their adhesive patches. The tentacles are tipped with concentrations of nematocysts. There is a red eyespot at the base of each tentacle. These organisms become quite abundant in some reef systems, and then rapidly disappear without a trace.
A Japanese researcher, Dr. Yayoi Hirano, provided the following information:
"They are crawling hydromedusae, in the species Staurocladia oahuensis. There are about 15 species of this genus known in the world. All of them have branched tentacles, and can adhere to substrata, such as algae, by the tentacles, with the surface with eyespots facing upward. The tip of the lower branches are used for adhesion, and the upper branches have a few or more (depending on species) nematocyst clusters. Arrangement of the nematocyst clusters is a key to identify species. They reproduce asexually either by budding or fission, so under favorable conditions they often can become abundant in aquariums. This species has been found in a fish farm and also in a abalone aquaculture center in Japan. It seems the species has a high rate of asexual reproduction under favorable conditions. Even one jellyfish accidentally introduced in an aquarium may increase in a population of hundreds within a few months if the conditions are really good. It is also very possible that the polyp stage of the species lives on corals or rocks which may be brought into the aquaria. The polyps may form a dense colony if it is provided with much food. Within a short time the number of polyps may be very large, and the polyps may produce many jellyfish. The jellyfish and polyps will eat Artemia nauplii and copepods.
You are right as always sir! I could not get a descent photograph on my own but I found an exact match online as far as a pic and description. Here is what I found:
The animals are between one and two millimeters in diameter. These are organisms which are turning out to be relatively common. They are crawling hydroid jellyfishes, which do not swim, but rather move around the tank sort of like a small, soft, slow spider. They move by fastening on to the substrate with their adhesive patches. The tentacles are tipped with concentrations of nematocysts. There is a red eyespot at the base of each tentacle. These organisms become quite abundant in some reef systems, and then rapidly disappear without a trace.
A Japanese researcher, Dr. Yayoi Hirano, provided the following information:
"They are crawling hydromedusae, in the species Staurocladia oahuensis. There are about 15 species of this genus known in the world. All of them have branched tentacles, and can adhere to substrata, such as algae, by the tentacles, with the surface with eyespots facing upward. The tip of the lower branches are used for adhesion, and the upper branches have a few or more (depending on species) nematocyst clusters. Arrangement of the nematocyst clusters is a key to identify species. They reproduce asexually either by budding or fission, so under favorable conditions they often can become abundant in aquariums. This species has been found in a fish farm and also in a abalone aquaculture center in Japan. It seems the species has a high rate of asexual reproduction under favorable conditions. Even one jellyfish accidentally introduced in an aquarium may increase in a population of hundreds within a few months if the conditions are really good. It is also very possible that the polyp stage of the species lives on corals or rocks which may be brought into the aquaria. The polyps may form a dense colony if it is provided with much food. Within a short time the number of polyps may be very large, and the polyps may produce many jellyfish. The jellyfish and polyps will eat Artemia nauplii and copepods.
Attachments
Actually, it is very similar to what I *above to* post a few weeks earlier on RDO.... I don't know if that would have helped you at all, but here is one of the pic I have (without the ignoring copyright thing...). The whitish areas on the bottom and right side are two pieces of tape that I used to keep track of their locations from day to day... they are not relate to the "dime-trick" 
>... Len, You are right as always sir! I could not get a descent photograph on my own but ...
BTW, don't ever let Len put you down in any way! He ain't much of a photographer without his gadgets
>... Len, You are right as always sir! I could not get a descent photograph on my own but ...
BTW, don't ever let Len put you down in any way! He ain't much of a photographer without his gadgets
Attachments
I have no idea. The fact is that I never saw anything coming out of it. The only things that spawned and grew in my tank are: mini-white-brittlestars, nassarius snails, some small round snails, feather dusters, pods, the usual stuff. None seem likely to come from those, but what do I know... that's why I'm asking. I hoped John Brandt
will pitch in with some help: he's the master of the hitchhiker forum.
All the best,
Mihai
will pitch in with some help: he's the master of the hitchhiker forum.
All the best,
Mihai
Maybe we don't think about the same type of hydroids... the ones I meant look like featherdusters. They multiplied for a while then got eaten, while the little stars on the glass (the subject of this thread) keep coming.
Pictures of the deceased hydroids I'm talking about are posted here:
http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t ... highlight=
My tank has some minimal lifeload so it should be easy to spot them. I have soft corals, typical cleanup crew and LR. That's it.
What do you say that those things mature to? Some kind of jellies? Didn't see one ever, and my wife can tell you that I'm watching an "empty" (no fish) tank way too much.
M.
Pictures of the deceased hydroids I'm talking about are posted here:
http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t ... highlight=
My tank has some minimal lifeload so it should be easy to spot them. I have soft corals, typical cleanup crew and LR. That's it.
What do you say that those things mature to? Some kind of jellies? Didn't see one ever, and my wife can tell you that I'm watching an "empty" (no fish) tank way too much
.M.
Sponsor Reefs
We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.
Click here to sponsor $10:
