white spots

[acasden]

saw some white spots on the rock, like big pieces of salt. any ideas what this is?

 

[ChrisRD]

Are they moving? Can you give us a little more information?

 

[ricky1414]

could be snail eggs?

 

[tikki50]

Have you added calicium to the tank, is your level too high? If you add too much ca you can get spots on your rocks from an excessive amount of ca. I need a pic to really understand what your saying.

 

[Anonymous]

Without a pic it is hard to tell from your description. I would guess the very beginning of a tube worm or sponge/truncate.

 

[acasden]

thanks, they do not move, i have added calcium more regularly lately and it is only on 1 rock, definatly does not look live an egg or animal, calcium sounds like a good bet, thanks

 

[Simon1]

Should I have started this with a new post, if so my BAD. I've got moving white spots !!!! Sorry I'm more than a little excited because these are the first signs of life I've seen since my tank started 3 weeks ago. These spots are maybe 1/2 the size of a flea. I see them swimming and being blown around in the currents, but I've noticed more of them clingging to the glass. I will be taking some of the little devils to work tomorow for microscopic description so I can give yall more information on appearence.

 

[ricky1414]

most likely they are copepods, and they are very beneficial to have in your reef.

 

[ChrisRD]

Yup, probably copepods...

 

[Simon1]

Ok so I looked at these little guys under a microccope today... I can't find a picture of a copepod in any of my books to compare to. These guys have eight legs, big antena, and a body that reminds me somewhat of a horseshoe crab... looks very armored and prehistoric... I was able to see them very well under 10X on the scope.

 

[ricky1414]

did it look like this?

 

[Revstarky]

Acasden, I believe what you're seeing are the calcerous coiled tubes of a common fanworm. I think its latin name is pileolaria, or something like that. I find these hard little bumps all over the back glass in my tanks.