rant and RAVE about this hobby!

[kpiotrowski]

I did freshwater for years and swore I would never do salt because of the cost. Got an insane deal on a 120p with everything you need for a good start in june...and then another several thousand later I am off an running. I know I will spend another several thousand in the next few months....and probaly thousands every year... AND I AM AS HAPPY AS A CLAM ABOUT IT!!! ( most of the time)...(ok, maybee half of the time).....ummmm "no turning back now"?

Off to a real good start too! bought fish from respected local fish store and took the chance and didn't quarantine...monster case of ich, lost most.

now have aiptasia cropping up everywhere.....and am still loving this stuff BECAUSE if it wasn't for the aiptasia I wouldn't have had my flashlight out tonight looking for the berghia I got from RPS (matt)..thats "reef pest solutions"...rofl that there is the chance that I got the aiptasia from him too cus other than fish, and some aquacultered macros I ordered ( which is most likely where they came from)....I got my cheato from him lol. its all good though matt, just ribbing ya...as I was saying, I had my flashlight out and noticed hundreds of tiny little worms with hairlike tentacles about an inch long terminating in fuzzy little sweepers not only in my substrate, but in the occasional crevice on my rock.

also had an outbreak of thousands of hydra. cool little white jellies that actually gave me a bit of a sting. have some sea slugs hitchhiker ( keep in mind I started with all dry rock) and also earlier today notice dozens of creatures in my sump that look like those pods/ eggs from the aliens movies that I have yet to research....how many of you remember what it was like to experince this amazing genesis...all these little creatures...and how its kinda creepy too! sometimes I question myself if I should be putting my hand in there!

Have met some amazing people too. thanks all for the unlimited advice. it has all been very usefull!

off to see if any of the pics I took of those alien pods turned out, then I will rely upon you all some more for your take on them.

 

[Faciosity]

WOW! One hell of a post, I'm glad you are enjoying the hobby! Those "fuzzy little sweepers" are probably legs from mini-brittle stars, and the crazy "alien pods" are probably a form of copepods that resemble underwater bugs. They are very good for your tank, and show that things are rolling in the right direction! You will encounter lots of weird and interesting things in the hobby, but please don't dedicate a bunch of money to it without doing proper research first. Figure out what you want and do it right before your thousands of dollars invested ends up being a big lump of rocks.

 

[kpiotrowski]

the "sweepers" are now extending several inches and retract to nearly nothing very quickly when flashlight hits them....and here is a pic of the "pods" like pods from movie aliens. they are stationary and resemble a slug from the bottom, seem to have a mouth, and possibly projections of some kind.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[jrgilles]

pretty sure that last pic is pinapple sponges

 

[kpiotrowski]

yep, pinapple sponge they are. took one out and looked under magnifying glass. thanks!

 

[Tecnomage]

Thank you so much, I have the same thing in my tank and was a bit worried

 

[IPisces]

Really curious what the "sweepers" are that you are talking about. They retract real fast when you shine the light on them huh! What you might do is shine the flashlight on them, and keeping the light on them, use a pair of long tweezers/tongs/whatever you call them, and offer them some food. See if you can get a picture of them that way.
Could be mini brittle stars, but they dont tend to run from the light. Bristle worms maybe?

Glad your enjoying the hobby.
And...a lot of money does end up in a pile of rock. LOL!

 

[jrgilles]

Some things you could check to see if they match your sweepers:

Spaghetti worms
peanut worms
bristle worms
small brittle starfish

 

[kpiotrowski]

Cant get my camera to focus for a pic. The best I can describe them is they range from 1 to 3 inch fully extended about the size of 3-4 human hairs. The tips are like a half feather. when I shine the light on them they take 3-4 seconds to retract and do so in 3-4 very quick increaments to about 1/4 their full size, but don't go back into the substrate. they are also found througout the live rock in the tiniest crevicies and cracks less of than 0.5mm. also, there is only a single projection per animal.

 

[IPisces]

Can you get a couple out of the substrate and put them in a plastic container with water and get pics maybe? They are in the substrate and a single ?tentacle? so it cant be a brittle star. Too small in diameter for the length to be a bristle worm.

Does it retract into a hard tube by chance? What color are they? They are obviously nocturnal. You dont see them at all during the day, right?

Lets play 50 questions and see who can figure it out.

 

[IPisces]

Check out these two possibilities. I dont think its the 1st one since you say its only one tentacle per critter. But it could be ruled out at least. And to possibly rule out the mini brittle starfish, do they possibly look like a single leg of the 3rd one.

marine worms - Bing Images
Category:Bonellia (Bonelliidae) - Wikimedia Commons
12 Mini Brittle Starfish

 

[kpiotrowski]

have looked at hundreds of pics all over the net. thanks for the links. nothing comes close yet. this is starting to get interesting!

they are opaque white. yes only nocturnal. not going to be able to pull one out till next week on my days off again.sry!

when they retract they seem to be segmented. when extended the stalk is very uniform and smooth. the termination that I have been talking about is feather like with lateral hail-like projection about 1.5 mm wide and 5mm long, and which is about 4-5 times the girth of the actual "worm" (if thats what it is). fully extended they are about 2 inch average and retract to about 3/8 inch.

 

[IPisces]

Oh, man...... we have to wait that long! The suspense it too much! lol
If you cant get a good pic, we will all have to show up for a midnight viewing.

 

[kpiotrowski]

this thread should probably get moved to hitchiker ID, since it has ID'd pinapple sponges and will prob eventualy Id these worms.

 

[IPisces]

we can move it to the Marine Invertebrates Discussion With Leslie Harris forum if you would like.

 

[IPisces]

Have you checked images of marine feather dusters?

 

[kpiotrowski]

Yes, many...hundreds. but can't find anything with just a single....um, arm, tentacle, sweeper, or whatever.

 

[IPisces]

Okay, I think I will move the thread to the Marine Invertebrates Discussion with Leslie Harris. Maybe Leslie will have some ideas.
When you can come up with a picture, it will definately be helpful.
I for one am REALLY curious what they are.

 

[kpiotrowski]

Update is I took a scoop of substrate from where these "worms" are know to be and can't for the life of me see anything at all. There are growing, some are up to 5 inches long when fully extended and many more are appearing all over the live rock. got a shippment of fish comming in tommorw so am kinda focused on that right now

 

[IPisces]

Man, I would really like to see these things.
I just might have to come by! Where is Buckley? haha!