Another new sump creature

D

Doughball

Member
In the last couple of days I've seen 3 of these things slithering around the glass on my sump. They're about 1/4 inch long, very thin, and almost transparent except for the little yellow center.

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While I'm at it, would you say that the white snail like things that are the stuck to the glass are spirorbid worms? In this picture from the side you can see it has a tube with some kind of feather duster like thing coming out out of it.

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Im jot sure what there r but they r in my fuge dont c any in dt had em for years dont seem to hurt anything some months i c bunch then some months i see none .
 
they actually look like baby stromatellas to me with that dot, the things growin on the glass look more like vermited snails than sipro worms
 
Don't think those are harmful. Would not treat unless you have evidence they are eating your corals.
 
bryman said:
Don't think those are harmful. Would not treat unless you have evidence they are eating your corals.
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+1 like I said ive seen these in my refugium for years now and I have no issues with them if u worried get a wrasse don't treat with chemicals
 
Woo-hoo, new critters! Sorry I wasn't able to get to this until today - yesterday was a crazy day of one thing after another. The translucent critters are a mostly harmless variety of acoel flatworms in the genus Amphiscolops. They pop up now and again in tanks, either as a few here and there, or as a full-on boom to bust cycle. They prey on pods and other tiny creatures. Here's a link with a bit more info: http://www.melevsreef.com/id/clear_flatworm.html . You can also find a lot more about them on the web.

The tiny, flattish, white spiral critters are harmless, filter-feeders known as spirorbids. They typically explode onto the scene in new tanks, then fall off to more normal numbers. You can scrape them off with an old credit card if desired.

The other tube-like spiral critters that have the tip (of the tube) sticking up and out into the water column are (mostly) harmless suspension feeders called vermetid gastropods. They send out a sticky strand or web that collects particles from the water, then reel it back in for consumption. Sometimes these strands can annoy corals, and you need to be careful around them as those tubes are brittle and can be hellishly sharp.

The pod you see on the right side is a harmless herbivore known as a munnid.

Gotta run - I'll be back later on today to fill in some blanks. This should get you started though!
 
Whew...okay, I finally have a moment to breathe! Regarding the munnids - they're a type of isopod, but thankfully the beneficial variety as opposed to the nasty little cirolanids that parasitize fish. Munnids can be found just about everywhere in tanks/refugiums and make good fish food. I've never had, or heard of them ever causing any problems. Here's a close-up photo of one:
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Cirolanid (for comparison): Here's one I caught years ago. It was buzzing around the tank at night after lights-out and was around 1/2" long. These are nocturnal, blood-sucking pests that attack fish via fastening themselves to either the fish's external surface or within the mouth/gills. Of note is that they don't like light, so it's not unusual for them to feed overnight then drop off in the morning, leaving a small wound on the victim. More info/photos here: http://wetwebmediaforum.com/showthr...he-Week-Cirolanid-Isopods&highlight=cirolanid
Great link with info regarding capture, removal here:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/bp/index.php
Note the thick, hook-like appendages and large eyes:
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Spirorbids (family Spirorbidae) are sedentary polychaete worms that live in coiled calcareous tubes and have feathery, tentacular crowns used for respiration and the gathering of food particles from the water column. They reproduce very easily in our systems due to brooding and a very short planktonic larval stage. Coiling is arranged clockwise or counter-clockwise according to species.

Vermetid gastropods: (family Vermetidae) are stationary snails that have tube-like shells and feed by means of extending, then reeling in, either a mucus thread or web that catches particles in the water column. Below is an example of two commonly seen species - one with a thread, one with a web. Again, be careful with these - especially around the smaller, brownish variety. Those tubes are brittle and very sharp. There's a photo on the web somewhere of someone who got a *very* nasty infection from cutting his hand on these. Please don't make me look it up - it's not a pretty sight. :bad:

**Potential correction** The two larger coiled critters in the third photo (the ones I thought were vermetids), may be small feather dusters/serpulids instead. I was in a hurry and mainly just looked at the top one. It appears to have two small tentacles that are typical of vermetids, and the tube is certainly typical, but the other coiled critter to the lower left appears to have a feather duster-type crown. That would rule it out as a vermetid. That is, unless what I'm seeing is a web/feeding strand that's just being blown about a bit in the water. Basically, if you can take a close look and see a feathery crown then it's not a vermetid; if it's a strand or web, bingo.

Vermetids with feeding strand. The brownish ones below are about 3-4mm tall, with a coiled base. On the left side, you can just barely see two tentacles, along with a single feeding strand.
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Vermetid with mucus web. The tube is about 1/2" long on the edge of some encrusting Montipora. The web is only visible due to the particles caught in it and you can just see the snail's two short tentacles. Also, there's a nice little brittle star in the upper left and the algae below it is Halimeda.
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By the way, I've been meaning to say "Great photos!" since my first post but got too carried away with all the critters. Anyway, nice job! :)
 
Wow, thanks for all of the help.

I'm relieved that they're not the nastiest of flatworms. I'd still like to get rid of them or at least try to keep them in check so they don't kill off all of the pods. I don't want to use chemicals and I assume a wrasse would eat the pods along with the flatworm, so for now I guess I'll just suck them out with a turkey baster when I see them. There are 3 down now, but I'm sure there are a lot more where those came from.

I didn't realize the little spiral things were 2 different species. I had thought about scraping them off the wall so thanks for the warning about them being sharp. So far they're just in the sumo, and I'd like to keep it that way.

I also didn't realize how many different kinds of pods there are. I'm going to have to check them out better and see if they're all the harmless type. Maybe the pod eating flatworms aren't a bad thing.
 
Wow, thanks for all of the help.
<You're very welcome!>

I'm relieved that they're not the nastiest of flatworms.
<No kidding. These are nothing compared to some of the other troublemakers.>

I'd still like to get rid of them or at least try to keep them in check so they don't kill off all of the pods.
<I can understand that - especially if your tank is relatively young and you're wanting to establish a good stock of copepods. The good news is that even with a new system, you'd need a virtual plague of these flatworms to threaten the entire stock of pods.>

I don't want to use chemicals and I assume a wrasse would eat the pods along with the flatworm, so for now I guess I'll just suck them out with a turkey baster when I see them.
<Yep, sounds good. These guys will probably just disappear on their own, but in the meantime, you can always remove those that are visible/accessible.>

I didn't realize the little spiral things were 2 different species.
<Oh yeah - there are all sorts of tube-dwelling critters that show up in tanks. Just the spirorbids alone have many genera and species, not all of which are flatly coiled. Some have the opening lifted up and away from the coiled base. Some have longitudinal ridges on the tubes while others are smooth, Some coil to the right and others to the left, but what they have in common is that they're all small, usually less than 7mm (~1/4") and are filter-feeders with a "feather duster" crown. I'd love to be able to tell you what species you have but it would take someone a whole lot better than I am! Apparently, the only way to really know for sure is to remove the animal from its tube and examine it under a compound microscope>

I had thought about scraping them off the wall so thanks for the warning about them being sharp. So far they're just in the sumo, and I'd like to keep it that way.
<Yep, the little flat spirorbids are pretty easy to scrape off. The vermetids can be a bit tougher if they're adhered to rock, but tweezers work pretty well.>

I also didn't realize how many different kinds of pods there are.
<Oh yeah, there are many. The most commonly seen are the munnids (typically < 5mm long; see photo in the previous post), gammaridean amphipods (can get up to ~1/2" but most are a lot smaller):
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and the copepods - these are harpacticoids and they are very tiny. They look like small whitish specks on glass:
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I'm going to have to check them out better and see if they're all the harmless type.
<Thankfully almost all are harmless/beneficial and serve as a good food source for fishes, corals, etc.. Here's a terrific article by Ron Shimek with more info: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-08/rs/>

Maybe the pod eating flatworms aren't a bad thing.
<Heheee! Well, the copepods are almost certainly harmless/beneficial, so no worries there.>
 
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