Vermetid? Spaghetti Worm?

[Reef Recked]

okay so just recently i noticed some of these guys on my frags, ive been trying to get my anemone settled before placing them so havent been giving them as much attention as i should and now am worried about placing them until i figure out what is on them and how to deal with it.

Some look to be pineapple sponges i believe, these other ones are they vermetid snails? spaghetti worm? or something else i have no idea lol help a saltwater noob out please!

Also curious what type of algae this is in the last picture ive been battling GHA now some sort of reddish hair algae and now this popped up :mad:

Thank you guys for your help!

 

[shred5]

Sponge in the first ones.

Last picture looks like dinos.

 

[niQo]

You are right about the pineapple sponge. The other tube looking things are/were vermetid snails as far as I can tell. The good news is that in my experience they look darker when there is actually something in there. Do spiderweb like strings come out of the tubes when you feed?

 

[vetteguy53081]

NOT Vermetid and agree on sponge in pic

 

[shred5]

I do not see anything that looks Vermetid snails they are a type of tubular sponge or spaghetti sponge.

They are similar to the 3 pic on Bobs page:

SpongeIDFAQ4

 

[vetteguy53081]

I do not see anything that looks Vermetid snails they are a type of tubular sponge or spaghetti sponge.

They are similar to the 3 pic on Bobs page:

SpongeIDFAQ4

Fixed. Meant- NOT vermetid

 

[sixty_reefer]

Some of the algae on the frag plug seems to be bryopsis, hydrogen peroxide should resolve the issue. If you post some pics of your display and some parameters maybe we could help you identifying the issue also.

 

[Reef Recked]

Fixed. Meant- NOT vermetid

I do not see anything that looks Vermetid snails they are a type of tubular sponge or spaghetti sponge.

They are similar to the 3 pic on Bobs page:

SpongeIDFAQ4

You guys are awesome! okay so if they are just the sponges and dont appear to be anywhere else in my tank although im sure they probably are, do i need to worry about them much or when im cutting my frag plugs just try to get rid of them before placing the frags?

Some of the algae on the frag plug seems to be bryopsis, hydrogen peroxide should resolve the issue. If you post some pics of your display and some parameters maybe we could help you identifying the issue also.

Ive been trying to get to the bottom of my algae issue so if you guys could help i cant tell you how much i would appreciate it.
that algae on those plugs came from some TSA frags so im really hoping its not bryopsis.

these are my current parameters, im still trying to dial in my kalkwasser for my Alk it was staying around 8.5 but recently dropped to 8.2, im going to setup a doser when i get some time to try and keep it more stable.

ALk = 8.2 dkh
PH = 8.2
Calc = 470
Magnesium = 1370
Nitrate = 0
Phosphate= 0
Salinity = 1.026
Temp = 77.9

Let me know if anymore pictures would be helpful, the day when i get rid of this algae cant come soon enough!

 

[sixty_reefer]

I see it, nitrates and phosphate are at 0 this is a new set up. Let it get a bit dirty, feed a bit more often and try and introduce another fish maybe. You could even dose a bit of phytoplankton if you wich to try and kick in biodiversity in the tank. But mainly try and raise those levels and keep an eye so that they don’t drop again. If you run gfo you could stop that for a bit until po4 near 0.03 or slightly above.

 

[ScottB]

When and how did you start up this system? Live rock/dead? Live sand/dead? Bacteria in a bottle or?

Looks new. If so, you should expect >6 months of different stage uglies, but yes, hitchhikers should be ID'd and removed as necessary. IMO sponges are harmless filter feeders. I hate vermetids.

Aside from non-detectable nutrients, your numbers look good. I can see a little algae in the macro pics, but hard to tell how pronounced the algae growth is. Certainly looks like you have room for an algae blenny (lawnmower) is it growing quickly. The nuisance algae forum could answer on the bryopsis or not.

In the long run -- unless you have an algae farm in there I cannot see -- 0/0 nutrient will not keep corals healthy, and you run the risk of a dinoflagellate bloom. I guess the consensus on nutrient goes something like NO3 at 5-10, and PO4 at .03-.08.

Hanna ULR seems the go-to test for PO4; I use Red Sea for Nitrates.

 

[Reef Recked]

I see it, nitrates and phosphate are at 0 this is a new set up. Let it get a bit dirty, feed a bit more often and try and introduce another fish maybe. You could even dose a bit of phytoplankton if you wich to try and kick in biodiversity in the tank. But mainly try and raise those levels and keep an eye so that they don’t drop again. If you run gfo you could stop that for a bit until po4 near 0.03 or slightly above.

Yes its about 8 months old now, and i actually did dose phytoplankton for a month when i seeded with copepods from algae barn, I had my reactor setup for GFO but because never saw any phosphates i never turned it on. I just added a mandarin and feed pellets once a day and frozen mysis once a day.

When and how did you start up this system? Live rock/dead? Live sand/dead? Bacteria in a bottle or?

Looks new. If so, you should expect >6 months of different stage uglies, but yes, hitchhikers should be ID'd and removed as necessary. IMO sponges are harmless filter feeders. I hate vermetids.

Aside from non-detectable nutrients, your numbers look good. I can see a little algae in the macro pics, but hard to tell how pronounced the algae growth is. Certainly looks like you have room for an algae blenny (lawnmower) is it growing quickly. The nuisance algae forum could answer on the bryopsis or not.

In the long run -- unless you have an algae farm in there I cannot see -- 0/0 nutrient will not keep corals healthy, and you run the risk of a dinoflagellate bloom. I guess the consensus on nutrient goes something like NO3 at 5-10, and PO4 at .03-.08.

Hanna ULR seems the go-to test for PO4; I use Red Sea for Nitrates.

I started the system in december/January with BRS dry rock and caribsea live sand, i cycled with dr tims and ammonium chloride.

I was praying for sponges or almost anything but the vermetid lol! i have heard of some people even adding sponges to their tank for the filtering capabilities but still learning so wanted to make sure.

The algae growth is starting to get more reasonable, but i clean off alot of it once or twice a week to try and keep everything in check. I did have high nitrates originally around 20 or so and had to do alot of water changes to get it down around 5 and then it kept dropping until now its undetectable, but i never had phosphate. Ive had Chaeto this whole time and it wont seem to grow at all even when i had the higher nitrates.

I normally was doing a 20% water change every 1-2 weeks but have held off for over 2 now to try and see if i can raise the nitrates and phosphates some and im also looking at adding 2-3 of the black axil chromis. but would quarantine first so that will be 1-2 months away at best.

ive been using a salifert for P04 and also use red sea for nitrates

 

[ScottB]

Save room for a blenny. You won't have room for tangs (some are excellent herbivores) but my blennies work just as hard.

Your chaeto isn't growing as some nutrient or element is limiting it. How are your corals doing? Ultimately, they will become your best indicator. Algae is a nuisance to be managed. I prefer to have my fish do that work in the long run. Short run you are doing the right thing: harvesting yourself.

I am not an algae pro but there are several in that forum. A good macro picture of suspected bryopsis is worth confirming/disproving with them. Nasty stuff to manage/eradicate.

So that last pic of the long, stringy stuff with a few bubbles in it... is it "snotty" stuff that you can blow off or does it have fiber to it that attaches to the rock? Does it increase decrease with your daily light cycle at all? I'll admit to being paranoid about dinos, but worth ruling them out now.

 

[Reef Recked]

okay ill look into the blenny, i love them just have heard they can pick at sps and i already have a mandarin and firefish that just handout at the bottom of my tank so need some top dwellers ;Shamefullyembarrased .

ya i figured it hasnt been growing because of the lack of nitrate and or just being outcompeted by the hair algae before. it was even growing in the chaeto, honestly im not sure if i should just throw out all the chaeto and order more?

My corals for the most part are doing pretty good, my acans appear to be growing in size, all my zoas and palys are spawning more heads pretty quick, my Duncan is growing like crazy and will probly have spawned 5 more heads within a month. my first acro kept dropping and got picked at by a hermit but is now regaining color and possibly starting to grow some (hard to tell so far). the only thing that isnt doing that great is my mushrooms. one has shrunk about a 1/4 in size.

i did post in the algae forum this morning to get some more opinions so we will see what they say!

it is definitely snotty and can blow off with a turkey baster, its worse in my refugium actually grown up and attached to my chaeto. and i dont think i had it until i replaced carbon in my reactor.

 

[ScottB]

Great to hear corals are doing well. Good sign. Mushrooms... I never had any luck bar one with mushrooms.

Hopefully the algae folks recognize something algae related. If not, they might send you to to the dino thread for diagnosis.

Dinoflagellates – Are You Tired Of Battling Altogether?

I don't know what percentage of folks had luck battling dinos with any of the methods in the old Dino thread but it's obviously a very low percentage, so I'd like refresh folks on the natural alternatives and lay out three areas of info: some of the factors that contribute to a dino outbreak...

www.reef2reef.com

The dino folks will request a microscope image/video of some snot. ($20 microscope on Amazon). Hopefully, it is not dinos. If/when you get to that stage (microscope/video) then tag @taricha for ID. You can tag me too. If it is ostreopsis, I am painfully well versed.

If it is dinos, the good news is they have this figured out. It sucks but there are proven methods for each variety of dino. This thread has 7,735 posts in it, but the first couple pages link you to where you need to be.

Assuming that was carbon only in your reactor (no GFO or ferrous oxide) that was probably coincidental.

 

[Reef Recked]

Great to hear corals are doing well. Good sign. Mushrooms... I never had any luck bar one with mushrooms.

Hopefully the algae folks recognize something algae related. If not, they might send you to to the dino thread for diagnosis.

Dinoflagellates – Are You Tired Of Battling Altogether?

I don't know what percentage of folks had luck battling dinos with any of the methods in the old Dino thread but it's obviously a very low percentage, so I'd like refresh folks on the natural alternatives and lay out three areas of info: some of the factors that contribute to a dino outbreak...

www.reef2reef.com

The dino folks will request a microscope image/video of some snot. ($20 microscope on Amazon). Hopefully, it is not dinos. If/when you get to that stage (microscope/video) then tag @taricha for ID. You can tag me too. If it is ostreopsis, I am painfully well versed.

If it is dinos, the good news is they have this figured out. It sucks but there are proven methods for each variety of dino. This thread has 7,735 posts in it, but the first couple pages link you to where you need to be.

Assuming that was carbon only in your reactor (no GFO or ferrous oxide) that was probably coincidental.

Okay i will start going through it! on my algae post they are thinking its bryopsis and flagellates which is my luckk. they are saying to increase gyre to 50%, and reduce photoperiod from 12 to atleast 8.so i think im going to start with that and maybe some fluconazole if they say it is bryopsis. andstart looking into the microscope and reading through that thread when i get some time lol.

It was just carbon in that reactor i have GFO but never ran it because of the lack of phosphate already.

and ya everything else seems to be okay i have two ricordea, one has just pretty much stayed the same the other has shrunk significantly lately but i also dropped it a few times trying to make place on my frag rack . My one hulkster acro was half dying i think due to low light intensity before i started raising it, and from being knocked off by a mean hermit.and he is now got most of his color back and starting to grow somewhat so thats promising to me.