Help with an ID.....NOW WITH PICS LOL

[cdeakle]

First off let me appologize ahead of time. My digital camera sucks and even if it didn't the speciman in question is way to small to photograph I think.

All I can do is describe. All over my sump walls I have these very very small little creatures of some type. They are white in coloration similar to copepods etc. Most of the mass is circular in shape with what appears to be a bunch of protruding limbs.

I have enclosed a drawing of the shape. I could be off on the number of "limbs" but at least you can get an idea of what I'm trying to convey. I have not seen any of them move, could they be some kind of egg sacks? I have had a big explosion in my pod/critter population in my sump. I also think my micro-stars might be spawning as well.....

 

[tangir1]

The are some type of polyp/Aptasia :? Are they all have 8 tenticles?

 

[cdeakle]

By the way, NO this is not a second grade drawing of the sun :lol:

I don't believe this is anykind of anemone. I would lean more torwards some kind of small critter, star, etc...

I will double check tonight and count the number of limbs or whatever they are. I will also check to see if they all have an equal number of limbs....

 

[ricky1414]

small hydroids?

 

[Len]

I am guessing hydroid as well. I'm fairly confident, even with only that lousy diagram of yours

 

[cdeakle]

even with only that lousy diagram of yours

:lol: I know, thats why I appologized first in my post :wink:

Hydroids might pop up but it's not super common. The biggest concern I would think is hydroids like fire coral (Milleopora) stinging the skin of seahorses that anchor on them. Millepora can be encrusting or branching and are usually brown or tan in color. Upon very close examination, they have short, transparent tentacles that protude 1 or 2 mm out. If you see these, you can kill it by grinding that area of the rock away. There are other methods like using chemicals, but phsyically removing that rock or grinding the area down is the easiest/safest.

I found this response from one of you earlier posts Len. It seems they can be a problem for seahorse tanks. Should this be cause for alarm on my reef tank? Do I need to go to DEFCON1 and prepare to nuke these guys if thats even possible??

 

[Anonymous]

The only way I've heard of to rid yourself of hydroids is to manually rip them off. Fortunately, that's pretty easy (unlike Aiptasia). I suppose some coral eating fish might eat them too, but it would probably eat your corals as well. I've never heard of any readily available biological control for them.

 

[K9coral]

Im not sure but Ive had this same infestation :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

....they don't sting all that bad in any case.

 

[cdeakle]

Best pics I can get, appologies all around.....

There are far more than I originally thought. Appears to be hundreds if not thousands in my sump 8O

Please advise me if you can :?:

 

[cdeakle]

another:

 

[K9coral]

Do they seem to be causing any "ill" affects?

 

[Anonymous]

Those are what we call 'fuzzy white dots'

Try putting a dime or something on the glass, and getting your camera to focus on that rather than the algae.

 

[K9coral]

Good, good, idea.... I thought I was going blind. Looked like barnacles to me!

 

[cdeakle]

I took pictures with a dime as suggested and the pics came out worse :?

I hope these arent evil, they are taking over like an alien invasion :? :?:

 

[cdeakle]

&^%@^&%*$

 

[Arch01]

Are you using macro mode? Do you have a manual focus that you can use?
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[tangir1]

What type of camera is this? Try to use macro mode as suggested. Also, try to focus on the dime, then with the shutter half-pressed (to hold the focus), move the camera aim to the "fuzzy white dots" and move the camera back/fore until a clean image shows up on the LCD, then press the shutter fully to take the shot.... HTH.

 

[cdeakle]

I forget the model number but its a 2 megapixel kodak digicam.

Thanks for the great advice tangir1, I will do as you suggested as soon as I get home. I'm hoping I can get a decent photo. Even with my less than stellar camera do you think I should still be able to get a descent photo on something thats soo small?

 

[tangir1]

It depends on the specs of the camera. If the working distance is too far, there is no way for the optics to be on focus if you place it too close. This is why you want to put it in macro mode, if it is available. Typical working distance for macro mode is shorter than "normal" mode, and the auto-focus algorithm is optimized to find object close to the camera (cf. landscape mode).

The half-press trick is typical way to trick the camera to focus on an object that otherwise it does not. Many digicam and film camera has this function.