Something in my tank....

[silly34]

Here lately there has been some type of organism (?) growing in my tank. It is very small, white, and resembles a snail shell. I scraped a few off of the glass and found that they are attached firmly. What might this be?? They are numerous.

B.

 

[brandon4291]

I think you are describing tiny fanworms, sabellids, that leave calcareous spiral specs on the glass and structures. In time, they will also develop on the backs of your live snails and crabs. These organisms are a sign of good balance in the aquarium, as they feed primarily on tiny bits of plankton and other compounds found in an established reef ecosystem. DT's additive has notable impacts on these guys, you can really get them to take off by using DT's, I do.

Welcome to our Forum, thanks for posting. Pics when you can!

Brandon M.

 

[Anonymous]

w0t's DT's, precious?

 

[Juck]

DT's is a brand of liquid live Phyto,,, most LFS' sell it.

I've been using it for a few months on the advice of a friend but to be honest I've not noticed my SPS doing any better for it. Stinks like poop too.

 

[Anonymous]

*checks the bottle of goo in the fridge*

LMAO. that's what i have, i just never paid attention to the sterile packaging on the bottle. it was just phyto to me

i'm unsure about the benefits of this as well.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure whether any "SPS" coral will directly feed on DTs. By SPS I mean Acropora, Montipora, Pocillopora, and others with polyps about this size. They almost certainly won't feed on spray dried phytoplankton, as the particle sizes are too large to capture. The main reason to feed DTs and things like 'Golden Pearls', as far as I understand it, is to feed filter feeding polychaetes, sponges, bivalves, etc. These in turn produce larvae of various sorts and sizes that the corals predate on. *In general*, filter feeding invertebrates have a fairly narrow size range for particles they can capture and ingest, so producing all sorts of different sizes helps ensure everything gets fed. Just me 2 cents....

 

[Anonymous]

wow that's good to know. thx!

 

[Anonymous]

Wow, I've gotten quite a lesson after rereading this:
http://www.reefs.org/library/talklog/r_ ... 02500.html

 

[Anonymous]

*prints*