possibe ID of a few things?

[jabster]

Since I busted out the cam I took a few shots of a few things that I have wondered what exactly they are. Cam quality stinks, so bear with me. I dont know how to do multiple pics in one post, so I will add them as replys. Fisrt, hard red branching stuff. It could be my imagination, but it seems to snag stuff floating by and eat it. Example, a blood worm was snagged up in one yesterday, a few hours later it looked a little smaller. Today it was gone. Thought it was coraline, but as it has grown there appears to be tiny hair coming out of it? :confused: And it is growing everywhere!

[jabster]

and an attempted close up

[jabster]

Green and purple stuff growing in various locations. Shows up well on these shells. Not really thick like coraline, but does not come off.

[jabster]

tube worm I presume. closes VERY quikly when something gets remotely close. Have several, and notice new ones all the time.

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oops

[Hemmie]

I can't tell much from the pics but the first is probably Spaghetti worms. A good thing.

Second is just algae...

Third is probably a tiny duster.

Nothing to worry about with any of them.

[jabster]

The second one does not come off. Even when the snails pass over everything is removed but that stuff :confused: Also, someone said the red branching things in the first 2 pics may be sea squirts. Is that so?

[Gary Majchrzak]

The red things in the first two pics appear to be Foraminiferins, or Forams. {They are "good".}

[reefy em]

I agree with Gary on the first pictures. My aunt has them all on her live rock, I've got a couple. That green algae in the second picture will have to be bleached off. That's the only way I've found to get rid of it. Make sure the bleach is ALL the way gone when it goes back in the tank. The third one is definately a feather duster, just the hitchiker kind.

This page has been really helpful for me when I find some unknown critter:

http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/pages/main_pages/faq_rock1.htm

[Kara]

I'll second the 'forams' id. I have them all over my tank. They come in lots of shapes and colors.

One word of advice.. that 'hair' that comes out of them is like a sliver of glass.. it can stick in your skin if you touch them. I had this happen a couple of times and couldn't figure out where the darn slivers were coming from until I found a reef guru whom enlightened me. ;)

Here's a good LINK (http://reefs.org/hhfaq/) to help identify those 'mystery' critters and things that mysteriously show up in our tanks. Forams can be found on page 3.

[Kara]

aw reefy.. you beat me to it :D

[reefy em]

Sorry. We are just doubly helping people now :p

[Conky]

I agree totally about the foraminiferans. The green and purple is probably coralline. I'm not sure about the bright green. If your thumbnail doesn't scratch it off the shells, it is probably just coraline. That's good...by the way.

[Bravodelta]

The purple, green, and light green you are seeing is coraline algae. If the tank is relatively new, the light green grows first, followed by the darker green, and lastly the purple takes hold and really takes off. Don't bleach it, it will just turn white, and you will have killed a very desirable algae.In the off chance that it is just green algea, the other hermits in the tank will be all over it and make it go away soon enough.

Bulldog

[Gary Majchrzak]

Originally posted by Bravodelta
The purple, green, and light green you are seeing is coraline algae. If the tank is relatively new, the light green grows first, followed by the darker green, and lastly the purple takes hold and really takes off. Don't bleach it, it will just turn white, and you will have killed a very desirable algae.In the off chance that it is just green algea, the other hermits in the tank will be all over it and make it go away soon enough.

Bulldog
I couldn't have posted it better myself.

[reefy em]

If it is coralline, definately don't bleach it. I had the green, unremovable algae on my empty barnacles and an empty (really pretty) shell in my tank for about 7 months and no other color of coralline grew over it. I got so tired of seeing green and no other color on my pretty stuff that I bleached them.