Black Spots on my Sand

[Purevil21]

So on the top of my sand bed there are very tiny black spots, they look like pellets but I don't feed pellets. Does anyone have any idea what this could be and what causes it? It is all grouped in one corner, and there are a few spots isolated throughout. I will try to post a pic.

 

[Purevil21]

Got a picture!

 

[melosu58]

Could it be fish waste. Does it look alive? Hard to tell from the pics.

 

[Purevil21]

No, it is not living, but it came out of no where and I don't see how two small clowns made that much waste so quickly. Why wouldn't my hermits and snails eat it? I have 13 hermit crabs and 15 snails in the tank.

 

[Purevil21]

I am also not sure why my sand has that brown appearance, it was white sand and I had some diatom problems but they have mostly vanished. Now my sand has a light brown layer on top.

 

[melosu58]

Have you gotten a good CUC. I know you said you have hermits. I would try some nassirus snails. They will travel through the sand.

 

[Purevil21]

Yeah I need to get some snails to go through my sand, the margarita snails don't. I have 15 Margarita Snails, 1 Snail that I have no idea what it is but it is large and digs through the sand, 1 orange knobby starfish, 3 blue leg hermits and 10 red hermits.