Does anyone know what this is?

[TommyP]

Hey all, about 3 weeks ago I picked up live Fiji rock from petco. The guy at the store said these are not harmful and some sort of something. I forgot what he said. The girl today said that its pieces of feather duster but I don't believe that. Any ideas? Thanks. I'm referring to the white particles on the rock.

 

[Ella_e]

Hmm looks like some sort of sponge or worm. Most likely harmless. I would say it certainly does not look like a feather duster though.

 

[TommyP]

Thanks for your input. I have 1 clown and a peppermint shrimp. 3 snails. 1 emerald crab. They seem fine an not affected. I had 2 clowns from the start but 1 was unhealthy from when I bought him and he died 2-3 days after. I just wanted some sort of confirmation.

Petco is gettin more live rock in tomorrow I'm gunna check it out. U think I should return it and pick out new rock or would that cause my tank to recycle? I want to make a better aqua scape. This is what It looks like currently.




Let me know what you think! This was taken before the clown & shrimp

 

[Ella_e]

Hmm well I looked it up and other people report that it has no affect on their fish or anything. Some say that their fish actually end up eating it. Hmm I would def. look at the other rocks offered at the store and see if they exhibit what yours does.
One person reported that he believes it to be a sponge and that it ends up dying at some point and then it comes back again. The person reported that no ill effects were seen.

 

[Ella_e]

I just noticed the picture. But it looks good so far! I like the feather duster you have in there. And for aquascaping you will probably put in more rocks and change its layout, so keep us updated! How old is your tank?

 

[TommyP]

The tanks about 2 months old. Here's an updated pic

 

[Ella_e]

Is that a starfish in the corner?? I like it! Though I have read that some starfish are not reef safe (ex like the chocolate chip star) and no more bubble wall? I like your clown too. I have a saddleback and Im completely in love with her.

 

[TommyP]

Yes it's a star fish. its so cool and was 7.99 and he hangs out in the corners and doesnt bother the rock yet, i only got him yesterday. I still have the bubble wand in the sand but I unplugged it because I want the anenome to get settled in and he was resting on it, i didnt know if it would hurt him or not somehow. plus in a 10G, the bubbles were a litte excessive and stirred up the waste on the sand top. I just bought a 55G with the hoods and lights and a stand for 100$. just set it up in my room and I am going to start saving so Ill make a new thread for that build.

 

[obscurereef]

I think the first pic is of feather dusters which are worms. I was going to recommend not switching out the LR, but it seems you've already done so. Your tank is super new so I think your anemone will probably not make it. Have you tested your ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates? I think you're headed for a spiral downwards since your tank is so new and the bacteria is just establishing and prob. cannot withstand the bio load you are putting in it. Plus the anemone and starfish are sensitive to even low levels of nitrate and swings in parameters. Personally, I like it w/out the bubble wall and fake plants, gives it more of a natural look. Powerheads are what are used for aeration and movement.

 

[TommyP]

I understand. I wanted to get an anenome for my clown which was recommended but he hasn't gone anywhere near it yet. My ammonia was off but after I did several pwc its back on track. Have not tested the water after adding the anenome. will do so shortly. and thanks , i like it better without the bubbler and fake plants like you said, more natural

 

[obscurereef]

Clowns don't need anemones, they are perfectly fine without them. There's no guarantee that your clown will ever host your anemone. Clowns can host any coral...some to the point of death. If your clown is tank bred (which many are) then there's even less of a chance that it will host your anemone since they've never encountered one before. Ammonia and nitrite are very toxic to fish and especially corals...those organisms should have been added when there were 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and less than 20 nitrate preferable 0-5. I hope everything pulls through.

 

[Ella_e]

You mentioned that feather dusters start out as white worm-like strands? Hmm never knew and good to know! I personally do like it with no plants and bubbler but I do believe everyone has to go through that phase! (My first saltwater was all silk plants! And even included a spongebob house) so thus you see why I would never say anything negative about it! I certainly hope your anemone and sea star survive! (I was told my anemone might die too-so I feel very broken hearted).
But interesting thing you pointed out was that a clown can host a coral/anemone to death - meaning that its obsessive care can lead to death?

 

[obscurereef]

I didn't say feather dusters start out as white worm-like strands. The ones that TommyP has might be dead just b/c some life on LR doesn't make it, or they were already dead before that. The fan like thing that sticks out of the tube is called a radiole which is pretty much an organ for filter feeding and I've read it can also be it's respiratory organ, so it's like it's gills. Pretty interesting to know that you're looking at a worm's beautiful organs . A clown won't host an anemone to death. A clown and an anemone have a symbiotic relationship, and anemones are actually inverts, not corals. Corals aren't used to having a fish rub up against it constantly so it is bothered and might not open up to receive light therefore dying. I guess I wasn't too clear before so sorry, but now you know!

 

[Ella_e]

I see. Thank you for the clarification. I was getting all sorts of confused. It was also feeding my fears that my clown is bothering my anemone too much and thus could potentially kill it (sent me into a panic) lol. In my head I assume anemones are corals even though I know they are not-sorry and thank you!
So the white strands are most likely dead?

 

[obscurereef]

They could possibly be dead. I mean if the radiole isn't out, then the worm cannot filter feed and get it's food. I can't think of anything else it would be and with LR there is going to be some die-off..that's the point, to start the cycle (although that little bit of decaying matter might not be enough, that's why people recommend adding another source of ammonia). I don't know if it's dead or not b/c I'm not there to observe it. I don't think the tube disappears, but the radiole, it's gills so to speak die.

 

[TommyP]

The radiole is still there on my feather duster. It comes out and twirls and goes back in once in a while. It seems to be doing okay. The tube part seems to be kind of - damaged? I will take a pic tonight and post it up. It seems like it is shedding its tube layer IDK how to explain it. More info to come.

 

[StrawberryBlonde7]

I don't know about the white strand except that at my LFS they are in his main display tank around the corals and on the rocks and don't harm anything. As for the starfish it looks like a sand sifting starfish. I have a 55 gallon with lots of sand I had the starfish for a few months , it didn't make it. They say it is an " easy" invert but actually they need a sand bed that has been around for at least 6 months and really deep. They eat all the organisms in the sand really quickly and then if they dont have have enough to eat they start to decay. That is what happened to mine,I thought it was just sitting on one spot for a few days but when I looked closer it was decaying :-( maybe you could try to target feed it? Not sure if it would work. I would be checking your parameters closely the inverts are really sensitive. Good luck