What in the world is this?

Ok, I found something new in my 20 gallon reef tank. If I can remember how to post a pic here, I'll show it. Looks like a smoked green glass ball... that hard too. It is securely fastened to the rock and and as hard as the rock. Anyone know what it is?
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I don't know how long it has been there... maybe forever! I just noticed it today. It is about 1/8" in diameter and translucent.

more than likely some kind of polyp watch it see if it grows at all

I have some on a polyp frag too. I think it is just macroalage. Got any crabs in your tank?

Here is mine..

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Wow, yours look just like mine. They look kinda cool actually. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't going to be a problem.
I have six hermit crabs... 3 different species. A couple of them I rarely see.
I also haven't seen my Nassarius Snail for several weeks now. Hope he's okay.

Toss an emerald crab or a sally light foot crab (urchin crab) in there, they will take care of it. My emerald crab was munching on it today.

It's bubble algae from the genus valonia according to the GF.

The green algae you have in this picture is call Valonia. It is best known as green bubble algae. It is a nuisance algae. DO NOT POP IT....Take the rock out of your tank and pick it off without breaking it. If it breaks, you will want to rinse the rock real good before putting it back. You will not be albe to get all the spores off the rock. It will come back in the hundreds and be next to impossible to get rid of. Some say emerald crabs will eat it, but I have yet to see mine eat it.

SEAF wrote:Ok, I found something new in my 20 gallon reef tank. If I can remember how to post a pic here, I'll show it. Looks like a smoked green glass ball... that hard too. It is securely fastened to the rock and and as hard as the rock. Anyone know what it is?
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I don't know how long it has been there... maybe forever! I just noticed it today. It is about 1/8" in diameter and translucent.

Thanks, lilfishie. I will eradicate it as you have suggested!

Unfortunately there are quite a few nuisance algae’s and bad hitchhikers. For the most part they can be dealt with or lived with. As your tank matures you will probably have to deal with all of them at one time or another. Keep a close watch on your water parameters. And don’t overfeed!

I removed my polyp frag and removed the bubble algae, I didn't pop it. I also removed the mexican plant thingys and some long green hair algae.

Ok, I DID POP THEM!!!! but in the sink after the frag was back in the tank...lol

Spyral wrote:Ok, I DID POP THEM!!!! but in the sink after the frag was back in the tank...lol

Wouldve asked if there was something wrong with you if ya didnt

Spyral wrote:
Ok, I DID POP THEM!!!! but in the sink after the frag was back in the tank...lol

This from the same person that had to taste IO... lol ... I wouldn't have expected anything different.

They are kinda tough, arent they?

Unfortunatly, I had one growing in a crevas in the rock at the bottom of my tank. Impossible to get it out. Well, it popped and now I am dealing with little ones all over. Slowly pealing them off and getting rid of them, but it seems like a never ending battle. I'm determined though.

It reminded me of a un-ripe pomegranate seed.

i LOVE pomegranates

dude, I do too.

It's cool to see more interest in the SW section!

Spyral wrote:
It's cool to see more interest in the SW section!

Talk all your friends into setting up a saltwater tank and to join us.

SEAF wrote:
I also haven't seen my Nassarius Snail for several weeks now. Hope he's okay.

Put a couple pieces of mysys shrimp on the sand bed. If they fish dont eat it, the nassarius will smell it and surface to eat it. They bury themselves in the sand and stick what seems to be their nose up out of the sand.

o i heard that you can take boilding watter and kill them like that. but i would just take it out of the tank and take the boiling water (use a turky baster) and boil them off what do yo think lilfishie

baglel10 wrote:o i heard that you can take boilding watter and kill them like that. but i would just take it out of the tank and take the boiling water (use a turky baster) and boil them off what do yo think lilfishie

That can work, as long as you dont have coral on the rock. And remember you will also be killing off the bacteria in that area and possibly other critters. It could cause an amonia spike.
Just be careful you dont hit a large area. You can pick up small syringes in the pharmacy area that are used for administering babies medicine. They will work better to target the aiptasia. But yes if you can take the rock out of the water you can do that. You can also scrape them off if you take the rock out. You will have to go deep because they set their foot deep in holes.

Okay, I got rid of the bubble algae the same way Spyral did and I think I have successfully eradicated my Aiptasia (see my post in Diseases and Disasters). I guess time will tell there. Now I have another UAO (unidentified attached object). I sold a piece of live rock, because I had too much in the tank. That's when I noticed this white membrane-looking stuff (black arrows) across some holes in a previously hidden piece of live rock. Please tell me it is not another malicious hitchhiker I have to get rid of! I did finally see my Nassarius Snail again after opening up some tank space in the front and dropping in an African Cichlid sinking pellet. The snail loves those things if he can beat the Hermit Crabs to them.
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Paging lilfishie! lol

No idea bro, but I got an anemone as a hitchhiker yesterday! lol

That is sponge. Good stuff! It also comes in yellow and red and blue. Really good to have. It filters and cleans the water.

Whew, thats a relief. I have all kinds of little rounds sponges in my tank. Didn't know they could look like that white stuff. I guess I have a yellow one like it in another location. I always assumed it was glue left over from the previous owner attaching something to the rock.
What kind of anemone did you get Spyral?... and what is in that picture you use with your handle?
A friend gave me a piece of rock with ten polyps on it about a month ago and I was pleased to find five new ones springing up on the rock where I placed it.

You can only see 8 of them in this pic.
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In this one taken with the flash, The Clown and Damsel decided to get in the pic.
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SEAF, that is a Signal Goby and I would LOVE to find another one to go along with mine. I found him at Sierra in Renton, they didn't even know they had him..lol.

I got a "pest" anemone on a piece of rock I got from APFP. I bought a huge Xenia colony and it was on the rock. It is a Majano Anemone. Got to keep my eye on it since it will split and take over the tank..lol

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Poly's are looking good! I have a few poly's and have had real good growth in a short period of time.

Thanks lilifish, now I know I have sponges too!