[naznikki]

Hi everyone,

I was too new to the saltwater fishtank game and recently lost quite a few fish due to a ammonia spike after a water change - also changed out too much of the filter which got rid of too much of the natural bio-filter so there was nothing to combat the ammonia....

Anyhow, I did a lot of researching and figuring things out on how to get everything back in order.

I replaced the water in the tank with some "Catalina water" that my LFS sells out of a giant tank and was treating that with some Nitromax stuff to get the bacteria back up in the tank.

Well, everything evened out after a few weeks, and I've been testing the water every couple of days to make sure it was correct for nitrites, nitrates, PH, etc.

I got rid of the hair algae that was becoming popular in the tank fast, and the water basically got back into shape.

I've noticed now, that on the Live Rock I had (50lbs) that I now have little spores on it? The best I can describe them, they are very tiny...looks like 1 hair stalk that has a little white plume on top...almost resembles a very very tiny feather duster?

Anyhow, I have quite a few of them spread across those rocks, and never had those before.

I also have this wormy tentacle type thing that at first I thought was just a long piece of fecal matter, sort of looked like a few strands of hair that might have been caught on a corner of the rock, and was moving in the current.

Then, I looked closer, and noticed that its moving by itself, and probing the live sand, sometimes picking up pieces of it and moving them closer to it on the rock.

I expected their to be some type of life...but I'm curious as to what it could be?

I also noticed VERY TINY things, actually crawling on the inside of the glass, as if there wasn't water in there. They almost look like a tiny seamonkey or something...and they are pure white in color. They move fast for their size and from what I have seen stay in groups.

Any ideas what these things are?

I'd try to take pictures but I dont think I can focus my camera on something that small.

[CSeaSee]

Welcome to Reefland!
Your tank life sure sounds interesting and yes, pics would certainly help. It doesn't sound like anything bad, from your descriptions. I've either had or have heard about all of your critters, except for the stuuf crawling on the glass in groups. Flatworms, maybe? Anyways, do a search for "tank life" or something like that, and you'll probably find a bunch of old threads. Some of them may have pics that show life that looks life yours.
HTH

[The R/C Man]

Welcome!

As CSeaSee mentioned there is going to be plenty of life emerging from the live rock and populating your tank. I have found things in my tank after two years of runniing that I have never seen before. Unless you notice a detrimental effect taking place as a result of these critters they are probably a good thing..... On that note, there are organisms that reside in the marine aquarium that haven't even been identified scientifically.

[naznikki]

Ok, I went and looked again...

The long brown-ish red tentacle worm thing is either gone or tucked back up into one of the rock crevices.

The white things are still around on the bottom 3+ of the tank glass.

There are some that are like thin and long worms...they move like worms anyways. They're maybe only 3-4mm long, if that.

The other things, I see look kinda like this:

[Poseidon]

Hey NIkki, my guesses are

1) Yes they are feather Dusters
2) Spaghetti Worms
3) Amphipods/Copepods

All are a welcome addition to the tank. You can do a search on each and find TONS of info. If you really want lots of info, try a Google search! I'll bet there is enough to keep you busy for hours just here in Reefland though!