aptasia?

[gus5783]

i was cleaning my tank yesterday and noticed something new on the glass i have not seen before. i have not added anything to my tank in about 4 months some at a loss. all i have in my tank (when i noticed it) is a tuxedo urchin 3 nassari snails, a bumble bee snail one large turbo snail, 2 blue leg hermits. i noticed a white spot on the glass and didnt think anything of it, just assumed it was some sort of debris. but noticed a few minutes later it moved. i have since noticed many of the little things and started observing them and noticed that they were actually swimming much the way jelly fish swim. however they didnt stay suspended like jellies the would land on the rocks sand and glass. my first thought was aptasia but then i noticed the way it moved. it didnt float around and just land somewhere and stay, it has purposeful movements. my second thought was that my urchin had some how reproduced, maybe it was carrying eggs from when it was in a display tank at the lfs with another tank. through what i have been able to find, urchins do begin to reproduce around the time i bought it. i have not been able to find any other information. i have found a few pictures to somewhat resemble what i have found but nothing exactly. i managed to captured one of them, have to give some credit to my 8 year old daughter for loving science and asking for a microscope for her bday last year so i was able to look at it in the microscope. in the microscopic photo it has features very similar to that of an urchin. i have only been in the hobby for about 2 years so my experience is limited. i could use some opinions. especially if this is aptasia caus ei would like to get rid of it as soon as possible. my system is a 100 gal tank aqeuon model 2 sump refugium aqua one g220 protein skimmer coaral life uv sterilzer.

 

[bang guy]

Looks like a Hydroid Jellyfish.

 

[gus5783]

Lol. Now that would be interesting? Now clue how it would be possible though

 

[bang guy]

They are very common. The Hydroid stage attaches to hard objects like a piece of live rock. They easily survive shipping and curing and a cycle.

 

[gus5783]

thats what confuses me though cause i havent added anything to my system in a long time. since oct at least. i have been working on updating my filtration. new more effecient sump overflow and protein skimmer. and added uv sterilization. been cycling everything for about 2 and a half months now. not sure where they would have come from

 

[pegasus]

thats what confuses me though cause i havent added anything to my system in a long time. since oct at least. i have been working on updating my filtration. new more effecient sump overflow and protein skimmer. and added uv sterilization. been cycling everything for about 2 and a half months now. not sure where they would have come from

The hydroid colony could have been in your tank for months, and is just now releasing the medusas to create new colonies. You'll have to find the mother colony and destroy it to eliminate these pests.

 

[bang guy]

They can limp along for years without being noticed. Then, if suddenly there's a steady food supply, they can seemingly pop up out of nowhere.

 

[honu808]

Do they harm anything? I can see 2 on my bacteria sponge i placed in my qt. Can they be simply plucked off or what?

 

[pegasus]

They posses stinging cells, which can be painful for fish that come in contact with them. Yes, they can be plucked out, or netted if they're swimming. If you mash them, they won't release spores as they reproduce sexually.

 

[honu808]

They posses stinging cells, which can be painful for fish that come in contact with them. Yes, they can be plucked out, or netted if they're swimming. If you mash them, they won't release spores as they reproduce sexually.

Thank you