Pods?

Hi all, had a question regarding these "white spots" on glass....they basically started showing up approx. the same time our first brown algae outbreak started 3 weeks ago. The algae broke down about 1 1/2 weeks ago and now the white specs have really started to multiply. Too small to take a picture with my camera, but they are about 1mm total size, with a hard white sphere at the center and 6-7 thread-like appendages arranged around the center that sway with the current. I wipe them off occassionally but the are back in hours and are starting to effect our view into the tank. They seem to be sessile once attached to the glass. I was wondering what they might be, and if I could get some advise on how to reduce their numbers. I really appreciate any help, and I have tried to research as much as I can on the internet but couldn't find a great match to what these guys might be. Thanks!


50g SW tank with 50lbs LR and 50lbs base rock, 4 T-5 (160 watts total) with 2 actinics and 2 5K. Eheim 2026 canister filter, seaclone 100 skimmer (sorry), no sump/refugium. Tank has been running for 2 months, 14 hermits and 20 snails added during brown algae bloom, and one small Tridacna clam.

 

I have / had what I think your talking about... They are surrounded by cillia.. but you have to get right up on the glass to see it.. and after you wipe them off, they start sticking right back to the glass within minutes!! I think they are featherdusters... I came to this conclusion, because after repeatedly swipping them off my glass, about a week to 2 weeks later I started noticing A LOT of baby feather dusters growing on my live rock.. still very small, but they share a very close resemblance to the white spots on the glass, which in my case have started top dissapear. So maybe that's what you have!

 

Thanks DJ! So of course as soon as I finished the post I take a look around the forums again and, yeah, they basically look exactly like these http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f341/bolster123/droid2.jpg in the "ID this" forum (imagine that). Hoping their numbers dwindle in the next few weeks, anything like to eat em ?

 

That is actually a hydroid.