tiny creatures?

Hey everyone!
In preparation for my CUC I have been letting algae grow willy nilly. Over the last couple of days there are tiny grass like growths on my glass. Today it seems that the the tigger pods I put in about a week ago have mated and some baby pods are populating the grassy growths;D (My chromis is loving them!) Whilst checking out the babies I also noticed something else. In high flow area there are these little white/pinkish dots. They have almost invisible little arms... anywhere from 2 to 6 that I can see. I know that is probably pretty vague, but they are too small to focus my camera on. Any idea where to start researching them? I'm stumped. Thanks!

 

Not quite sure what to say about the dots with arms. Developing hydroids, spionid worms, and even feather dusters come to my mind. Perhaps the link below can help more if not already visited.

Live Rock Hitch Hikers

Happy reefing!

 

There are so many different critters that you'll see in your tank. It is impossible to try to get names for all of them. Most of them are not a problem, although some of them may be.

I (and my kids) spent hours staring at the aquarium the first couple of weeks, with the kids running and yelling that they found something new every couple of hours! It is exciting seeing what is in there just from the live rock.

That being said, sounds like some kind of motile hydroid, I had some that looked like tiny jellyfish.

 

+1
Sounds like Hydroids.......
Look like this? Hydroid pic

 

oh man! it does look like that, though its hard to say definitely since it is still so small. What can I do about there guys?

and thanks everyone for the answers

 

i just looked up some articles and from what I saw Im not sure thats what it is for a couple of reasons

1. they are not connected to each other
2. they are on the glass, not the rock

It still might be hydroids... I'm just hoping its not. Any advice or info would be appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

after further reading you guys are right. definitely hydroids. however they are not the fear inspiring type- from what I have read they are not really a problem. It happens in new tanks sometimes and they should clear up on their own. just to be on the safe side I am going to get some limpets. They were part of the CUC I wanted to begin with anyways. Thanks for the help everyone.

 

Glad you were able to ID the critter! If I'm not mistaken hydroids do sting making them irritant if you had corals but since they are on the glass i would think they pose no threat. As you said they'll most likely clear up on their own as the tank continues to mature anyways.

 

Take a deep breath and enjoy them while they are there!! There are thousands of types of hydroids as well as corals. Some are mobile, some not. Mine disappeared after a few months. Unless you are raising baby fish, they don't seem to be a problem.