Anybody got and idea what these things are?

[Anonymous]

My beckett skimmer has gotten clogged a few times over the last couple of weeks, and each time I clean the beckett, I find some of these little devils in the beckett. They are small and hard.

I find it odd that of all the things blowing around in my tank right now, that each time the beckett is clogged it is these little buggers.

Anybody got any idea what they are?

Should I be concered with getting rid of them before I start stocking my tank?

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

Oh, oh. It's a member of Porifera (sponge).
I hope you haven't touch them with your bare hands.








































Just kidding, they're a species of Sycon, a harmless filter feeding sponge.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[Anonymous]

I didn't know sponges had eyes and pinchers.

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

Sponges really?
If you posted as one of your alters I would have disagreed with you, but I won't. They sure look like they have eyes.

 

[Anonymous]

They look like Isopods to me.

 

[Anonymous]

Looks like some kind of pod to me.

 

[Anonymous]

Found them in the beach last weekend. They are a member of crustaceace... probably a pod of some sort.

 

[Anonymous]

If I had to make a specific guess I would think they were in the family of Sphaeromatidae, in which case they should be harmless. But I am not reliable at identifications, so don't rely on anything I say.

 

[Anonymous]

Looks like two Sycon sp. to me. Pods wouldn't clog a skimmer. :wink:
See if you can find some differents ones and take a picture.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[Anonymous]

They clogged the beckett itself. They also have a hard shell.

I got to think if they have clogged my beckett 3 times in a week and a half, there must be tons of them in the tank. I have never seen any in the tank. I do shine a flashlight in it at night. All I ever see is regular amphipods (Gamarus sp?)

When I cleaned out my sponge filters today, it felt like someone poked a couple dozen holes in my hands. Pain is gone now.

I hope these things don't turn out to be something bad, though I fear that they are/will.

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

They clogged the beckett itself. They also have a hard shell.

I got to think if they have clogged my beckett 3 times in a week and a half, there must be tons of them in the tank. I have never seen any in the tank. I do shine a flashlight in it at night. All I ever see is regular amphipods (Gamarus sp?)

When I cleaned out my sponge filters today, it felt like someone poked a couple dozen holes in my hands. Pain is gone now.

I hope these things don't turn out to be something bad, though I fear that they are/will.

Louey

Sycon sp. have spicules of calcium carbonate, you probably also have species of Spirorbidae growing in there which are hard and sharp.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[cjsrch]

there isopods. and look like the evil i attach my self to your fish type

 

[Anonymous]

Those look like some kind of crustacean to me. The symmetrical eyes, hard shell. . .

I know that many sponges have crunchy spicules, but these look glossy out of the water, as if it has a shell.


Louey, I think you should dissect one for us and take some close up shots of the innards !

 

[Anonymous]

LauraD wrote:

Louey, I think you should dissect one for us and take some close up shots of the innards !

Send over the 4000X microscope and appropiate macro lens for my camera. These little buggers are only about the size of 1/2 a black eyed pea.

I don't like the look of the pinchers on the one. I don't like the beady little eyes on the other.

Louey

 

[GSchiemer]

They're definitely some type of isopod and not a "sponge." It's difficult to say whether they present a danger to fish. I've seen these in my aquarium and never on the fish, but as a precaution I'd remove the ones that you can see.

Greg

 

[Anonymous]

Send over the 4000X microscope and appropiate macro lens for my camera. These little buggers are only about the size of 1/2 a black eyed pea.


Louey

LMAO! Yeah I was kidding, you have already provided much better pictures than I could ever hope to get myself.

 

[Anonymous]

Great. Got home to a clogged skimmer again today. I suspected more of these pods have clogged it again and sure enough, they did. I got a live one this time. Got it sitting in a glass of saltwater.

It is so odd that I see amphipods all over the place in the tank, but it is these guys that clog the skimmer.

Pictorial below.

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

Those pictures are better they appear to be Zuzara venosa a harmless scavenger.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks David.

I goggled "Zuzara venosa" and found te following information:

Distinguishing Characters:
All sphaeromatids have a compact body with a tough exoskeleton and can roll themselves up to protect the legs and soft underside. The segments of the abdomen are fused into two sections, the last with the flat uropods on the side. The three species shown here are best distinguished on the shape of the uropods and sculpture of the abdomen.

Habitat and Distribution:
Marine pill bugs live under stones and among algae in intertidal pools and subtidally throughout coastal Australia and the rest of the world. The three species shown are found only in southern Australia.

General Biology:
Marine pill bugs are scavengers and browsers, feeding on living and rotting algae and other debris on the sea floor. Most species are less than 10 mm long but some can be twice this length. They can swim but do so upside-down. They are brooders as are all isopods and females of some species develop deep cavities underneath to house the eggs and young. The family is the most commonly seen and most diverse of all isopods in southern Australia. Some of the many species are highly ornamented. Males are often more elaborately sculptured with knobs and spikes than their mates.

They are typically found under rock ledges which explains why they keep getting in my skimmer. I have been scrubbing my rocks with a brush lately trying to get it real clean before I start stocking. That probably freed the critters and once they are free floating in this tank, they will almost definately get sucked into the overflow. I have 2000 GPH going though my sump and termendous flow in the tank. I suspect that once I stop scubbing the rock, these critters will quit clogging my skimmer. (I'm about done with the rock scrubbing too. They are looking pretty good now).

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

You're welcome Louey.

Regards,
David Mohr