Creepy Fuzzy Things and other Tiny Critters in my Tank

[AshenEmberose]

Okay so I have this container in my tank that used to have my Chaeto algae ball but thats been gone for a while and nothing new has been added in months and now the cup has these fuzzy white almost squid looking things attaching to the plastic of the cup? You can see the vine-like leg things holding them on and its kinda freaking me out. There's also what i think is some type of bristleworm you can see at the bottom of the cup in one pic and then there are these microscopic critters that have clear thin oval bodies with legs going all the way around them and some have a red line inside their clear bodies. Lots of weird stuff going on. My last hermit crab recently died of old age so I dont have anything on critter clean up, just my snails for algae. What are these things and what should I get or do to get rid of them? I'm afraid to stick my hands in the tank without knowing first since I know some critters will sting you. Nano 10gal tank has been running for 2 years, 2 clownfish, 1 Trochus snail, and tons of breeding stomatella snails.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Hard to tell... Put on a glove or use a pair of tongs and just remove the plastic container.

 

[AshenEmberose]

Hard to tell... Put on a glove or use a pair of tongs and just remove the plastic container.

well theres also one hitchhiking on my snail and a big white fuzzy cluster in my filter, so I'd like a proper elimination method. It's not just in the container and it all formed out of nowhere.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

well theres also one hitchhiking on my snail and a big white fuzzy cluster in my filter, so I'd like a proper elimination method. It's not just in the container and it all formed out of nowhere.

No idea, bud.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Yeah, you’d definitely need some better photos for a definitive ID in these, but - thinking aloud here - maybe a colonial sponge species? Possibly something like Sycon ciliatum?

 

[AshenEmberose]

Yeah, you’d definitely need some better photos for a definitive ID in these, but - thinking aloud here - maybe a colonial sponge species? Possibly something like Sycon ciliatum?

Here's a better photo. You can see a ton of them clustered on the top of the lid. Im worried they are eggs of some sort or something invasive since theres so many accumulating. I havent added anything new to my tank in over 6 months. Im prepping to do a water change.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Yeah, I'm guessing some kind of sponge - probably some kind of colonial sponge (like the colonial species of pineapple sponge I mentioned above). Basically if instead of forming one big sponge, all of those little "legs" turn into their own sponges, it'd be a colonial species.

 

[Double monti 61]

I love to see new life maybe they are invasive maybe not I think that is what makes this hobby so awesome.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Yeah, I'm guessing some kind of sponge - probably some kind of colonial sponge (like the colonial species of pineapple sponge I mentioned above). Basically if instead of forming one big sponge, all of those little "legs" turn into their own sponges, it'd be a colonial species.

The new pics definitely look like pineapple sponges with legs, lol