Help with identifying creatures

[s1ngle]

Hello all fellow passionate brothers!

I am just beginning this new adventure.
I created reef tank around 3 months ago with live rock.
I read bunched of articles and blogs but I am still struggling with identifying some of them.
I'd really appreciate any help with that.

1. The green one is a yellow coral sleeping I guess. I am not sure about the red one below.

2. Kind of bronze hairs, though it doesn't look like algae.

3. One day this empty seashell appeared. Do you know what might have crawled out of it?

4. And now the most important one. I am not sure what is this shroom-like creature but I am actually mostly concerned about those little white cup-like creatures on top of it as it seems they spread themselves throughout my whole tank.

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

Number 4 looks like a toadstool leather coral.

 

[Kmsutows]

If 2 is what i think it is, get it out ASAP! It has taken over my tank and I cant get rid of it. It grows so fast and around other corals until they die and it grows over them. I believe its xenia but others I've had call it brown star polyps

 

[s1ngle]

Thank you very much for your replies.

Also, could you tell me if thats not too much algae in my aquarium? Maybe it's because it's still not stabilised fully I guess...

 

[kirstyflash]

No 2 looks to be some kind of clove polyp, or hydroid.

+1 on No 4 toadstool leather. The white things are it’s polyps.

 

[s1ngle]

But I have those white things all around my reef tank on every rock. I think like a 100+ or so. They are tiny (2mm) but still it's scary.

 

[Daydream Corals]

Has this rock been cured? Has your tank cycled yet?

 

[s1ngle]

Yeah, in theory they went through "isolation ward"

Here are those tiny white things:

 

[Joshua2598]

I honestly cant tell from my phone but those "tiny white things" might be feather dusters?

 

[James M]

Those are feather dusters

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

#2. anthelia coral perhaps.

Thank you very much for your replies.

Also, could you tell me if thats not too much algae in my aquarium? Maybe it's because it's still not stabilised fully I guess...

Yes.
I would scrub the alge , then change the filter sockes and do water changes for the next while.
I would consider adding a bottled bacteria as well. There’s bound to be a bit of die off.

The white things are hard to say. Likely feather dusters. If it’s a Florida rock could be sesile cucumbers.

 

[s1ngle]

Thank you all very much for your replies.

I am pretty sure the rock is of Indo-Pacific origin.

Is then there nothing to be worried about? The water is being circulated and enriched on a continuous basis (or so one would hope).

Sump:

 

[s1ngle]

Hi,

Currently I am struggling with algae.
The tank has been operational for a few months now.
Any suggestions would be really appreciated.

 

[HOOPDEEZ]

I can’t tell what size tank that is, but it seems like a very heavy fish load. Do you have a refigium? I would recommend a fuge or chaeto reactor or algae turf scrubber to help export nutrients. I’m guessing with that fish load you are stuck in a cycle of very high nutrients, you don’t have a lot of coral to use the nutrients either. I would get a larger fuge or if space is tight an ATS. Looks like diatoms on top of hair algae, the diatoms will start to go away as the tank stabilizes but algae will persist out of control without sufficient export mechanisms.

 

[s1ngle]

The tank is 720 L, which is around 190 Gallon.

Size is 200/60/60 in cm which is a bit above 78/23/23 inches.

There are currently:
- 12 'test fish' - those gray kinda freshwater angelfish | 2 inch /5 cm
- 11 Chrysiptera parasema | 1 inch/2.5 cm
- 3 Anemonefishes | 1.5 inch / 3.5cm
- 1 Six-line wrasse | 1.5 inch / 3.5 cm
- 1 Lunar wrasse | 6 inch | 16 cm
- 1 Foxface rabbitfish | 3.5 inch / 9 cm
- 1 Lagoon triggerfish | 3.5 inch / 9 cm
- 1 Zebrasoma flavescens | 3.5 inch / 9 cm
- 1 'brown tang' | 2.5 inch / 6.5 cm

As for the corals, there is 1 huge soft coral 8cm (at night) to 25cm at daytime and about 9 other which are much smaller 2cm-6cm.

I don't think it's too much? Is it? Because I plan to add 3 ribbon eels there. Please advice, I appreciate all comments.

 

[HOOPDEEZ]

Let’s say unbalanced instead instead of too much. I would slow down adding livestock, and get nutrients under control. 3 months is not very long to be stocked that much. Perhaps dosing a bacterial additive like bio spira or microbe lift would help stabilize the tank. You didn’t mention if you have a refugium, but I believe some chaeto would help out tremendously with export and stability. I would not recommend adding any chemicals to eradicate the algae at this point, I believe you could crash your tank doing that, because of the young unstable nature of a new tank. It will take some time to get that algae under control, but it will happen. Definitely do as @saltyfilmfolks mentioned and scrub/blow off as much gunk as you can, catch it with the filter socks and remove it. That will be your nutrient export till you get a better method (fuge, reactor, ATS) in place. Patience and consistent export will get you where you want to be. Take it slow! Good luck and keep us updated!

 

[s1ngle]

Thank you very much for your insight.
It's actually 5 months now.
I am adding "microbe lift special blend" 20 ml daily for about two weeks now.
I do not have either refugium nor a chateo, I would really appreciate if you could recommend one.
I am trying to use my wavemakers to blow off algae as much as I can.

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Is it just me or the pic (full tank pic) where the algae bloom seems worse on the right side versus the left? I agree on slow down on the bio-loading and find something to use or to export nutrients.

 

[s1ngle]

There is no algae where there is no light.

Could you please recommend any: fuge, reactor, ATS I should get?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Thank you very much for your insight.
It's actually 5 months now.
I am adding "microbe lift special blend" 20 ml daily for about two weeks now.
I do not have either refugium nor a chateo, I would really appreciate if you could recommend one.
I am trying to use my wavemakers to blow off algae as much as I can.

Stop the microbe lift. When I used it I always got funky stuff on the sand and rock.