Uhhh what are these?

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They’re kinda big. At first I thought rotifers but I don’t know if that’s right. They’re attracted to the light.

 
could be Dino's. do you have microscope? What is your Nitrates/Phosphates?
 
Far too large for dinos. Something must have hatched or released larvae or so.

You will need a microscope to properly identify it. Just recently we had a snail releasing parasitic trematodes if I remember correctly. They moved like mosquito larvae in water and looked different but suddenly appearing organisms can be dangerous. I would scoop them up to take a closer look. Maybe a magnifying glass already helps.
 
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Look like maybe seed shrimp (ostracods). They are harmless.
 
Far too large for dinos. Something must have hatched or released larvae or so.

You will need a microscope to properly identify it. Just recently we had a snail releasing parasitic trematodes if I remember correctly. They moved like mosquito larvae in water and looked different but suddenly appearing organisms can be dangerous. I would scoop them up to take a closer look. Maybe a magnifying glass already helps.
Unfortunately I don’t have a microscope. The only thing in the tank is an orange decorator crab and two baby gorilla crabs. Oh and what I think is a asterina starfish if they haven’t eaten it 😬. There aren’t any snails, but then again there is some live rock so I suppose it could be anything.
The decorator crab is new to me but I assume I would have seen eggs.

20260810_134854_E23AACF7-F5FF-4683-9531-736EBFD980E2.png
 
Look like maybe seed shrimp (ostracods). They are harmless.

These are the size of wet chia seeds, do they get that big?

Edit: I googled and they look a lot like the “giant ostracod” although smaller (these get up to like an inch I guess), so maybe you’re right!

20260810_140153_DF184A45-F3A5-41CF-B495-5DBFF41F20AE.png
 
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@christinna77 you had your emerald crab spawning recently. How big were those little buggers? Did they look similar to the ones in the video in this thread?
Caught my emerald crab spawning at around 3am today! Managed to scoop up one of the larvae and get it under the microscope before safely returning it to the tank :)



emerald crab larvae.jpg
 
@christinna77 you had your emerald crab spawning recently. How big were those little buggers? Did they look similar to the ones in the video in this thread?
Did these hatch at night? Mine were definitely smaller than that. The shape also doesn't seem correct.
 
These are the size of wet chia seeds, do they get that big?

Edit: I googled and they look a lot like the “giant ostracod” although smaller (these get up to like an inch I guess), so maybe you’re right!

20260810_140153_DF184A45-F3A5-41CF-B495-5DBFF41F20AE.png
The swimming pattern made me think ostracod. They look very similar to the ones Ive had.
 
@christinna77 you had your emerald crab spawning recently. How big were those little buggers? Did they look similar to the ones in the video in this thread?
Did these hatch at night? Mine were definitely smaller than that. The shape also doesn't seem correct.
Yes, I’m pretty sure they did because they weren’t there one day and then I went down the next afternoon and there they were swarming 😂
 
These are the size of wet chia seeds, do they get that big?

Edit: I googled and they look a lot like the “giant ostracod” although smaller (these get up to like an inch I guess), so maybe you’re right!

20260810_140153_DF184A45-F3A5-41CF-B495-5DBFF41F20AE.png
The swimming pattern made me think ostracod. They look very similar to the ones Ive had.
I’m thinking you’re right. Most of them got caught in the filter last night 🤦🏻‍♀️ so I tried to free as many as I could and moved them to another tank. They’re cool looking whatever they are.
 

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