Small gray slugs all over my sump

[South City]

My tank is about 7 months old now is just starting to feel like it's beginning to mature. I recently noticed quite a few of these gray slugs on the glass in my sump and attached to everything else in there as well. It's a 10 gallon DYI sump and there are more in there than I can count. They don't seem to move around much at all.

I am not sure if they are good or bad. Can anyone help ID these from the picture below? Sorry for the poor contrast. I pulled out an old Chemi pure nylon bag and there were several conveniently arranged for a good photo. They look more yellow in this photo since they had started to dry out. In the sump, they look a flat gray. They are also fairly plump. They came across looking a bit more flat in the photo than when they are in the water.(the one in the top left gives you the best sense of their shape) That's a nickel in the photo to get a sense of their size.

 

[daveM100]

Pineapple sponges, they are fine.

 

[pyithar]

+1. pineapple sponges.

 

[ericarenee]

We should make this a +3 I have them all over inside my external over flow box and anywhere i do not clean reg.

 

[Spar]

+4, but don't get confused, they don't actually taste like pineapples :dance:

 

[Genera]

+5 on Pineapple Sponges, but they can get a bit invasive

 

[chefbill]

nor does Spongebob live there

 

[South City]

Pineapple sponges, they are fine.

+1. pineapple sponges.

We should make this a +3 I have them all over inside my external over flow box and anywhere i do not clean reg.

+4, but don't get confused, they don't actually taste like pineapples :dance:

Thank you all for your assistance. It's good to hear that they are not harmful. Around the same time that I began to see these sponges in my sump, I also had an outbreak of fan worms in the display tank. They are growing everywhere.

Taken together, it appears to be a positive sign that my water chemistry is moving in the right direction.

 

[South City]

nor does Spongebob live there

That was the first thing I thought of when I heard pineapple sponges! :jester:

 

[South City]

+5 on Pineapple Sponges, but they can get a bit invasive

They certainly are so in the sump. They are literally everywhere including inside my protein skimmer and all over both of the pumps. They haven't gotten to the point yet though where they are causing any problems. The way I see it, the more filter feeders in the system, the better.

 

[Mcgeezer]

Pineapple sponges are typically indicative of good tank husbandry, so that means your doing something right.

 

[Genera]

Pineapple sponges are typically indicative of good tank husbandry, so that means your doing something right.

Yup, sometimes a little too good if it gets out of hand, but they usually do no harm to anything (the exception is when they start to grow over corals, but it doesn't usually get that far)

They certainly are so in the sump. They are literally everywhere including inside my protein skimmer and all over both of the pumps. They haven't gotten to the point yet though where they are causing any problems. The way I see it, the more filter feeders in the system, the better.

They shouldn't be a cause of concern, unless they spread to the DT and you don't like the look of lots of little sponges, I like it though. Filter feeders are probably my favorite group of inverts, and shrimp. Sponges, feather worms, tunicates, barnacles, sea squirts, oh my. All the little weird things make me happy. :rollface:

 

[South City]

Pineapple sponges are typically indicative of good tank husbandry, so that means your doing something right.

Thank you very much. This is my first saltwater tank and it's been a learning process since I started it around the holidays. It's a 36 gallon bowfront.

I am completely hooked on the hobby and already have all the equipment in place to start a 180 gallon build! Expect to see my build thread coming up soon.

Here's my 36 gallon. Just some beginning softies, a flower anemone, and a few LPS.(didn't really know what I was doing when I built the aquascape in December and was thinking a lot more about what the fish would like without giving enough thought to how I would place coral)

 

[South City]

Yup, sometimes a little too good if it gets out of hand, but they usually do no harm to anything (the exception is when they start to grow over corals, but it doesn't usually get that far)




They shouldn't be a cause of concern, unless they spread to the DT and you don't like the look of lots of little sponges, I like it though. Filter feeders are probably my favorite group of inverts, and shrimp. Sponges, feather worms, tunicates, barnacles, sea squirts, oh my. All the little weird things make me happy. :rollface:

I couldn't agree more. I love the little things too. It's a wonder to me how some of it even makes it into the tank. Just a few weeks ago, spaghetti worms started to show up in my DT and I have no idea where they came from but they are awesome! The picture that I included above was from about a month ago and doesn't show it, but the DT has all but been taken over by feather worms and I love it.(They also hitchhiked in somewhere along the way as well)