Spider Web all over the tank!!!

[jun_celis]

What is it? I woke up this morning to a spider web scattered all over my tank. Checked all parameters and they all checked okay!
Ammonia - 0
Nitrate - 2
Alk - 3.5
PH - 8.1
Calcium - 420

Anyone know what those are? Corals opened up with no signs of stress. Anyone experienced this?

 

[JonK]

I would guess it is coming from vermitid snails. They send out a stringy mucous type substance to trap food in the water column.

They live in tubes attached to your live rock.

Hopefully that helps.

Jon

 

[TekCat]

We DEMAND pictures !

 

[jun_celis]

Okay, here's some pictures. Sorry for the quality of the pix... but you'll see the webs.

 

[jun_celis]

So, how do I get rid of these things? The web and the snail?

 

[gobygoby]

well....there is really no need to get rid of them, since they dont hurt anything.

If you ant to get rid of them, then take something plastic and scrape the little tube the webs are coming from. that will kill them

but like I said...they are harmless.

actaully looking again at your pics...it looks like some of your corals could be shedding its mucas coating for some reason....but its hard to tell, could be either.

.02
Goby

 

[jun_celis]

Most of it is coming from behind the rocks. Do you think it will go away eventually? I need to get rid of it because it's all over my tank. It doesn't look much in the picture.

 

[gobygoby]

Iam sure it will go away in the next few hours. nothing to worry about. If you wanted to "help it along" you could get a turkey baster, and blow it off or just use your hand and wave it off.

 

[Fmellish]

You may want to try installing some lights in your tank.

Josh

 

[gobygoby]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6765339#post6765339 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fmellish
You may want to try installing some lights in your tank.

Josh

huh? whats that got to do with anything.? if you read his sig....he already does.

 

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

yeah, i believe those are nitetime actinic only shots that didn't come out the best

 

[jrw]

Do you by chance have any palythoa (button polyps) I have seen them secrete this nasty stuff when disturbed. And it looks just like underwater spider-webs

 

[jun_celis]

Yes... I have two species of them. A brown and green. It's almost look like hair algae, its just white though. I did some water change and siphon alot of them out and then I started seeing them build up again. I can't really pin point where its comimg from. It might be just some left overs that didn't get siphon. It does looks like some kind of mucus. Here's what I did now, I pointed a powerhead towards the overflow and placed a fishnet in the overflow to catch as much of the mucus. And then disturbed the weblike to go around and across the tank overflow. It looks like its working for now. I hope it won't reproduce again though.

 

[shana]

jun_celis
The spider web stuff is harmless. It is a defense mechanism your corals put off. My experience from my personal tanks is. When some of the corals get stressed they let off a spider web stuff ( I forgot the technical name). Your best bet is to leave it alone, stay out of the tank.

Do not change anything.

They will get comfortable and only when they are comfortable will the stringy stuff stop. It happens to us everytime we do a water change or dump the top off water over a coral in our tank.

Good luck, time will fix the problem,

 

[smcnally]

Do you have a green "slimer" acropora yonggei (I think that's it's name) I have one, and when stresses it will fill my entire 125G with nasty weblike stuff.

 

[jun_celis]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6769342#post6769342 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by smcnally
Do you have a green "slimer" acropora yonggei (I think that's it's name) I have one, and when stresses it will fill my entire 125G with nasty weblike stuff.

No, i don't.

 

[jrw]

jun_cells,
My palythoa due this on occasion when stressed or touched by something, (hermit trys to walk across etc.) I have never interfered with it and it goes away on its own.

Are your palythoa new to the aquarium? If so, I would suspect them as the culprit and I wouldn't worry too much about it right now.

Best of Luck,
J.R.