Unidentified objects in filter

[gillianandjoe]

I have a ten gallon tank with a leather coral, some green star polyps, a clown fish and a peppermint shrimp. Everything is doing fine. Good algae growth in tank, corraline and macro. My question is: There are hundreds of little things growing on the sides of the filter. They look like tiny little white pineapples. maybe two mm's long. What is this? should I clean them out? Any direction is appreciated. Thanks, Joe

 

[SeadooGTI]

It's very hard to say without a picture but they could be chitons. As a tank ages, you will get more and more things you didn't know you had appearing all over the place. To me, this is one of exciting things about maintaining a saltwater tank. By all means try to get a picture and ask around, but don't panic and do anything drastic. Most of these occurences are good signs that your tank is maturing and conditions are supportive of growth.

 

[duckdawg299]

if they look like "cotton pineapples" they are probably sponges.

 

[wds21921]

They're sponges G&J. They won't harm anything and are actually pretty good at filtering a little. Leave them go and they will eventually eliminate themselves.