Since I had my big camera out to take pictures of the Zoa bugs (see meeting post), I figure it was a good time to take pictures of a few things in my tank to see if anyone could identify them.

The first kinda looks like a cross between a polyp and a fan. They grow in little clusters around the tank and will retract when I come near them. They're an ugly brown color, and unfortunately it seems like they are spreading:




The second is probably bubble algae, but I've never had that before, so I'm not 100% sure. Emerald crabs will eat bubble algae, right? Maybe I need to get one . . .





The last thing is little white dots. I have a few on my glass and a few on my rocks:







Thanks everyone!
Kimberly

First picture looks like hydroids to me, but Jeff Prince is the expert on those, he may be able to confirm it.

Picture #2 is bubble algae, and some claim that emerald crabs eat it. My theory is that some crabs like it, just like some people like sushi, while others don't. In other words, emerald crabs MAY eat it, no guarantees.

No idea on the third one, the round ones.

The last photo is Nerite eggs.

The first one is tiny colonial tube worms, great filter feeders! The second one is colonial bubble algae. It sucks because there are so many small ones that grow very quickly in the cluster, but it's really easy to remove the big colony's of them, so it should be a big problem. The third are most likely small snail eggs.

You guys are awesome! Thanks! Bought an emerald crab yesterday, and as of today, no more bubble algae. He must have been BUSY last night, because it had really started to multiply in the last week or so.

And as an added bonus, he's just so darn cute :)