Strange lightning organism on glass

I

integra3g

Premium Member
Last night I glanced at my tank and saw what looked like a crack in my glass. ?I had just had a party the night before and was worried. ?I went over to investigate and instead saw a branching, lightning bold looking organism growing down from the top of the glass. ?It took up about the space of a spread out hand. ?I seem to remember seeing something like this before and just left it alone until the next glass cleaning session. ?I noticed this morning that it had MOVED across the glass! ?I was surprised that it hadn't grown much, but had kept the same shape and moved a couple of feet. ?Anyone know what this might be?I will try and get a picture of it tonight.
 
pretty interesting, there are bio luminescent algeas, dinos.. seems like I read someone having something like that over the summer on one of the national forums. Hope you can get a good pic!
 
I don't have any idea what it is but things like this are what got me interested in having a full reef aquarium?in the first place. ? I really like my fish but it's all the little stuff that I find the most interesting. ?I'd guess the same as David: ?some kind of sponge??
 
It moved again over night and in back into the upside down V formation over by the overflow! ?I can see left over parts of it on the glass from where it once was. ?I keep expecting to wake up and see it eating a fish, lol!
 
Is your house built on some sort of ancient burial ground?Joking aside, if it's moving it's likely not a sponge. ?We have seen something similar to this before that actually turned out to be some sort of worm. ?I don't think that we ever fully figured out what type, but it's some sort of filter feeder. ?This one is much larger though than any I've seen.
 
I guess I left that part out! :)I agree, I didn't think it was a sponge either. ?I could see it being a worm. ?I am curious to see where it will be when I get home. ?I got my daughter obsessed with it. ?We were eating dinner and she was staring at it the entire time. ?Finally she goes, "Did it just move! ?I think it just moved!" ?I told her that I think it moves slowly.It actually seems to move (or grow) in one direction while shrinking in the other direction. ?As it shrinks away, it leaves part of itself on the glass so I can see where it was. ?I guess I won't be able to clean that section of glass, because I want to see what happens to it!
 
It was gone last night, but I think it hangs out under the anemone guard I built around my Vortech pump. ?You can see one of the guards in the picture I posted earlier. ?The organism I was looking at last night has arms the raise up into the water column to grab or filter food. ?Hard to say if it is the same one that was on the glass. ?I can try and get a picture of it.
 
Wow that is crazy, looks like some kind of alien algae...lol...I would be afraid it would eat my fish too! I don't think I could stand having that om my glass, I would be cleaning it off :p
 
It doesn't look like a spaghetti worm. ?There isn't a main part and the branches have lots of smaller branches.@jenkinscrew - I know right! ?I enjoyed watching him move around and change shape. ?The family was into it as well. ?I will try and get a picture of the one under my pump cover.
 
?Reminds me of a slime mold. ?I wonder if it is actually something multi-cellular, or a series of individual organisms in a colony. ?Does it actually leave parts of its self behind, or is it just an area of particularly clean glass?You might try one of the big boards like RC for a broader audience, I'm also curious what this is.
 
@jccaclimber - It leaves parts of itself behind. ?You could see where it had been by what looked like remains of itself on the glass and not the glass being clean.
 
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