Reefs.org Forums

[Vampireshark70]

Ok, first I would like to say, I cant get a picture, these things are to small. I have set up a 24 gallon jbj nanocube about a month ago. Today, I found these little creatures that look like tiny little octopii or jelly-fish. They are very small and clung to the side. Then I moved the water current and they started "swimming" around. They bounced like jelly-fish style. There are a bunch of them and I have never seen them before. Anybody got any ideas? Thank you from a newbie to the forum.

[Saltlick]

Tough to say, really. Without pictures, you would have to be more descriptive, since most
octopi look different than most jellyfish. All one color, mottled, tentacles, apendages, antennae?
How fast is it?

[Vampireshark70]

Thank you for the reply, I was actually able to google enough to finaly able to find something. Turns out it is just a form of copepod or amphipod. I cant figure out how to attach a picture here to show you, but I did find an answer.

[Saltlick]

If it is large enough to see kind of easily, it is an amphipod or an isopod. Mostly all good unless
you can see a very distinct set of black eyes on top without magnification, it needs to GO. If you
see it mostly on it's side when it "walks" it is good.
If it can only really be seen with magnification, it is a copepod more than likely. They DO dart around
kind of like a tiny jellyfish, I guess. To me they look like the Jetsons riding around, ZOOoom.
All I can say is lucky you. You must not have dipped your live rock. I was so flatowrm and isopod paranoid
this time around, I dipped all my corals in freshwater and my zoanthid rocks in FW for 5 mins each to try to
remove nudibranchs. I have little or no wandering food critters in MY tank. But no flatworms so far either, lol.