Small balls of ... What?

[albert]

While looking at my tank aragonite sand bed thru big magnifying lens found lot of interesting small spheres like golf balls of different color. Their size is about 1 mm. Has anybody an idea what their could be?

http://charon.assert.ee/aquarium/pics/1010-0200-1.jpg http://charon.assert.ee/aquarium/pics/1020-0202-1.jpg

[clownman_1988]

i have no idea unless it was in your substrate but if its not from that somebody will proble give you info by the end of the night well im just trying to help but im probly wrong

[albert]

Yes, it is in substrate, but I wonder about their origin. All the balls are of same size and texture.

[clownman_1988]

dang i was right thats amazing :eek2:

[paulsreef]

At first glace I have no clue, those are very interesting. A couple questions to start with:

- Who bagged the substrate (what brand)?
- Were these spheres present when you added the substrate to your tank or have they formed over time?
- Have you taken one out and broken it open to see what's inside?

Paul

[jman785]

Have you taken one out and broken it open to see what's inside?

That's my interest...I'm thinking some type of egg...its likely an egg, in my opinion...although we'll see.

[clownman_1988]

yeah it could be an egg i didnt thing about that that would be cool

[paulsreef]

Well, that depends on what hatches from the egg. :-)

[clownman_1988]

yeah i guess your right :razz:

[Condiman]

I hear the Aliens theme in the backround :badgrin:

[paulsreef]

LOL... after seeing some of the stuff I've found growing in my sump and under my rocks over the years, the Aliens don't seem so strange!

[albert]

Well, guys!

I don't know what brand the substrate is, got it from my LFS unlabeled. I broke couple of "eggs" to see what's inside :roll:
They were really very hard-boiled, stony, as expected. Nevertheless, the internal structure is quite interesting. I took some photos, but unfortunately can't post them now, left camera cable in office. Tomorrow you'll see! It's 9.30 PM here in Estonia now.

[paulsreef]

Can you describe the internal structure a bit more. I'm really intrigued now! Was the sphere hollow like a geode or solid? Was it hard to break or really thin skinned?


They could be a number of things... eggs, small geologic formations that came with the substrate or even something less appetizing like the feces of some critter (either in your tank now or out in the wild).

[clownman_1988]

yeah i cant what to find out what it is

[Condiman]

me either

[clownman_1988]

im betting its eggs

[Telco Guy]

Very nice macro shots. :wink: As for the round pellets, they appear to be oolitic sand particles. You may want to read this >>article (http://www.ugs.state.ut.us/utahgeo/rockmineral/collecting/oolitic.htm)<< which states:
An oolite has a shell of concentric layers of calcium carbonate that precipitated around a nucleus or central core. The nucleus is usually a tiny brine shrimp fecal pellet or a mineral fragment. Oolites form in shallow, wave-agitated water, rolling along the lake bottom and gradually accumulating more and more layers.
I do find it interesting that your pellets seem to have a spotted appearance though. :?

[albert]

Hi, more pictures here I promised yesterday.

http://charon.assert.ee/aquarium/pics/102-0218-1.jpg http://charon.assert.ee/aquarium/pics/102-0224-1.jpg

Broken "eggs", it was quite easy to slice them with a knife. Material looks like solid soft stone, like aragonite. The internal structure is different however, the bigger one is almost homogeneous while smaller one looks like a lemon and is unevenly colored.


http://charon.assert.ee/aquarium/pics/102-0234-1.jpg

Here you see the crosscut of my tank DSB. Couple of weeks ago I added a new layer (upper lighter part) using substrate from the same batch as old one (lower darker part), which is about one year old. As you see, the balls are present in both layers, so they definitely were part of substrate.

A more detailed copy of this picture is available at http://charon.assert.ee/aquarium/pics/102-0234.jpg (1600x1200 384K). I didn't link it directly here because it would mess up the forum layout. Some browsers may downsize big pictures, so expand it to regular size for more details.

[Telco Guy]

As I said before, I think they are oolites. But, if you are really curious I can ask my sister-in-law who did some research on tiny shells found in sedimentary layers on the sea floor and see if she knows what they are.

[albert]

That were great!

I found a picture of spotted oolites <<here>> (http://geoweb.tamu.edu/Faculty/Ahr/AhrOoidsRimCmt.html). Oolites should have concentric structure but mines have radial or no visible structure at all. Should I cut all of them to see if there exist different shapes? :oops:
I'm planning to buy a microscope, this certainly would help :)

[clownman_1988]

well at least we all know what they are thats a start

[Zack]

I was talking with my friend on this, he belives that it is just part of the sandbed, which is crushed coral. Would not worry to much

[clownman_1988]

well as long as it doesnt hurt your tank it might add color and make it look more real IMO

[albert]

Sure, I'm not worried, just curious like all newbies :lol:
I'm in this hobby almost two years now and still every day discover so much new for myself, that I feel I'll never step out from this (newbie) status. :coolbeans:

[clownman_1988]

yeah i am still a newbi so i get what your saying

[Telco Guy]

Ok, here is the scoop from my Sister-in-law:
They could be forams (Foraminifera), possibly like these:

Sand from: Podang Bali, Bali Indonesia.
http://www.sandcollectors.org/SANDMAN/Picture_Gallex.html

But then again, maybe not. If they are forams, then they will have an opening somewhere on them and they wont be totally round or symmetrical. But if they have no opening and are totally round, then they could be a form of coral. The question is: are they growing?

Then again, they could be a form of Setosellina gregoryi (1.5mm)

http://www.dmap.co.uk/fossils/bracklesham/other/brackother.htm

Or possibly they could be Orbitulipora petiolus (4mm)

The image on the site you gave is not clear enough, nor close enough to really do a proper taxonomic analysis of the objects.

Patty Anderson, MSc
Scripps Institution of Oceanography

[albert]

Thanks, Nick
But if they have no opening and are totally round, then they could be a form of coral. The question is: are they growing?
There is no opening and are totally round. However, they are very much like those Foraminifera Ragiora from French polynesia. I don't think they are growing any more.

[Telco Guy]

Well, as I told her, if the sand was dry then they would be dead so they wouldn't grow. She replied with "If that is the case and they are growing then they are oolites. And if they are oolites and are growing then the calcium levels are way too high." I doubt that is the case in your tank. I think they are the Forams and are dead.

[H3R0]

petrafied fish terds

[clownman_1988]

they look like golf balls to me

[Telco Guy]

Fish golf balls! :shock: We have found proof that fish play golf!!! :lol:

[clownman_1988]

i wounder if there are water hazerds that must be tough foooooooor

[albert]

Nick,
more pictures for your sister-in-law if she is still interested of course.

Pictures are taken thru a microscope, most of them with 100x magnification. Found a good site about Foraminifera http://www.ucl.ac.uk/GeolSci/micropal/foram.html with lot of pictures, some of them look very similar.

http://hepatus.mine.nu/aquarium/pics/102-0241.jpg
http://hepatus.mine.nu/aquarium/pics/102-0243.jpg
http://hepatus.mine.nu/aquarium/pics/102-0245.jpg
http://hepatus.mine.nu/aquarium/pics/102-0246.jpg

Below are crosscuts of two different objects.
http://hepatus.mine.nu/aquarium/pics/102-0247.jpg
http://hepatus.mine.nu/aquarium/pics/102-0248.jpg
http://hepatus.mine.nu/aquarium/pics/102-0249.jpg
http://hepatus.mine.nu/aquarium/pics/102-0251.jpg

[Telco Guy]

Are these pictures you took or that you found? This does look like what you have in your tank.

[albert]

These are mine!

Wow. Alot Of Time Went Into Those

[H3R0]

whos henn saar then?

[albert]

Good question, it's me! :lol:

Albert is actually my scottish terrier
http://charon.assert.ee/aquarium/pics/sass/albert1.jpg

:eek2: AHHHHHHHH :eek2: Beautiful Dog Just A Lil Big Picture. My Neighbhor Breeds Them. She Has A Puppy Though