Freshwater colonial bryozoan

[Grubs]

Was showing off my tanks to @kizshrimp today and he found one of my stranger pets growing on the glass of my C. typus grow out tank.

A freshwater colonial bryozoan.

 

[jayc]

Wow, never seem a freshwater one. 

[cjwuna]

That looks awesome, think they can predate on shrimp?

[Grubs]

As far as I know they are shrimp safe.  They eat much smaller prey.  The little tentacles around the head are lined with cilia that create a feeding current to bring microscopic particles to the mouth.  They don't have the stinging cells like hydra do.

[Baccus]

Wow, they are like a cross between fan worms and hydra. Really cool.

How did you come by them? Did they come by accident or something you collected out in the field?

[kizshrimp]

Great photos @Grubs, I don't know how you managed to get them in that tight space. A Bryozoan hey? I wonder if it can be propagated easily? 

It was really amazing to see how Grubs can raise great numbers of planktonic larval shrimp in a very simple setup with some clever planning. Fantastic work mate!