Hillsdale fresh water jelly fish

[ghinshaw]

Ok, I know they are not really jelly fish, but last year I found these things up one arm of hillsdale on every tree just under the waterline. They would get knocked off and would float and I would find them on the shore. I am a curious guy.....so I had to stick my finger in one to see what it was. Anyone else seen these and know what they are?

[ghinshaw]

I have some other pics but cannot get them to load. I found one floating that was like three feet long and a couple of feet in diameter.....tried to get it in the boat but it just fell apart in my arms.

[Crappie Chatt]

This should help. <*)}}}><
Originally Posted by Fish Taxi
Hi Craig,

Last weekend we winterized my mother's pontoon boat and took it off the lake where it has been docked since July. On the back of one of the pontoons is a little aluminum box for mounting electronics. This box was covered inside and out with about a softball-size mass of transparent goo. It had about the consistency of congealed ham fat or maybe extra-thick gelatin. The center of the mass was very transparent, but the surface was lumpy with very dark beach-sand-size black dots.

In fact, I would describe it as a transparent softball covered with black sand. I am guessing it was fish, amphibian, or snail eggs. We debated about scraping it into an aquarium to see if anything hatched, but decided against it. Any ideas what it might have been?

The area where the boat was docked is shallow, silted, and very weedy. I would say it's about 2.5 feet deep at the most. The area has been thick all summer with green sunfish, bluegills, and ringed perch. But of course there are also black and white crappie as well as largemouth and smallmouth bass in the lake. It was docked at lake Wabaunsee. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks Craig.



FishTaxi,

What you are seeing are colonial animals called bryozoans. Many smaller animals join together to form the larger mass that you described. This animal is similar to the saltwater corals, but they do not build any lasting structures but rather have the 'goo' that you described. Bryozoans usually gather a lot of attention from folks at a lake as many have not ever seen them. They are harmless and are a indicator of good water quality. I've seen bryozoans as big as volleyballs and I have seen them from Hillsdale to El Dorado. They like to attach to old branches or twigs but they will also attach to metal dock lines. Do a google search on bryozoa or bryozoan and you can find all of the details. Here's a an informative website for you HERE.

Below is a picture of a bryozoans from the above site.

[ghinshaw]

Thanks Crappie Chatt, I did a little research after you posted this and it seems they filter water for food. So is that similar to what a zebra muscle does and will that effect the food source for game fish? Are these a concern for our lakes because of that?

[Craig Johnson]

ghinshaw,

These are freshwater bryozoa. The structures that you see are actually composed of many colonial animals, similar to a coral. Here's one website that describes the critter. Bryozoans .

Normally, in Kansas, bryozoans will be found growing on old wood but they will also grow on metal cables in the water. Like you mention they are sometimes seen floating in the lake or washed up on the shoreline after they are dislodged by storms or high winds.

Many times people are concerned that they have found some 'bad' or 'poisonous' but that is not the case. Bryozoans are usually an indicator of good water quality. I use to see them quite regularly at Hillsdale when I worked that lake and have seen them at other lakes such as El Dorado and Council Grove City Lake.

We have many interesting critters in Kansas for those that take the time to look! Thanks for posting the pic!

[Craig Johnson]

Thanks Chatt! Looks like I was a little slow on my reply and hadn't seen your reply before I sent mine!

[Craig Johnson]

Thanks Crappie Chatt, I did a little research after you posted this and it seems they filter water for food. So is that similar to what a zebra muscle does and will that effect the food source for game fish? Are these a concern for our lakes because of that?

Yes, zebra mussels filter water to obtain their food similar to the bryozoans. Bryozoans are NOT a concern in Kansas waters as they occur in such low densities. Zebra mussels on the other hand are invasive, non-native, and VERY prolific and can cause competition with our desirable species.

[ghinshaw]

Thanks for your help guys! Glad to hear they are not bad like the zebra muscle. I am 37 and was raised on Truman lake and never saw them buggers.....guess over here on this side of the state line we have better water!

[Captain Dan]

I have also found these on structure in my slip on the north side of the marina at Clinton where I don't get a lot of wave action from high winds or boats.