Need help identifying

[Jeremy Brito]

Hey guys about 4 times a week I sit down in front of my tank for a close up examination of the marine life both large and small, invert and fish. I can say that most days when I do this I discover something ive never seen in the tank be for and didnt intentionally add it, amongst these random criters have been lympids, mullosks, worms, pods, strange polyps, sponges, and a few unidentifiable's tonight I found something I can only describe as a similar to a tube worm mixed with a hermit crab mixed with nautilus.
What I see is a a hard tube like structure attached to the rock work (fixed / permanently) and at the end what looked like the arms of a shrimp or crab reaching out of the tube getting food with a few smaller tenticles surrounding the opening of the tube that along with the armscan retract into the tube.
The fleshy arms and tenticals are pale white in color and the tube is grey in color.
** fair warning,the pictures attached arent the greatest in quality. The creature in question is pretty much center of the image.**
I also have a short video to try and show the movement of the creature hopeing to give you guys a better idea but I can't,figure out how to attach it

 

[diana a]

you posted one photo and it's blurry. There is no video. Is it a tube worm or vermetid worm?

 

[Jeremy Brito]

No idea what it is thats why I was asking I did post a warning,that the picture was bad and explained I couldn't figure out how to attach the video

 

[Mark_C]

If the tube is longish and about the diameter of a pencil lead, there are multiple short arms (1/4 to 3/4 inch) that are thin and fanlike, its probably a tube worm. They seem to grow spontaneously and I've got them in my fuge, filter, overflow, etc... . They're harmless filter feeders. I'd think you've come across these tons of times before, but perhaps your tank wasn't conductive to them.

(Edit) Here's a shot of some tube worms I just took, they look big in the pic but all could fit on a fingernail (compare size to a head of xenia above them)...




If the tube is very short, is in the rockwork, and extends a long main arm (at least a few inches in length) that has some willowish offshoots (and possibly a spiderweb looking slime-like substance), that extend when food in water or at night, its probably a vermitad, another filter feeder. They're usually harmless, I have a few in my main display, but their tentacles do sting other animals (including corals).

A good test for vermitads is to wait till your white lights are off and you're in a blue only or dusk setting. Stick a knife or stick into the sand and stir it up a bit. If you have vermitads, they'll be extending their feeding fronds and nets like nuts.

 

[nightmarepl]

If the tube is longish and about the diameter of a pencil lead, there are multiple short arms (1/4 to 3/4 inch) that are thin and fanlike, its probably a tube worm. They seem to grow spontaneously and I've got them in my fuge, filter, overflow, etc... . They're harmless filter feeders. I'd think you've come across these tons of times before, but perhaps your tank wasn't conductive to them.

(Edit) Here's a shot of some tube worms I just took, they look big in the pic but all could fit on a fingernail (compare size to a head of xenia above them)...

View attachment 22448


If the tube is very short, is in the rockwork, and extends a long main arm (at least a few inches in length) that has some willowish offshoots (and possibly a spiderweb looking slime-like substance), that extend when food in water or at night, its probably a vermitad, another filter feeder. They're usually harmless, I have a few in my main display, but their tentacles do sting other animals (including corals).

A good test for vermitads is to wait till your white lights are off and you're in a blue only or dusk setting. Stick a knife or stick into the sand and stir it up a bit. If you have vermitads, they'll be extending their feeding fronds and nets like nuts.

im currently infested with those snails in my 10g literally impossible to kill or rid the tank of them, i have tested using a zoe frag near them and they do close zoas up for days even have killed the glued ones up completely my current tanks im attempting to dip everything before ending the main biocube tank theyre a plague alot of people in NJ have been getting them every store is basically infested

 

[diana a]

So a vermetid worm will send out a web when you feed your tank. The base is usually a coiled shape then the tube becomes straight. These worms I find irritate my corals and they can take over the tank. If you see one you have to remove the whole tube. They will retreat to the bottom of the tube if they feel threatened. If I see one I will burn it with a lighter. You will hear a pleasant pop sound when you have fried the worm or you can crazy glue the opening which will starve the worm.






Serpulid feather dusters have either a white or red feather that comes out of the tube. These are extremely small feather dusters. They filter your water.

 

[nightmarepl]

So a vermetid worm will send out a web when you feed your tank. The base is usually a coiled shape then the tube becomes straight. These worms I find irritate my corals and they can take over the tank. If you see one you have to remove the whole tube. They will retreat to the bottom of the tube if they feel threatened. If I see one I will burn it with a lighter. You will hear a pleasant pop sound when you have fried the worm or you can crazy glue the opening which will starve the worm.

View attachment 22450 View attachment 22449




Serpulid feather dusters have either a white or red feather that comes out of the tube. These are extremely small feather dusters. They filter your water.
View attachment 22451

yah im setting up a new tank and trying to guarantee no vermetid snails what would be the best way to clean the snails / hermits before letting them in the tank?

 

[diana a]

If I see a pest on a snail or in the snail tank, I don’t buy it. If all looks ok, snails go into qt for 5 weeks

 

[nightmarepl]

If I see a pest on a snail or in the snail tank, I don’t buy it. If all looks ok, snails go into qt for 5 weeks

looks like everyone runs a QT i dont have the space for it so all i can rely on is dipping, for snails maybe just dip the shell? been the body out of it?

 

[DangerDave]

yah im setting up a new tank and trying to guarantee no vermetid snails what would be the best way to clean the snails / hermits before letting them in the tank?

The only guarantee would be not filling with water. .

I’ve scraped off every.single.one that was visible when adding corals, and I still got em. Thankfully just the small ones, and if one ever irritates a coral it gets mercilessly crushed.

 

[nightmarepl]

The only guarantee would be not filling with water. .

I’ve scraped off every.single.one that was visible when adding corals, and I still got em. Thankfully just the small ones, and if one ever irritates a coral it gets mercilessly crushed.

yah im surprised nothing around gets rid of them i did hear somone say coral snow? or something stops them

 

[diana a]

The only guarantee would be not filling with water. .

I’ve scraped off every.single.one that was visible when adding corals, and I still got em. Thankfully just the small ones, and if one ever irritates a coral it gets mercilessly crushed.

It's easy to miss them. When they are new can be as thin as a sewing thread

 

[nightmarepl]

It's easy to miss them. When they are new can be as thin as a sewing thread

looks like ima be stuck with them forver huh.. they usually get stuck on the CUC, ill be dipping all my corals hoping for the best and cleaning the CUC from my tank by hand hopefully get lucky doubtful tho

 

[diana a]

Pests usually come in on frag plugs and macro algae. That is why it's good to remove coral from the plugs if possible. Even if you dip the coral with the original plug, products like CoralRX may not get the pest between the plug and the coral.

 

[nightmarepl]

Pests usually come in on frag plugs and macro algae. That is why it's good to remove coral from the plugs if possible. Even if you dip the coral with the original plug, products like CoralRX may not get the pest between the plug and the coral.

yes i told this aswell ill be ordering new plugs and RX dip them reglue them onto orginal plugs or i might just glue straight onto the rocks