Grey spots on sand with strands coming from them?

[j.falk]

I was looking at my aquarium today and found something that I have never seen before. There are grey colored spots all over the top of my sand bed and coming from the spots are little tentacles/webbing looking strands? The tank is roughly 5 months old, fully cycled and there's no way this could be dead spots already...especially being on top of the sand bed. A type of diatom perhaps?

Any ideas or suggestions on where I could find more information on this?

 

[mcgyvr]

Could be quite a few things.. feather dusters..
or a polychaete (spionid) worms <-- I bet its this as they are very common.. always 2 "long tentacles" that scavenge for food..
and more..
Likely totally harmless..

Check here..
https://www.lionfishlair.com/hitchhikers-guide/

 

[j.falk]

Thanks for the link. I took a look...the strands coming from the sand look like the mucous net from a vermetid worm but that doesn't explain the grey spots all over the sand bed. They are everywhere and appeared overnight.

Definitely not polychaete...these are more strand-like...like thread or a spider's webbing and dark in color wheas the vermetid worms are clear/white.

 

[j.falk]

I took a video...it's not easy to see the strands waving in the current:

https://youtu.be/Cnl0PDrGwnc

The most recent thing I have added to the tank was a few Kenya tree cuttings which are right next to where the strands are...could it be something coming off them?

 

[mcgyvr]

So its likely just coral mucus then.. When you cut them or they are stressed they will release a slime/mucus..
or bacterial slime.. I might see some cyanobacteria there too..

Its fine..

 

[j.falk]

Ah okay. That makes sense then. Thank you for your help. Much appreciated!

 

[j.falk]

I woke up this morning to find there are a lot more tentacle things sticking out of the sand now. I've never seen anything like this before. It's definitely not a featherduster, tube anemone/worm...this is black strands sticking up out of the sand and blowing in the current.