HELP! What are these??? pics

[Korndog]

Hi. I posted this in my local club forum and didnt get much of a response. So here goes;

ok, I've been watching some strange looking things in my tank over the last few days and just cannot figure out what they are. They are oblonged shaped things, the size of a piece of rice. They have 2 dark specks inside that look like eyeballs. If you watch closely you can see what appears like tentacle looking things moving around.... or .. something moving around. I finally was able to get some decent pics. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m having a hard time keeping the bristle worms from attacking whatever these are. This is in a tank with 3 seahorses and a pipefish.The rock is fairly fresh out of the ocean ... maybe I carried something in on it? If you watch the 'eggs' closely, it seriously looks like an octopi type creature...
Any ideas?

 

[Korndog]

Forgot one important fact .... I put an octopus in this tank about 2 months ago ... never saw it again after I put it in the tank .... I just read that they died after laying eggs...... might this be the answer? If so ... what do I do with these little guys?

 

[wrott]

They look like a flat worm (planaria).

 

[K-Dubbs]

Those are defenitely interesting looking not sure what they are, as for the "attacking arms" those look like bristle or fire worms. Some consider bristle/fire worms a nussiance that can end up killing things in your tank while others insist they are harmless and are actually an integral part of your cleanup crew and will eat dead organic material. They can get quite large if they don't end up getting preyed upon, at which point I do reccomend removing them from your tank by some means.
One thing is for sure they are annoying to get stung by, doesn't hurt a lot but it sure is annoying.

 

[K-Dubbs]

As for the removal of bristle worms, some crabs will prey upon them (Arrow crab in specific), a lot of LFS will have bristle worm traps, i find these to work for the smaller bristle worms, not so much for larger ones.

 

[Korndog]

Im interested in the eggs .. not the bristle worms

based on this link

http://www.tonmo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6301&highlight=octopus+eggs

They are octopi eggs .... now what to do with them...

 

[Nano_reeflover]

I agree, octopus eggs. You can even see their eyes!

 

[cfarrow2]

those aren't eggs IMO. I think they look like a type of stomatella. they're, in layman's terms, a type of sea slug. Mostly harmless, though i've heard that when they're stressed or they die, they can release a type of poison into the tank. In my experience they haven't been at all harmful, and I've had lots of them show up in my tank, though never white or opaque like yours are. They're supposed to be good detrius and algae feeders. I think they're stomatella because if you look closely you can make out antennae on the tapered ends. Same shapes as what i've seen in my tank as well.

 

[cfarrow2]

never mind. I just looked at your link and those appear similar to the octopus eggs there. If so, good luck! you're braver than i am keeping them.

 

[LeslieH]

Those are indeed octopus eggs. The "antennae" cfarrow refers to are the stalks that normally attach the eggs in a cluster & to rocks or other substrate. Just leave them be.... if you're lucky some will make it all the way to hatching.... or unlucky if you don't want octopus in your tank!

 

[XeniaMania]

Aren't healthy octopii eggs suppose to be attached and not loose like this?

 

[Korndog]

something tells me there may be some more attached where I cant see them. At first I only saw one, then 2 the next day ... now I count 9 and they are gathering in the middle of the tank (where the flow is almost completely absent). Maybe they are falling off the rock somewhere I cannot see?

 

[LeslieH]

You're probably right Korndog. Doesn't sound good....

 

[Korndog]

Assuming these little guys hatch, what should I try and feed them? Mysis, maybe?

 

[XeniaMania]

maybe they're about to hatch which is why they're falling off, either that, or the worms are cutting them loose and about to have a huge smorgasbord in the middle of your tank, sorta looks like it in the pic already..hehehe

 

[XeniaMania]

Baby octopii are very well equipped to take care of themselves upon hatching. They will eat watever they can get their tentacles on. I'm sure as long as there's some food in the water, they'll get it, but yes, they love crustaceans, best of luck, and remember, Octopii are also master escape artists...