Hoping for an ID

[Elricsfate]

First let me say that my tank is stable, things are growing, and I'm very happy with it; in large part due to extensive reading on this site.

A few times lately I have shone a flashlight into the tank in the middle of the night to see what's different than during the day. I have noticed one thing in particular, and I am interested to see if someone can tell me what I'm looking at.

Coming out of various places in the rockwork are long, white, single filaments. When the light hits them they recede back into the rock. But they kinda stutter back, like they are being reeled in. I only see them at night, and I cannot see any creatures from which they appear to be emanating. They just appear to pop out of holes in the rocks. They are also widely spaced, so these are not multiple "tentacles" of one creature, but apparently single tentacles of multiple creatures.

I have not noticed any detrimental effects on any corals or fish nearby.

Lastly, the rock was purchased dry from BRS. So these things did not come with the rock, they must have been introduced on a frag, or by some other method.

Any thoughts on what these might be?

 

[jayball]

Look up vermitid snail, that may be what you are seeing. Very common, some have them reach plauge levels. I never have an issue with mine. It likely depends on the specific species you have.

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[Kmiller035]

Vermitid snails are known for their mucus web which they float out into the water to catch food and pull back in. If you're only seeing what looks like single filaments, you up the spionid worm. They really have two long filaments but maybe you're only seeing one. The lesser likely option is the spaghetti worm which has many more filaments coming for a single source. Google them and see what you think. I've had all three in my tanks. None are detrimental but the vermitid snails may annoy some coral and I personally don't like seeing the webs at feeding time. The other two worms don't annoy any of my corals and are beneficial to your tank.


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[mcgyvr]

spionid worms maybe.. they are 2 clearish tentacles
https://www.lionfishlair.com/hitchhikers-guide/

 

[Elricsfate]

Thanks for the replies. These are definitely not webs, they are single strands, several inches long. And they are only out at night. Even passing a flashlight over them makes them retract back into the rocks. I wouldn't even know they were in there if it wasn't for the fact that I was curious what the corals do at night.

I will check out spionid worms and see if that looks right.

My only concern is if they are harmful in any way. If it's nothing to worry about...I won't worry about it.

 

[Elricsfate]

Hmmm... Can't be 100% positive, but after scrolling through the pics at mcgyvr's link, the closest thing I see on the page to what I see in the tank with regard to the length, size, and appearance of the tentacles is

Hydroids - Candelabrum spp (Digitate Hydroids)

 

[Elricsfate]

This is pretty much what I'm looking at. Not sure if more than one things has this appearance:

<a href="http://s1323.photobucket.com/user/Elricsfate/media/Dsc07694fingerhydroids-vi_zpsiyah5jxe.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1323.photobucket.com/albums/u584/Elricsfate/Dsc07694fingerhydroids-vi_zpsiyah5jxe.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Dsc07694fingerhydroids-vi_zpsiyah5jxe.jpg"/></a>

 

[mcgyvr]

Gotta pay for photobucket now if you want to link pictures on 3rd party sites..
We see nothing..

I would not be concerned about any "tentacle" sticking out of rocks in my tank..
All are harmless feeders IMO..

 

[Kmiller035]

I'm with mcgyvr. Don't worry about them. They'll multiply to the point that there's not enough to eat. I had a lot of "hitchhikers" for a while til I found a good equilibrium in feeding and stock. They have since dwindled to an ideal population.


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