Large-ish clear/white tube things in my live rock?

[Etoimos]

I picked up a piece of LR from the local fish store last week that had 4 Ricordea on it. A couple of days later my son and I saw some stringy white "poop" stuff come squirting out of it. It dissipated into the water column a minute or two later. We could not find what had caused that white discharge and we did not see it again for several days.

This afternoon when I was cleaning my tank and adding some new corals, I decided to relocate that piece of LR to a better location for both the Rics and to try and observe what else was in that rock.

I managed to get these photos of the little worm/tube things down in one of the holes of the LR...

You can see them just up and to the left of the larger Ric.

Zoomed in more, you can see the bottom one is open in this photo...

This one showing that same one closed up...

This last photo was taken with the lights out, but the LED flashlight on my phone shining on them from the front...

That last photo has more noise in it, but I think you can see their structure better back in the hole.

Anyone know what these are and if them or the white stuff they squirt out is good or bad for my tank?

 

[Ron Reefman]

I don't claim any expertise in this area, but my first guess would be that you have some kind of tunicate living in there. I might have guessed a sponge, but the openings look too big for a sponge that small. Either way, I'd predict that it's a good thing for your tank (a filter feeder) and they probably prefer to not get any direct light (they are not photosynthetic like corals and anemones). It's an interesting little animal you have there and a good job of finding it and photographing it.

 

[AlSimmons]

+1 Tunicates.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-03/rs/

 

[Etoimos]

Thanks guys, I think you are right on what they are. It's pretty cool finding little things like this. The wife is fascinated with them!

 

[Ron Reefman]

Thanks guys, I think you are right on what they are. It's pretty cool finding little things like this. The wife is fascinated with them!

That's a great thing. I'm lucky that my wife enjoys the tank (especially when the glass is clean, LOL!) but even more, she love to go snorkeling has much or more than I do. Seeing that alien environment first hand is so cool.

 

[Etoimos]

Well, my wife is claustrophobic, so getting here to go snorkeling is kind of tough. lol I personally prefer scuba diving to snorkeling, not that I've done much of either though.