Night Creature ID PLEASE

[Kurt03]

Ok i must say this freaked me out when i saw it. What in the world is this.
Ive been trying to get a better pic of it all night but just couldnt get anything to work. When he sees the light he goes back into the rock. Hes like a round tube and on what i asume is his face he has tentacles that stick out. The picture is of his head. The skin is somewhat metallic as you can see in the pic. Is there a site that i can look at to find something that looks like this? Ive looked at melevs but its not on there.

 

[matasw]

no idea, but out of curiosity how did you spot this? moonlights?

 

[Sk8r]

I wonder if you've got a tiny cephalopod. How many tentacles?

 

[Kurt03]

Heres another pic of its head

 

[Kurt03]

this thing is long like a big bristle worm would be be round instead of flat. And it has these tentacles or whatever sticking out of its head. Not sure how many. I spoted it cause i like to look at my tank after lights off sometimes and i shine a flash light around sometimes. You can see pods, bristle worms, penut worms, mini starfish etc. And then i happened to see this monster! My hands not going near this rock till i find out what it is lol

 

[Sk8r]

The colors in the second picture look a little like a peacock mantis, and if it is you would be well advised to be careful of that rock. Do the tentacles undulate or just project? Could we be dealing with antennae?

You might post this second pic in the mantis forum and see if the shape or color strikes a chord there.

 

[Kurt03]

umm i think he can move them how he wants to.
could a mantis be long like a snake or worm? He snakes his body through the rock hes in and even into another near by one.

 

[arowanadream]

Do you have better pic?

 

[SuperNerd]

1st pic: Ugly fuzzy sea creature.
2nd pic: Ugly fuzzy sea creature in semi focus.

 

[Kurt03]

Im working on better pics, its really really hard.

 

[Kurt03]

SuperNerd: its not easy getting a camera focused when its dark. If he sees light it hides. i have 1 second to get it focused before he hides in his hole again.

 

[SuperNerd]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8119883#post8119883 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kurt03
SuperNerd: its not easy getting a camera focused when its dark. If he sees light it hides. i have 1 second to get it focused before he hides in his hole again.

I believe you.


Oh wow that's a little better...does anyone else think it reminds them of one of those big bad worms that eat coral?Whatever it is it doesn't look like your typical bristleworm.

I think it's time for LeslieH to work her magic in here. I'll pm her.

 

[Kurt03]

do you have a pic to one of those? i have seen it pretty good with my eyes its just really hard to get a pic of. Works going to be fun this morning :/
I would love for her to look at it idk who she is though but i would really apreciate the help alot!

 

[SuperNerd]

Here is one: http://www.scuba-equipment-usa.com/marine/MAY04/Sand_Worm(Eunice_sp)3.html

Here is another: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-04/rs/index.php

Scroll down to figure 4.

 

[SuperNerd]

And by "big bad worm" I did of course mean Eunice (I think I should still get half a point for trying).

 

[Kurt03]

That really looks like it. That eats corals?

 

[SuperNerd]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8119945#post8119945 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kurt03
That really looks like it. That eats corals?

Some of them do I believe but I'm no expert on these guys. I already PMd Leslie who is in fact an expert on all things wormy. Hopfully she'll get back to us with some info.

 

[Kurt03]

ok, that thing is really freaky lol. Thanks for all your help!

 

[Sk8r]

Freaky indeed! And a darned good job getting a photo of it, too, Kurt03, under difficult circumstances...glad somebody could ID it!

 

[LeslieH]

SuperNerd gets multiple points and a gold star! (Thanks for the PM). It is a polychaete worm in the family Eunicidae, and most likely in the genus Eunice. We know the small species are fairly reef-safe except to smaller worms & crustaceans, bigger species are active predators & may eat corals, while the biggest ones even eat fish (yours isn't big enough for that). We don't know specific diets so the best guide as to whether this particular one is dangerous or not is your own experience. If you notice chunks missing from a coral or your clean-up worms are decreasing then get rid of it. I love worms so I'd keep it but I understand not all people feel the same way!