What are These?

[azmorpheus]

These things are all over the rock and some are even on snails. They are a redish color and look like a tube worm. The only thing that comes out of them is a string like thing that is about 4 inches long and looks like a strand of hair. They dont do this that often and they all seem to do it at the same time, usually when I'm cleaning the tank. I think they are part of the tube worm family but dont know for sure.

 

[Satori]

Vermatid snails. You notice the mucous strings when you clean because that's when debris sticks to them.

They don't cause a problem unless the slime gets tangled in a coral and irritates it. In that case you can seal the offending tube with a plug of epoxy.

 

[Smo]

Or just break 'em off!
Make sure you get the base too.

 

[North Bay 101]

Watch your fingers around these, they can be very sharp. Trust me, I know.

 

[azmorpheus]

Thanks for the help, I guess I will get some pliers and start trying to remove them. I heard that copper banded butterfly fish will eat tube worms, any chance they might eat these too? I know with CBB its hit and miss, but i figure its worth a shot.

 

[Jaynap]

You dont have to break them off because they wont hurt any thing. The only time you would need to, is if their slime was impedeing another coral. But if you think its ugly then get rid of it.

 

[Smo]

I wish I would have broken off the 2 or 3 I saw about a year ago.
Now I have about 2 dozen of them spinning webs during every water change in my little 29.
It gets quite messy and annoying at times!

 

[grenaria]

I am with Smo here. They seem harmless, until they grow into giant monsters, and then they reproduce. Now they are practically out of control. They were eating close to half of the food that goes into my tank. One of my snails has 4 of them on it's shell.

 

[azmorpheus]

I have them every where. They have reproduced very fast. In less then six months I went from seeing one to having more then I could ever count. They have been causing lots of stress for my sps corals but do not affect any of the other corals I have. Does any one know what eats these things?

 

[azmorpheus]

Okay well I think I found answer to my own question. After searching for a while I found this paragraph written by Anthony Calfo.

"as you might guess, they are not growing from thin air - or water as it were - but rather, they are filter feeders that are flourishing because of excess nutrients. Better nutrient export (or limiting import) will easy check these creatures and force them to wane. If skimmer performance has waned (less than several dark cups of skimmate weekly minimum), or if the water change schedule has been too modest/small all along and caught up with you (20% per month or less), or if feeding habits are sloppy like mine <G> like thawing frozen foods but not decanting the thawed pack juice which is "rocket fuel" for growing nuisance algae, sponges or Vermetids in this case. Some possibilities to consider. But I can reassure you my friend... control the nutrients and you will control their growth. There is no "reef safe predator" on these snails for the aquarium. Anthony"

 

[schristi69]

What are the white dots? I seem to have had a sudden proliferation of these little things. They are everywhere. Also I noticed a white, cottony kind of algae growing under my rocks in the shade. Any id on this stuff and how to get rid of it? Cause?

 

[azmorpheus]

I have those everywhere too. Those are just a type of fan worm and they are harmless. Mine have a little red fan that comes out. The cotton stuff definitely sounds like a type of sponge. You can physicaly remove it, but I believe those are pretty much harmless too. They only develop in low light, low flow situations so if you want to avoid them add more flow.

 

[Satori]

From Melev's ID page:

"Tiny white dots about the size of a pinhead can be found in reef tanks, overflow boxes , and sumps. They are Spirorbid Worms, which are filter feeders. It won't hurt to scrape them off if they obstuct your view, but they are harmless. Reef-safe."

http://melevsreef.com/id/crawls.html