worms or what?

[tompetty]

i noticed a couple weeks ago some kind of worm like creature. at first i thought they were banded sea stars, but now it kinda looks like there is quite a few and theyre pretty long for how thin they are. theyre grey with black bands. anyone know what this could be? possible threat?

 

[YoungReefer06]

Give me a much better description of the organism and I will try to give you an ID.

 

[dalston]

Grey with black bands would probably be mini brittle star legs. Do they look anything like this?
http://www.melevsreef.com/id/baby_brittles.html

 

[romsoccer12]

ill help him out with the description because i also have a bunch of these. during the day they stick out 3 really small tentacles that stick out of a small hole during lights on. red/grey banded and they have little hooks at the end. normall only 3 tentacles but i see 2 or 4 somtimes. they dissapear at night.

 

[kmk2307]

Are they on / in your rock? Hard-bodied or soft? There are small brittle stars with very long arms. Otherwise my next best guess would be tentacles of a terebellid annelid?

 

[romsoccer12]

too small to tell

 

[tompetty]

definately not starfish, the arms wave in the currents. the arms are also long and skinny and its hiding right under a rock so i cant get a good look at it.

 

[YoungReefer06]

Are you talking like hair-skinny and maybe 3 or 4 inches long? If so they are probably Cirratulid polychaetes. Although they typically have mush more than 2-4 "arms". Sounds like it might be something else though with the "hooks on the end".

 

[tompetty]

yep im thinkin thats what that is. where do they come from?

 

[YoungReefer06]

They can come in on rocks, or in live sand. They are beneficial to have and will multiply.

 

[romsoccer12]

not what im thinking of. ill explain again. 2-4 super small skinny arms like a small hair but a little thicker that stick out of a small hole in the rock. have small black hooks at the end and the arms are banded black and white