I noticed a few days ago a new growth of small tubular structures on some of my live rock. Today there are 5 times more. Last night I attempted to catch something peeping out of some of them, thinking it might be a feather duster or Christmas tree worm, but found nothing. Any ideas?
2007-05-21 08:43:44 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
It could be tube worms.
http://www.ocean.udel.edu/deepsea/level-2/creature/tube.html
2007-05-21 08:47:22 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
There are smaller relatives of the big feather dusters that grow on live rock, particularly the sides and undersides. The larger feather dusters have tubes that are papery or leathery, but the smaller types have a harder calcium shell. I've got several white ones, and a few that have red "dusters". These can multiply quickly and seem to prefer growing on the front glass of my tank.
2007-05-21 09:44:25 · answer #2 · answered by copperhead 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I used to have something similar to that in my tank. I had always assumed it was some sort of tube worm. I noticed them mostly on the sides of my tank under the piles of rock. That's one of the great things about live rock. You can have a tank for years and still discover new crustaceans and other animals on a continuous basis.
2007-05-21 10:35:31 · answer #3 · answered by enamelcutter 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If it's a featherduster or tubeworm you should be able to catch it out of it's tube at some point. If there is never a crown or anything that comes out of them it could also be a sponge. Some sponge colonies can be tubular shaped as well. If you can add a picture that would greatly benefit identifying it.
2007-05-21 10:34:11 · answer #4 · answered by Brian 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's not a deepsea tube worm, I have those too. I have had them for about 5 years so they won't do any harm. It could be a small shrimp or crab.
2007-05-21 08:50:58 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You checked radiation levels recently?
2007-05-21 08:50:28 · answer #6 · answered by hesterthehester 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋