colonial hydroids?

[Dakwan]

Finally have something in my tank that i didn't intentionally put there and of course i'm pretty sure it's a pest :frustrat:

Haven't been able to get a good pic but i'm thinking i have a little colony of colonial hydroids.. i'm just not sure and am hoping for a bit of clarification.... there are 3 points i think that make me unsure

1. do colonial hydroids retract into tubes? mine do when i poke at em
2. my hydroids don't seem very colonial... arn't they one animal with multiple polyps? mine seem to be coming out of the rock mostly individually
3. they arn't as tentacly (i'm pretty sure thats the scientific term:mrgreen:) as most of the pictures i've seen. they have a long narrow body and a little tiny crown.

i'm pretty sure either i have my guess correct or they are possibly tube worms..

 

[Bifferwine]

What color are they?

 

[Dakwan]

tubes are a dark brown and the crowns are a light brown i'd say.

 

[Bifferwine]

They sound like hydroids.

1. They do retract into tubes.
2. Each hydroid has its own individual tube.
3. ???
4. Profit!

The picture mid-way through this article is what they most commonly look like.

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure: A Quarantine Tank for Everything by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com

 

[Dakwan]

ah poop. I was hoping for something else just because their crowns are so small and thin

thanks biff

 

[Dakwan]

while scouring my tank for more hydroids i found 2 super tiny aiptasia ... haha fml