What's this thingy?

[tankedchemist]

Found a bunch of white things on some of my LR... they appear to come out of tube-things that thought were part of the rock... they go back inside said tube when scared. Any idea what it is? is it bad?


:12:

 

[parrotchute]

I have those too and have been trying to ID them! I think they are a type of fan worm.

 

[XxKnuckleheadxX]

tube worms/feather dusters..
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/feather.htm

 

[bobby]

+1 It's a type of tube worm. They're harmless and are filter feeders so they'll help clean your tank a little. Here are two link you should bookmark. These are ver helpful at IDing things that you find in your tank.
http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchhikers.html

http://www.melevsreef.com/id/

 

[ltljoker]

they are a tube worm, i am having a hard time with them all over in my tank. If anyone knows how to get rid of them please let me know. I am being over run with them.:frustrat:

 

[ffm]

I had a few of these for a while, and I really liked them but they have all disappeared, I would like to have them back. I thought they were fun to watch.

 

[mng777777]

they are a tube worm, i am having a hard time with them all over in my tank. If anyone knows how to get rid of them please let me know. I am being over run with them.:frustrat:

I had a ton of them on my LR and before I stocked anything I loaded up a pretty hefty CUC. I left it unstocked and therefore, wasn't feeding the tank for +/- 8 weeks following my cycle so there wasnt enough for the crabs to eat. They picked the tank clean and then eventually turned to my fan worms. Both the blue legged hermits and the emeralds ate the tubes and the worms inside. It has been about 6 months and I am happy to say that I have a few new worms popping up in the tank as I like them and dont feel they are a nuissacnce. The crabs don't bother them now as there is easier food around. If you want to reduce your population, you can starve your crabs a bit and they should take care of them. Realize though that if you have clams or prize corals that you are target feeding, the crabs will go for those first, so there may be a better way of dealing with the worms in your case