ID help please

[TAXMAN]

Ok. I have these small red-brown little tubes all over my LR. And 1 on a snail. lol . They are about 1/4" long and smaller. They look to be a small type of tube worm but the only thing that ever comes out of them is this nasty brown mucasy stringy crap. It's getting all over my corals and rock. It's just nasty stuff and irratating. I will try to get a picture if you need it but my camera dosent do closeups too well.

I am just wondering what it might be and is there some way to stop it or at least make it better.

Thanks for the help.

[JimD]

Ive had several of these in my tank, their scientific name escapes me at the moment. They send out a mucus net, or trap to gather food, real nasty, if they get too big, I get rid of them by dabbing a bit of super glue in the opening.

[TAXMAN]

I have a lot of them. Maybe around 100 or so. I dont think I can take care of them like that. And they sem to be multiplying. And the mucus is released like it is a waiste product of these things. Then it covers all my other stuff in the tank. They are somewhat clear and I have noticed a small white object in them. But the only time it comes out it is released into the water. Like its built up calcium that is discarded.

[MikeP]

Probably a vermetid snail.

[JimD]

Se if you can get a decent pic up. What youre describing sounds like what Ive had. Feed the tank and see if the animal retacts the mucus back into the tube.

[TAXMAN]

PICS.

I hope this helps in the ID. And they never move. So it's not a snail. I wouldnt think so.

[DeletedAccount]

I do not know what they are but I have a few, too. They are a little annoying!

[::pete::]

Try this. (http://www.aquarium.net/0897/0897_8.shtml)

[TexasState]

So are they good or bad? I've been trying to avoid killing them each time I move my LR around.

[alexwolf]

man i have a MILLION of those. They shoot this stringy crap out into thewater and it gets all over EVERYTHING.....yuck

[TexasState]

Would breaking them from the rocks kill them, or will help them to spread?

[MikeP]

They are not a problem - mostly filter feeders. If you have tons appearing it likely means you have excess nutrients in your system but a few of them are not harmful IMO.

[DeletedAccount]

Thanks for the link, Pete. That is what mine are....

[alexwolf]

i looked, and it seemed that i really dont have a million.......i have a few, the other 8 gazillion are feather dusters

[TAXMAN]

I havent counted but I would guess 100 of them. I just hate the stringy junk all over my corals.

Now if I run my skimmer full time, will this affect the feeding of the corals with Invert Banquet and Phytoplankton? Also will it remove any needed trace elements that the Softies need? If not I will just run it and hope it slows down the mucus.

I do know that my hair algae is gone as well as just about all other types of algae since I put in a Yellow Tang last wee. I do have Coraline algae growing on my glass and equipment though. So at least it is growing and spreading ok. But I have noticed that my encrusted LR has been losing the coraline. Both in color loss and flaking off. But the Base rock has new spots of growth on them. Kinda strange to me. What might be causing this?

[TexasState]

Corallin have to get adjusted to where they're at. So the corallin that can't stand the place where it's at why bleach off, and die. While new corallin will grow where it's desirable for them.

[TAXMAN]

Ok. thats cool.