Critter IDs

[Hotrod32487]

Again, they are too small for pictures but they look a lot like the picture posted on this other thread (http://maast.org/forums/showthread.php?t=39820) only they are a single polyp and are coming out of my sand. When i touch them they suck way down into the sand and if i dig them up they are sucked up into a little ball completely tucked in.
Also....what the heck do all the millions of little arms coming out of my sand belong to? They are very very tiny arms and i thought they were just debree but after looking closer they move like tentecles and feel around for things it seems. They are light in color and almost yellowish white with tiny black specs here and there. I have tried digging to find the source but havent seen what it is. No doubt though yall will know what these two critters are... Wish i could get pics but my camera wont focus that close up on stuff

[Jeff]

the arms coming from the sand are speghetti worms. they are good to have.

[Demm]

hmm, the one that i have doesnt suck up into a little ball, maybe because it's encrusted on my rock. but hey if you ever find out what yours is make sure to tell me! mine is still a mystery.

[taldrich13]

These are spaghetti worms. Do they look like this?


Or would it be more accurate to say this is a spaghetti worm??

[Hotrod32487]

Yeah those strings are what i have all over the sand bed. Glad to hear they are good... cause i got a lot of em!

[merlin0883]

Spaghetti worms are Polychaetes (bristle worms), just like feather dusters, coco worms, peanut worms, and the ****ey caterpillar looking worms that everyone always calls bristle worms. They are very good to have, because they clean the water and the sand bed. The spaghetti worms clean everything. The only ones that may not be desirable are the latter of the list, only because some of them, though not all, will eat coral. FYI- earthworms are Oligochaetes(oligo=scanty or few, chaete=hair or bristles). Almost any worm from the sea is a type of bristle worm, or Polycheate.