oh snap. freaking AIPTASIA!?

[alix2.0]

so while scraping algae today i was as usual checking out my rocks for anything new goin on... mini stars, featherdusters, shrooms, whatever. well on one of my oldest rocks i spotted what looked like tiny little red feather dusters... except there were like 10 of them together in a group. also, they dont seem to have fans, they are kind of like a little red tube with a red polyp coming out of the top. when i poked them they sucked back into the tube. this is the only place in the tank where i could find them... so im wondering if theres anything these could be... other than aiptasia? theyre tiny, its so hard to see them! im thinking about leaving them alone to see if they get bigger so i can tell if its something i should kill or not. sorry no picture, i dont have a camera and it wouldnt be able to catch anything that small anyways.

i hope its something cool.

 

[jtrzerocool]

pics?

 

[fish are good]

i have them in my tank to and there boring they dont grow they are just there but i wouldnt kill them. the way i see it is that if you get things popping up like that your water must be ok.
-jake

 

[maxalmon]

No need to worry,...not aptasia

 

[alix2.0]

Originally Posted by maxalmon
No need to worry,...not aptasia

why do you say that?

 

[kelly]

because aptasia are not red.

 

[alix2.0]

Originally Posted by Kelly
because aptasia are not red.
kinda brownish though arent they? like reddish brown... well i dont know ive only seen pictures. but anyway yay! anyone have any idea what it might be?

 

[mie]

Aptasia are not red and they do not have a tube to retreat into. it sounds like a type of feather duster.

 

[zman1]

Red fanworm - Serpulid polychaete?

 

[maxalmon]

Sorry for being a little short with my post, it's some type of duster from the description and is usually a sign that the tank is doing well...Everyone is correct in stating that aptasia don't retract into tubes and I've never seen a red one... I know exactly what your describing, but don't know the latin or common name. I think zman got it right with the latin name.

 

[big]

https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/238981/help-is-this-what-i-think-it-is
Look at this post I did a long time ago. A good shot of one that is "redish "in color.
Warren

 

[maxalmon]

The key to solving this questions is that they "sucked back into the tube" Aptasia do not develop external shells.

 

[alix2.0]

thanks everyone for the replies. well i know there can be a lot of variation in things but i typed serpulid polychaete into a couple image searches and didnt find anything that looked remotely similar to whats in my tank.

really strange. the tube is red so thats why i was thinking is wasnt a duster (all the ones ive seen just had tan tubes), plus the fan really looks like it is made of spikey red tentacles not feathers? hmm, hopefully itll get bigger so i can post a pic sometime.

 

[alix2.0]

i just found another cluster on a rock on the other end of the tank, these ones are a little bigger.

 

[dragonzim]

There is actually a tube or does it appear to just suck back down into the rock itself? If there is a tube its definitely not Aiptasia. If there is no tube then it could be. They are a reddish brown in color.

 

[groupergenius]

Keep an eye on them. Do they sometimes have like spiderwebs coming out of them? Maybe vermatids?

 

[alix2.0]

Originally Posted by DragonZim
There is actually a tube or does it appear to just suck back down into the rock itself? If there is a tube its definitely not Aiptasia. If there is no tube then it could be. They are a reddish brown in color.
theres a tube. im thinking its something ive seen pictures of before, it looks very familiar. one little cluster is like 7-10 tubes that all start right next to eachother and then grow apart. sort of like this if you were to look at it from the side : ll// then each one has the little polyp thing coming out of it.

 

[alix2.0]

Originally Posted by GrouperGenius
Keep an eye on them. Do they sometimes have like spiderwebs coming out of them? Maybe vermatids?
i thought about that, but i dont think theyre vermatids. i havent seen the webbing, and i dont think vermatids have the polyp things at the end, do they?

 

[zman1]

Originally Posted by zman1
Red fanworm - Serpulid polychaete?
?

 

[alix2.0]

Originally Posted by zman1
?
definate no. ill see if at some point i can borrow someones camera, because pix always help...