Strange Hitchhiker, Please help identify!!!!

briandg

briandg

Member
I was looking around in my live rock tonight w/a flashlight, trying to find a cleaner shrimp that I added about a week ago that dissapeared when I found a hitchhiker that I've never seen before. It was in a dark area at the base of my rock near the back. It's hard to tell in the picture, but it's the best I could do because of where it is.
It looks like it built itself it's own house that's transparent. I noticed the transparent growth before, but thought it was just some strange algae or something. But tonight when I shined the light on it, something red (I couldn't make out the shape) slowly retreated from inside it, It almost looked like it had a hole burrowed, but because of where the rock is I couldn't tell for sure and dissapeared. The picture is of the clear "house" that it was in. I'll try to get a picture of it on another night, but it doesn't seem to want to show itself again tonight. Any ideas???
Edit:
I just looked back behind the rock the best I could, It's a long clear tube that it's living in, I have no idea how long it is because it wraps around a rock. I know the pic is blurry, but basically that brown thing circled is transparent, and something is living inside it.

 
skipperdz

skipperdz

Active Member
wraps around the rock? could be a type of bristle worm...if you can see it clearer than whats on this photo id go to a lfs and ask them...they should have books with a whole variety of worms in there good and bad ( if it is a worm anyway )
 
briandg

briandg

Member
It's not the "living thing" wrapped around the rock, it's like a transparent for lack of a better word "house" that it's moving around inside of. I couldn't see it well enough to see if it was a worm or crab. But the picture is of the transparent thing it built and is living inside. It looks soft. Almost like a transparent cocoon. I really don't know how to describe it. It looks slimy, tube shaped and hollow, and it retreated inside of this thing back into the rockwork. It's in the back of my tank, so it's really hard to get a good picture. I've never seen anything like it posted but maybe I've missed it.
 
briandg

briandg

Member
Anyone have any ideas? I need to try and figure out if I need to get it out of my tank. Although I have no idea how without tearing apart my rockwork
.
 
briandg

briandg

Member
LOL, that's what I'm afraid of. It's at the back on the very bottom of the biggest piece of base rock I have, not gonna be fun!!!
 
miamishrip

miamishrip

Member
you sure it isnt a feather duster? :thinking: from what i've read there arent too many animals that live in tubes as large as you say.
 
briandg

briandg

Member
Yeah, it's not a feather duster, I have a few of them. The tube almost looks like a gell or something, but I haven't touched it, and on the end I can see, it's fully enclosed, the red thing, moved slowly, almost like a worm, or even at the speed of a coral closing as it backed away from the light, it was moving inside the gel looking tube thing. I've done a lot of research on this site about hitchhikers, and never seen anything like it.
 
miamishrip

miamishrip

Member
weird - you GOTTA get that thing out and post a pic - as i (along with everyone else) am getting quite curious. :thinking:
 
briandg

briandg

Member
I'm upgrading in about 3 weeks to a 180, I'll probably move my tank in about two weeks to make room for the new one. I'll probably wait till then as it's been there for about a year and I hadn't noticed it until looking for my cleaner. Once I do, I'll be sure and take some good pictures and post. I'm anxious to get a good look at it myself. In the meantime, I'll watch for an opportunity to get a clearer picture with the thing living inside in view.
 
briandg

briandg

Member
sorry to bump again, it will be the last time, but I know the boards are busy at this time and thought someone with some expertise in hitchikers might have an idea what it is.
Thanks
 
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