Strange tube animal???

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ryan80

Guest
So I just started my first tank a week ago. I bought half of my live rock online, and half from a guy on Craig's list. The stuff I got from the guy on Craigs list is really nice and pourus and completely covered in purple coraline. One smaller piece has some tubes coming out. They are very hard and do not bend at all even when i push on them. Some are short and little, but a few of them are over an inch or more long.
When i brought home the rock, I thought the tubes were weird, but I couldn't see anything inside of them. They weren't hollow, really, but they looked like they might have been at one point, and just had some stuff crammed in them. Now that the tank has been running, some kind of animal is sticking out a little, just a millimeter or so, so I can't tell if they are tentacles or legs or what. I can't really tell if it is a worm, or what. Very thin threads, almost like a spiderweb seem to be coming out of whatever is moving inside at various intervals. They kinda stick to the surrounding rock and eventually float away. Anyone have any ideas? i will try to post a pic if no one knows off the top of their heads.
 

midas

New Member
They are web worms. They excrete a "web" and catch food in the water. They won't hurt anything and help filter the water.
 
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ryan80

Guest
How far will they stick out? What do they eat, plankton? Will they spread around to the rest of the tank? Thanks!
 
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ryan80

Guest
Went out of town for 4 days and came back to see that they are all over my rock. Scraped off the ones that i could see. My LFS says that a peppermint shrimp or six-line wrasse may eat them. Anyone heard this?
 
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