large(ish) bugs in my fuge?

[Zerc]

So while sitting and looking at my refugium earlier I noticed some bugs that look like they are around 3/8" long! they have lots of legs(underneath, not on the side) and some antennae. The back end appears to be fatter and slightly curled under and they occasionally "swim" to another rock. Anyone know what it might be? I would say pods, but I thought those were smaller.

Other mysteries:
1. Tentacle feeler about an inch long sticking out of a rock, very thin. ??
2. Over a hundred white feather duster/fan worms, small, only half an inch across), but there is a pocket of red ones the same size, maybe 15 of them... are those bad or ok ??
3. White stemmed polyps w/ brown heads, look like palys, maybe three of them. ??


I just like to know what stuff is!

 

[Peppie]

So while sitting and looking at my refugium earlier I noticed some bugs that look like they are around 3/8" long! they have lots of legs(underneath, not on the side) and some antennae. The back end appears to be fatter and slightly curled under and they occasionally "swim" to another rock. Anyone know what it might be? I would say pods, but I thought those were smaller.

Other mysteries:
1. Tentacle feeler about an inch long sticking out of a rock, very thin. ??
2. Over a hundred white feather duster/fan worms, small, only half an inch across), but there is a pocket of red ones the same size, maybe 15 of them... are those bad or ok ??
3. White polyps, look like palys, maybe three of them. ??


I just like to know what stuff is!

A picture is worth a thousand words

 

[Zerc]

Tell me about it! I watched them for like 10 minutes, then got the camcorder and they all got stage fright... I waited for like 5 minutes and decided to try again later...

 

[Zerc]

Mystery #1 see it best starting at 4 seconds.
Worm? - YouTube

Mystery Critter see it best starting at 22 seconds.
Bug - YouTube

Mystery Polyps, palys?
http://youtu.be/zj6w1Yw6j8g

 

[kevnkev]

Mystery worm - brittle star arm. They extend them out in the current to catch detritus drifting by.
Mystery bug - amphipod. Great fish food! That's a biggie too!

Both are great to have in the aquarium.

 

[Zerc]

That amphipod is only half as big as some of the others I saw!

 

[user 26995]

The pods do get big. I have bunches of them too. And I agree with kevnkev, the first one is the leg of a mini brittle star. The last video, is zoa polyps. You might chip the rock off right there and put the polyps in the DT and let them color up and see what they are.

 

[kevnkev]

As for your tube worms, not sure why some might be white and others red. Different species or different morphs of the same one? Dunno.

Here's a nifty thing about tube worms that might explain the red. Unlike vertebrates with their hemoglobin, when invertebrates have a blood pigment at all, it is typically hemocyanin (blueish copper-based molecule), chlorocruorin (greenish or light red iron-based molecule) or erythrocruorin. Any crabbers in the crowd? When you clean crabs before cooking them, the pale blue that collects in the bottom of the bucket is hemocyanin from their blood.

But tube worms live in tubes, where oxygen can be limited, and they need a pigment that is more efficient at O2-capture. So they have hemoglobin! And instead of growing specialized gill structures, they often just use their tentacles as gills. So they have red blood flowing though their tentacles. But why aren't all your tube worm's tentacles red? Not sure. Juvenile worms are supposed to have a higher level of hemoglobin. Are the red ones smaller than the others?

But then you get other tube worm species like the christmas tree worms that grow in Porites coral that have bright blue and yellow tentacles, so there's got to be some intentional coloration going on in the tube worms too - maybe warning coloration about toxins or bristles?

Not my photo:

 

[Zerc]

Wow! thanks for the info guys

 

[Airphotog]

Agree, Agree and Agree. All good and get some light on the polyps to see what you have.