Question

[kurt]

I have these white non-moving worm like thingy on my glass. They do not move or look alive and they look like what is on my live rock. What are they and are they harmful?

Thanks
Kurt

 

[returnofsid]

Any chance of a pic or a better description? Do they look like the top of a Q-tip with a lil' hole in the end? If so, they're harmless sponges.

 

[Meche]

Does it look like the pic in the 11th post in this thread?

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19158&highlight=snail+eggs

 

[Haole]

Or do they look like this?

Or this? (close up view)

 

[kurt]

none of the above, it looks like someone took a white fine tip sharpie and made little white marks ranging from 1/4 to 1/2 long

 

[Meche]

What are scratches, Alex! :lol:

 

[Haole]

Okay, one more guess...
It could be the beginning stages of coralline algae.?.?. :idea:

 

[returnofsid]

Haole, the pics you have that look like lil' white snails and include a close up. What would those be? I have those in one of my tanks. Not as many as I used to have though.

 

[Haole]

They’re called Serpulid worms or “feather dusters”.
Look at the very bottom of this page;
http://wetwebmedia.com/polychaetes.htm

And here for a better description;
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/photos_corals/showphoto.php?photo=634&cat=543

 

[kurt]

ok, here another shot at describing them better, every see these white tube like worm thingy on live rock? Well it is the same thing on my glass except it does not an opening at the end.

 

[kurt]

also I have one of these at the base of my live rock Bispira variegata (Montagu 1804), the Variegated Feather Duster. Family Sabellidae. Tropical West Atlantic. 1-2 centimeter in crown diameter. A common "contaminant" in live rock collected and cultured from the area. Aquarium photo Is this bad?

 

[returnofsid]

Not at all. Feather dusters are cool additions to tanks and often show up as hitchhikers on live rock. I've got some really cool red ones showing up on some extra live rock I recently purchased.