help with worm id (2 Viewers)

[Guest]

I recently brought home some chaeto for my refugium and got some small worms along with it. Can anyone tell me what these are? They range from about 1/8” long to about 1 inch. The body moves very slowly, and at one end is a set of tentacles that constantly fold and unfold. If you look closely, the tentacles each have small feathers or barbs on them. They mostly stay in the macro, but I’ve also seen one or two make their way up the glass. I’ve tried to attach a couple of pictures here. Hope they work.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-6/762496/DSC06651.jpg

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-6/762496/DSC06654.jpg

Anyone?
-Suzy

 

[pernelf]

Looks almost like peanut worms

Last night I looked in my tank with a flashlight and saw a small worm about a 1/4" long that unrolled itself like a sock. It was not segmented like a "bristleworm", is this a polychaete?
What you probably saw was a Sipunculan or peanut worm. It is not a polychaete, rather it is in a phylum of it's own. Sipunculans are harmless animals that bore holes in rock and are general surface moppers. For further information on these unique invertebrates, check out: http://www.aquarium.net/0497/0497_4.shtml, http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/aqfm/1997/dec/wb/default.asp, or http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/sipuncula/sipuncula.html

 

[Guest]

I've looked at the peanut worms, and that's not what these are. These are freely moving, with their entire bodies being soft. These don't burrow or hide -- they're always out, crawling around on the macro. I found a peanut worm in the tank awhile back, and it stayed burrowed except to extend the soft part of its body when in search of food. A pretty cool creature.

 

[Guest]

Also, these unidentified guys don't have tentacles that they can extend and retract back inside their bodies -- the tentacles are on the edge of the circular opening at the end of their body, and they just constanty fold them over and open them up one by one -- not all at once. It's actually kindof mesmerizing.

 

[pernelf]

Interesting, how many more guesses do I get

 

[Guest]

As many as you want! I've been searching the internet trying to find it on my own and haven't had any luck. I can count at least a dozen of them crawling around, and I'd like to figure out what they are before they reproduce like crazy in my refugium...

 

[pernelf]

Have you tried to post over on Reef Central about it?

 

[Guest]

Not yet, but that's next. I thought I'd try the local talent first.

 

[incysor]

could it be the juvenile version of this?

http://www.mesa.edu.au/friends/seashores/e_aphroditois.html

 

[Guest]

Eww! Thank goodness it's not that!

 

[Guest]

That worm originate from AC, They came along with "ranched wiry sea grass" that came from Florida. Suzi I try to ID them too for the last week or so but nothing. For those expert if you have a chance to stop by here you can see it live.

 

[Guest]

Kenny - I just posted the question over on Reef Central in Dr. Ron's forum. Hopefully he'll be able to tell us what it is.

-Suzy

 

[Guest]

It's a macro worm

 

[Guest]

Okay, so it's not a worm -- it's a cucumber! Here's a link to Dr. Ron's assessment on Reef Central.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=3106009#post3106009

 

[Guest]

looks like a baby medusa worm...but you prolly already got an answer

 

[Cakepro]

Cool pics!