any ideas what these little creatures are?

[Seathirst]

they don't appear to move and the spines are hard to the touch.

 

[Gtinnel]

If you are talking about the little spikey looking things on the rock then they’re vermetid snails.

 

[ZipAdeeZoa]

That appears to be a smaller variety of vermetid snails. They can irritate corals with a mucous web they put out at night to feed and and the hard shells can cut you up pretty good. Normally the advice is glue over the end of the tube with super glue but if your whole tank is like that they be there to stay.

IME at work, the smaller species don’t seem to bother corals as much.

 

[EagleEye121]

Vermetids

 

[Seathirst]

That appears to be a smaller variety of vermetid snails. They can irritate corals with a mucous web they put out at night to feed and and the hard shells can cut you up pretty good. Normally the advice is glue over the end of the tube with super glue but if your whole tank is like that they be there to stay.

IME at work, the smaller species don’t seem to bother corals as much.

Thanks, I have been told to get a ton of bumble bee snails and they will take care of them.

 

[Seathirst]

Vermetids

Nasty little buggers. My contact at World of Corals said that bumble bee snails will take care of them. I am going to give it a try and will post the results on this feed.

 

[EagleEye121]

Nasty little buggers. My contact at World of Corals said that bumble bee snails will take care of them. I am going to give it a try and will post the results on this feed.

Bumble bees are hit or miss… I tried a handful for an old tank and they didn’t touch them. If your tank is big enough, you could try a wrasse in the Halichoeres family. They are known to feed on them