I think I’m privileged to have live barnacles!

[CallMeChris]

Are we sure those are barnacles?

They kinda look like tunicates or sponges to me but hard to tell. In that first video (with the atinic lighting) the ones to the left close up as if they're soft flesh rather than hard shell.

Barnacles usually have this 'arm feather' looking thing coming out of a shell.

EDIT: Yeah in that third video that appears to me like a tunicate or potentially another coral colony.

EDIT 2: lol another thread that was made today about them, these are actually barnacles:

I have live barnacles on my live rock!

I’ve seen all the dead barnacle “shells” but just saw that there are some live ones tucked away. Barnacles filtering in my tank!

www.reef2reef.com

He got the perfect video to demonstrate how they open and close;

Barnacles Filtering in my tank!

www.youtube.com

That’s me

 

[Evas_reef]

That’s me

Hey! Lovely to meet you. What do you reckon - barnacles or something else? I looked at those tunicates and wasn’t sure but I’m guessing there are loads of different types..

 

[CallMeChris]

Hey! Lovely to meet you. What do you reckon - barnacles or something else? I looked at those tunicates and wasn’t sure but I’m guessing there are loads of different types..

A bewildering array of sponges and tunicates in this hobby, lol. It’s hard for me to see in your pics. Maybe a tube worm of some sort?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Looks like colonial tunicates to me, but the quote and links below have some pics you can compare with:

Haha, yeah sorry - that's part of why I threw in the TLDR at the bottom there. Here are some photos of colonial tunicates with similar body structure (and some with - from what I can tell - similar coloration) to help decide if it is a colonial tunicate:

(The two above images are from here: https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/11/977 )

And the link below has a bunch more pics (some are different colonial tunicates like above, some are solitary tunicates):

Ascideacea

Ascideacea

www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu

What are these?

I noticed the growing on the back. Picture one looks like snails but the other picture that looks like flowers don't have a clu. Please help. Thanks

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Reefingpops52]

After some research I believe barnacles are a prized hitchhiker? I noticed them under this chalice a couple of weeks ago and have been fascinated ever since. I love it when they twitch and contract - I’ve posted videos so you can see. I’m assuming that’s when they’re feeding? Had some downs and trials in the 8 months this tank has been evolving but I must be doing something right.

Would love to know what you guys think and to learn more about these beautiful creatures. Some other little critters visible too - they seem to be managable at the moment and part of the eco system. Lots of cuc types to nibble on it. Bumblebee snails spending lots of time on the rock work.

Mine lve phytoplankton have ten total across three live rock that was shipped to me a while back have grown until now I was thinking about getting rid of them I thought they were considered pests but I guess I'll leave them be.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Very cool!!

 

[Smarkow]

I can scrape many pounds of them off the bottom of my boat every year. I am not really fond of the evil little buggers but the dozens of times I put them in my tank they only live less than a year.
They are not really fully sub marine animals but intertidal creatures.

Paul you never cease to amaze me with your info

 

[Paul B]

Most people don't consider it "info". More like flotsam and jetsom.