Not sure how to help myself

[MurphTech]

Hi Everyone,

I am fairly new and still learning. Mostly the hard way...

My tank is on young. Only about two months old or so. Everything seems to be going okay but tonight I see something new in my tank that did not get an invitation explicitly from me.

I have tried to photograph it but I cannot get a good picture, even with my DSLR. I am sure I could use a filter or something to help me out to get a clear picture of our suspect but I just don't have one.

I also tried to get it out by using some long tweezers but I only took a chunk of him/them out of the tank. Attached is my small piece laying on top of a paper towel. Its very small as you can see the texture of the paper towel.

Essentially what I see and what I assume is worm. It looks long and it looks very thin. About the thickness of a thread and there are alternating stripes every couple of millimeters. It is also hiding in the live rock and if its only one then looks like it could be a couple inches long unless there is multiples.

Does anyone have any clue what this might be or what are some good resources I can use to help ID my uninvited guest. Once I know what it is then I can know how to react...

I tell you what, you can be dam sure I will be dipping everything from now on. Coral frags were introduced into the tank last week but since I am still learning, a dip was not done.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Alberta79]

Weird. Looks like a worm but doesnt look like the bristle worms I have seen.

 

[MurphTech]

Yeah, based on pictures I see online of bristle worms, they seem to be a bit thicker at the length I am assuming this thing is. That thing is thin and it retreats when the tweezers touch it.

 

[MurphTech]

I almost wonder if it is actually a small serpent starfish but I am just not seeing the whole thing...

 

[cmcoker]

Maybe the leg of a micro brittle star, they will have their arms waving about and you often cant see the body. Good guy, if that's what it is.

 

[reef lover]

+1 mini brittle .

 

[MurphTech]

Well I am going to hope its that. But the sad news is I woke up the morning and my six line wrasse was dead. Just laying in the sand. I pulled him out and gave him a good long look but couldn't really see any signs of trauma or disease except for a small mark behind its pectoral fin. Didn't look like a claw mark, didn't look like much of anything. I have a royal gamma there that has always been aggressive to the gamma but I didn't think he would ever kill his tank mate.

I am going to keeping an eye on things before I make any decisions.

 

[Alex716796]

I’m gonna say it’s a very small bristle worm

 

[MurphTech]

I’m gonna say it’s a very small bristle worm

The only reason I would disagree with this at this point is because I definitely saw a couple of these arms in the same area and they were just reaching out of the rock and waving around.

I don't see anything at all today but I keep looking to try and get a better look.

 

[MurphTech]

Just thought I would update with confirmation on the starfish. It's a little difficult to see but it's definitely a starfish.