Parasite or good? Red barnacle thing

[Noobreefer84]

Hello all.

I just got back into reefing and have a small nano. I just put in a new torch and it seems to have a hitch hiker I’m not sure if it’s good or bad.

Looks like a red barnacle with long tentacles that come out of it.

Any ideas on what it is and if I should try get rid of it?

 

[ChiCity]

bad, but not too hard to get rid of in the early stages.
(they’re vermetids btw)

 

[Noobreefer84]

Should I just attempt to crush it without damaging the torch?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

There are differing opinions on vermetids. On one hand, I find them to be excellent filter feeders that clean up excess food. On the other hand, I've had some large ones whose nets irritated nearby coral.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

*the torch already looks to be in rough shape so removing the snail is probably best... while the vermetid did not cause the damage, the torch may not be long for this world so eliminating any further irritant would be wise.

 

[Noobreefer84]

Thanks for the advice. The torch was just glued onto the rock about 10mins before I took the picture and fresh from the shop. Looks much better today

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Thanks for the advice. The torch was just glued onto the rock about 10mins before I took the picture and fresh from the shop. Looks much better today

The flesh has completely receded and it's likely the overall health of the torch is very poor. I would recommend not purchasing more corals from that shop (unless this one was HEAVILY discounted).

 

[Noobreefer84]

Ah thank you. They had an entire tank of the torches. But they were all 3 to 6 heads in size. This one was sitting off to the side and I got it for $15. Hope I can get it to recover. It’s open well today. Maybe some tlc and 2x a week of target feeding will bring it back

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Ah thank you. They had an entire tank of the torches. But they were all 3 to 6 heads in size. This one was sitting off to the side and I got it for $15. Hope I can get it to recover. It’s open well today. Maybe some tlc and 2x a week of target feeding will bring it back

Just so we can help guide you, give us a tank rundown. Size age other coral lights your experience etc. Reason I'm asking is torch's aren't what I would recommend for newer reefer and a new system.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Ah thank you. They had an entire tank of the torches. But they were all 3 to 6 heads in size. This one was sitting off to the side and I got it for $15. Hope I can get it to recover. It’s open well today. Maybe some tlc and 2x a week of target feeding will bring it back

I would not overfeed it, you might stress it further.

The article I linked in this post will be helpful: Post in thread 'Emergency Torch corals melting away' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/emergency-torch-corals-melting-away.904103/post-10095972