What are these tiny worm like things on my zoas?

[Udle42]

They kind of look like feather dusters. These zoas are the only thing in my tank that doesn't seem to be very happy. Could these little worms be the cause?

 

[gmoney243]

look like spaghetti worms to me but are they out all the time? or just at night?
second thought spaghetti worms have many tenticles comming from one spot .. i dunno ..
also do you use coral rx or some other dip to get rid of parasites?

 

[Dowtish]

Do the worms move? or are the white tubes hard?

 

[spanko]

Yup more info needed on the movement or lack of. Could also be sponge.

 

[PR_Reefers]

The answers to the above questions should help in confirming what they are. But since you mentioned they looked like feather dusters it leads me to think they could be colony feather dusters!Do they retract if stimulated? I used to have these all over my tank at once!

Either way, whatever it is it's probably very likely the reason why you're zoas aren't happy!

Can you see them on any other part of your tank?

 

[Udle42]

I don't think they move and they are out all the time. At the end they fray out like a tiny feather duster. When I saw the coral was not doing well I took it out and did a reef dip on it. It did not seem to affect the worms. This coral came with the tank when I bought it 3 months ago.

 

[spanko]

So if at the end of the tube there is something that comes out that looks like a feather duster they could be feather dusters or colonial hydroids.

Hydroid here.

Feather duster here.

 

[Udle42]

there is a few and other parts of the tank. how do I get rid of them or do I need to? they look more like the top picture

 

[PR_Reefers]

starving your tank or trying to get to ulns will probably help since they are filter feeders. I had the colonial feather dusters around many parts of my tank at first when the tank had high levels and they started to die off slowly as my tank filtration was optimized for keeping sps, skimmer upgraded etc...
have you measured you tank parameters? if they are high then i'd recommend to try and get them as low as possible

 

[Dowtish]

If they are feather dusters, I don't really think they will bother the zoa polyps. You might want to be on the lookout for large amiphipods or a sundial snail. Are the polyps shrinking and disappearing? or just not opening all the way?

 

[gmoney243]

if they are the white hard shell with a duster like thing out the end get some tweezers and pull them off your zoas if something is causing your zoas to close all the time it can stress and kill them over time. they might come back also if possible to reach in between the zoas u can try to super glue the hole shut so the worm doesnt grow back but this would be last resort if they keep growing back and could possibly cause you to glue your zoas if not very carefull or if its to close to a zoa. but id try removing them manually.

 

[Udle42]

If they are feather dusters, I don't really think they will bother the zoa polyps. You might want to be on the lookout for large amiphipods or a sundial snail. Are the polyps shrinking and disappearing? or just not opening all the way?

some are shrinking a little and some open and some dont. I checked calcium alkalinity and magnesium a few days ago and they were all at ideal levels. Nitrates 0.

 

[Udle42]

Here they are during the day. This is about the best pic I can get with my cell phone.