What is this on my live rock

[Impala67]

There’s these white spiral things growing all over my live rock I haven’t added anything new to the tank in months I don’t know if it’s a type of barnacle or vermetide snail or what it is as long as it’s not harmful I’m fine with it. My tank crew is two clowns one lawnmower blenny various red legged hermit crabs turbo snails and one thin striped hermit crab.

 

[Zach B]

Spionid worms it looks like. Usually they appear in newer tanks with excess nutrients. Harmless filter feeder

 

[Impala67]

Spionid worms it looks like. Usually they appear in newer tanks with excess nutrients. Harmless filter feeder

That’s the thing there rock hard and they’ve been in the same place for two weeks there almost like eggs of something?

 

[Zach B]

They are very hard in texture, it is the worms tube/home. They usually go away after a while or down to reasonable numbers. Best of luck

 

[Rick's Reviews]

Yes I would say spinoid, they are harmless but can be plaque like.
I clean my glass with sharp razor blade to remove them as they do have a hard shell. I read on reef2reef that 6 line and lunare wrasse should eat them. Coral banded shrimp also known to eat them although you will have to continue to feed them after they remove all spinoids from your aquarium, it also does not say if they eat the shell either? They do literally grow on everything even hermits shells, I'm unsure how to remove off rocks as they are tough little things

 

[iamahab]

I recently received an order of corals that were covered in these things.I removed as many as I could but I'm not tripping. They are unsightly but I can live with them.

 

[Impala67]

Ya my tank is covered in them I still don’t know how they got in there they only thing resent I bought was a lawnmower blenny and that was almost 5 months ago

 

[Impala67]

Are these there grown versions I thought these were bristle worms but now I’m not so sure

 

[vetteguy53081]

Are these there grown versions I thought these were bristle worms but now I’m not so sure

Looks like bristleworms

 

[afrokobe]

Are these there grown versions I thought these were bristle worms but now I’m not so sure

correct, bristleworms

 

[vetteguy53081]

Little white things are Spirobid , Not Spinoid worms

 

[Impala67]

Ok so I do have bristles worms as well…. Any ideas to get rid of those. And you said a six line will eat the spirobid worms?

 

[ScottJ]

Bristle worms are defiantly creepy, but are good at cleaning up excess food (IMHO). Just don't overfeed and the population will self regulate. I also pull out the big ones if I can catch them

 

[Zach B]

Little white things are Spirobid , Not Spinoid worms

Thank you, I thought something was off

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ok so I do have bristles worms as well…. Any ideas to get rid of those. And you said a six line will eat the spirobid worms?

Those as stated are bristleworms and arrow crabs eat them like candy

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Ok so I do have bristles worms as well…. Any ideas to get rid of those. And you said a six line will eat the spirobid worms?

Bristle worms are a part of a healthy tank. Why would you try to get rid of them?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Bristle worms are a part of a healthy tank. Why would you try to get rid of them?

There are persons like myself that do not desire them and not always are they part of a healthy tank as they can be present due to overfeeding and poor maintenance and turn into a population explosion.
Ive pulled more than one that was well beyond 15" and no more for me.

 

[Jonify]

I put a six-line in my tank when these spirobids started popping up, and it took care of the problem. Though I'm told they will go away on their own. Meh, I wanted a wrasse anyway. For bristleworms, you can thin the herd through things like trapping and feeding less, but once you have them, you have them. They are (mostly) harmless and a (usually) a useful CUC member.

 

[Impala67]

Those as stated are bristleworms and arrow crabs eat them like candy

Ya I would buy one but I have lots of corals that I don’t want an arrow crab eating lol. As far as the 6 line wrasse anything special I need to know about it?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ya I would buy one but I have lots of corals that I don’t want an arrow crab eating lol. As far as the 6 line wrasse anything special I need to know about it?

Arrow will not touch your coral
Only bristle worms or uneaten food