What on earth? Does this need to come out?

[TinyReefObsession]

this strange looking thing is underneath my condy anemone. It looked like my an enemy was trying to figure out if it could eat it… It also appears to be moving on its own… If it dropped a tentacle, does it shrink to 100th of its size? And keep moving? I’ve never seen anything like this before… Attempting to get it into an isolation box right now !! TIA! apologies using dictation and trying to remove it lol

 

[VintageReefer]

?

 

[TinyReefObsession]

Ok, isolated & lights lowered so I won’t shock & cook it.. it appears to be alive, moving at anemone speed, exploring the sides of the isolation box & then the shell with what appears to be it’s tentacle tip (continuing with the anemone tentacle theme).

Nothing added to the tank in over a month- just fed frozen, turned the tank back on & spotted it minutes later!

I have read about anemone’s reproducing by dropping a polyp (it was a while ago) has anyone seen it? Is it already moving? Googling now! TIA!

EDIT: i read about anemone and mushroom reproduction ages ago and think it all ran together. Looks like anemones either split or require another to fertilize etc

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Now who was that nem expert?


Definitely seems to be a BTA arm, though I've never heard of them reproducing in this way

 

[TinyReefObsession]

Now who was that nem expert?


Definitely seems to be a BTA arm, though I've never heard of them reproducing in this way

Ah ok thanks! I have never seen my condy drop a tentacle but i’ve heard of the bubble tips doing it.. I wonder if that’s it and i’m seeing muscle contractions that make it appear to be moving with intention…

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Now who was that nem expert?


Definitely seems to be a BTA arm, though I've never heard of them reproducing in this way

Ah, I remember, @Anemone_Fanatic?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Possibly a peanut worm?
@ISpeakForTheSeas

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I have read about anemone’s reproducing by dropping a polyp (it was a while ago) has anyone seen it? Is it already moving? Googling now! TIA!

EDIT: i read about anemone and mushroom reproduction ages ago and think it all ran together. Looks like anemones either split or require another to fertilize etc

Actually a number of different anemones can reproduce via tentacle autotomy and regeneration (a fancy way of saying they drop a tentacle that grows into a new nem), but I've never heard of that being the case for BTA's (Entacmaea quadricolor) or Condylactis species (I haven't looked into Condys much at all though yet).

This does look like a dropped tentacle to me, but if it's still moving around on its own (not just with the flow), that seems pretty unlikely to me (I dont' know enough about anemone biology to know if a tentacle from a non-regenerative species would still move around for a while or not though).

If it's not a tentacle, then my thoughts would be either a peanut worm, a spoon worm, or a ribbon worm of some variety.

 

[TinyReefObsession]

wow this is all so trippy! …and PLEASE accept my apologies for my ridiculously late reply - I can’t keep up with life … but seriously first i thought oh this is DEFINITELY the peanut worm as @EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal pointed out (based on the striations). but then I saw it reappear deceased and as the amphipod pulled it away for it’s dinner, the tip glowed green like my nem’s tentacle - although the overall blue gets WAY darker on my nem when it shrinks vs this thing’s blue...

and then this incredible orange worm showed up on the glass last week that literally appeared to split into branches in the middle and morph back into one!!! now this is clearly a ribbon worm as @ISpeakForTheSeas mentioned the original one could be! So now I’m back to the worm theory! haha

Thank you all for your help! I have had this tank just over a year now and it’s SO AMAZING to still discover new critters (also found a little orange brittle star as I changed the airstone a couple weeks ago - just so cool!). Thanks again, I appreciate this community so much!

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

I have some dark red worms that look like that, @ISpeakForTheSeas mentioned that mine are probably ribbon worms as well

 

[TinyReefObsession]

I have some dark red worms that look like that, @ISpeakForTheSeas mentioned that mine are probably ribbon worms as well

so trippy! I absolutely love finding these critters!

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I have some dark red worms that look like that, @ISpeakForTheSeas mentioned that mine are probably ribbon worms as well

and then this incredible orange worm showed up on the glass last week that literally appeared to split into branches in the middle and morph back into one!!! now this is clearly a ribbon worm as @ISpeakForTheSeas mentioned the original one could be! So now I’m back to the worm theory! haha

Actually, in this case, I think the orange worm there is likely a Hair Worm:

Looks like either a hair worm (Cirratulidae) or a spaghetti worm (Terebellide) to me - if the tentacles all come out from a single point, it’s a spaghetti worm; if they come out from basically all over the body it’s a hair worm.

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Actually, in this case, I think the orange worm there is likely a Hair Worm:

Aren't hair worms usually burrowing?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Aren't hair worms usually burrowing?

Yeah, but they sometimes are found on the glass like this (they tend to scare people when they climb on it like this).

 

[TinyReefObsession]

Aren't hair worms usually burrowing?

So i believe this one was a burrowing type, since it suddenly appeared on the glass, i managed to get a few pics as it was already moving back towards the sand, and that was the first and last time i saw it! Haha

 

[TinyReefObsession]

Actually, in this case, I think the orange worm there is likely a Hair Worm:

Yeah, but they sometimes are found on the glass like this (they tend to scare people when they climb on it like this).

So many different kinds! You must have an encyclopedic memory! definitely agree this hair was a burrower since that was the only brief appearance i’ve seen, and it was gone again!

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Haha, no encyclopedic memory here - these things just start to stick after you see them enough (and read enough about them). Definitely a lot of different kinds though.

 

[ChrisPPolys]

Actually a number of different anemones can reproduce via tentacle autotomy and regeneration (a fancy way of saying they drop a tentacle that grows into a new nem), but I've never heard of that being the case for BTA's (Entacmaea quadricolor) or Condylactis species (I haven't looked into Condys much at all though yet).

This does look like a dropped tentacle to me, but if it's still moving around on its own (not just with the flow), that seems pretty unlikely to me (I dont' know enough about anemone biology to know if a tentacle from a non-regenerative species would still move around for a while or not though).

If it's not a tentacle, then my thoughts would be either a peanut worm, a spoon worm, or a ribbon worm of some variety.

I’m a Chef/foodie.

Are these the same types of peanut worms eaten in south east Asian countries?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I’m a Chef/foodie.

Are these the same types of peanut worms eaten in south east Asian countries?

Yeah, Peanut Worms (Sipunculans) are a delicacy in a lot of Asia.

 

[ChrisPPolys]

Yeah, Peanut Worms (Sipunculans) are a delicacy in a lot of Asia.

Didn’t know you’d find these in reef tanks, very interesting. Thank you for the information.