rock tube with a black worm!

[bboyin4lyf]

after rearranging my rock work i found what seems to be my substrate "coral grit" glued into a cyclinder shape. i scraped off some of the rock and it revealed a gray sack underneat. after watching and waiting a while a black worm pocked its head out of one end of the tube. it had little "feathers " all over its head. completely strange. any body ever heard of anything like this?

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

I might be a serpulid worm, but without a pic it's hard to make a positive ID.

 

[SnowManSnow]

Sounds like a featheduster that has shed his plume to me ..but hey.. ive been wrong once today already.

 

[Anonymous]

ounds like a featheduster that has shed his plume to me

Right on. The feathers thing reminds me of the sensory organs that my large featherduster has coming from the center of the mouth.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

From the Hitch hiker page - http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/index.html

I see more 'feather dusters' on my rock that have white, 1mm thick tubes with much smaller 'crowns'. Are these Sabellids too?

Chances are that these are not Sabellids but Serpulid (Family Serpulidae) polychaetes. Serpulids are typically found living in calcareous tubes and can have spectacular 'crowns'. One of the most well known Serpulids is the 'Christmas Tree Worm' (Spirobranchus giganteus). This worm is typically sold as 'Christmas Tree Worm Rock' or 'Worm Rock'. This 'rock' is actually a Porites sp. coral and the worms have a commensal relationship with this coral. Without the living coral, which most aquarists can not keep alive, the worms seldom live for very long. In addition to the coral's health, phytoplankton is also required as they are obligate filter feeders.


bboy mentioned a "coral grit" tube. regualr dusters and colonial dusters tend to form a leathery tube.

 

[bboyin4lyf]

thanks for that. the tube was incredibly strange , i managed to get a pic of the tube which ill put up tomorrow!

 

[Anonymous]

It sounds like a spaghetti worm/terebellid polychaete. Have you seen any thin white strands comming from the tube? These worms send out mucus covered tent. and collect detritus etc. then drag it back to their mouths. If it is a spaghetti worm it is harmless. Andy

 

[bboyin4lyf]

nah not a spag worm. this thing is as long as my index finger. thanks for the suggestion though. my mum stole my digi and shes not back till monday ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH i wanna know what this thing is damn it. it has literally glued my substrate together to make a tube!

 

[Anonymous]

Hey bboy, how big around is the worm? does it have tenticles? The grit tube is what is what made me thing spag. worm. Andy

 

[tgfrench]

I have 2 featherdusters with black crowns but they are forming flat sheaves on the rock rather than the round tubes most see. I also have white and very tiny red ones.

 

[bboyin4lyf]

finally got the pic. this is an absolutly terrible pic cause i didnt think id be posting it when i took it. just for reference the tube is about as long as my middle finger.

 

[bboyin4lyf]

bizarre isnt it 8O

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

the pic's to blurry for a proper ID. sorry.

 

[bboyin4lyf]

its just the substrate glued together to make that overhanging tube. any one ever seen a tube like it? i kknow you cant see the worm but the tube should suffice.