Awful Pictures, Looking for At least some predictions

TDDredge

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So, I have something in my tank. It is basically in and around a frag of zoas. What I have seen of it is a bunch of very thin, wavy, black and white banded tendrils. It does seem to respond if I try to pull it out or touch it and retract. It is currently hiding and I'm having a dastardly time trying to get pictures of it. I am attaching 2 pictures. In one of the pictures, you can actually see one of the tendrils, really blurry. In the other one, the yellow line is over the tendril, so you know where it is. If I can get pictures at some point I'll post them, but for now I'm interested to know what kind of hitch hiker or pest might hang out in a zoa frag that has very thin, black and white banded tendrils, at least 4 or 5 of them. Estimations and predictions are welcome, and once I have better pictures I'll make a new post.

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TDDredge

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i see nothing in your image but white and black is almost always brittle stars or terebellidae
I hope these help, I'm about to make a new post as well. Are terebellidae a problem at all? I hear some of the polychaetes can actually be useful, but also bobbit worms...
 

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TDDredge

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The circled image almost looks like brittle star legs but I’m not sure
Are either terebellidae or a brittle star that is NOT a green brittle star a threat to corals or fish? If I have a good new scavenger that somehow hitch hiked in, I'm okay with that, but I'd rather not have something that's dangerous to the tank. That said I also have a royal gramma in the tank who might remove a polychaete?
 

Shmollica

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Are either terebellidae or a brittle star that is NOT a green brittle star a threat to corals or fish? If I have a good new scavenger that somehow hitch hiked in, I'm okay with that, but I'd rather not have something that's dangerous to the tank. That said I also have a royal gramma in the tank who might remove a polychaete?
Yeah, how long has that frag been in there? Normally zoas open right up for me so I’d be a little concerned...but they still look good in the pictures!
 
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TDDredge

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Yeah, how long has that frag been in there? Normally zoas open right up for me so I’d be a little concerned...but they still look good in the pictures!
That frag has been in there for a very long time. It was closed up because it was irritated because I was trying to find a way to pull out the pest. It's actually a very happy frag when I haven't irritated it...
 

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That frag has been in there for a very long time. It was closed up because it was irritated because I was trying to find a way to pull out the pest. It's actually a very happy frag when I haven't irritated it...
Lol just wondering if it was the little pest doing it...it sounds like you’ve got a handle, I wouldn’t be too worried. Do you have an idea of what he maybe came in on? Might help you figure out what it is for sure.
 
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TDDredge

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Lol just wondering if it was the little pest doing it...it sounds like you’ve got a handle, I wouldn’t be too worried. Do you have an idea of what he maybe came in on? Might help you figure out what it is for sure.
Only thing added recently was a BTA. Obviously not dipped, I bayer dip all of my corals. I've actually killed a brittle star with a bayer dip on another frag, but that was in a different tank in the LFS, so I don't know if the tank the nems were in had them. Does it seem like it is likely a brittle star or a terebellidae? If so, any idea which it might be?
 
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TDDredge

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Brittle star
How confident do you feel in that? Also, the only recent addition to the tank was a BTA. That is the only thing that has been added recently, and obviously it was not dipped. Could a brittle star have hitch hiked in on one? Gonna be honest I kinda figured nothing could really hitch hike on a nem...
 

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Only thing added recently was a BTA. Obviously not dipped, I bayer dip all of my corals. I've actually killed a brittle star with a bayer dip on another frag, but that was in a different tank in the LFS, so I don't know if the tank the nems were in had them. Does it seem like it is likely a brittle star or a terebellidae? If so, any idea which it might be?
It really doesn’t look like a spaghetti worm in the circle, but I can’t be sure about brittle star...I just said that because I’ve had them come on live rock a few times and they seemed to leave coral alone.
 
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TDDredge

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It really doesn’t look like a spaghetti worm in the circle, but I can’t be sure about brittle star...I just said that because I’ve had them come on live rock a few times and they seemed to leave coral alone.
Are either of those options a threat to corals or fish? I know green brittle stars are fish eaters, but does this look like a green brittle star (if it was one) or more like a serpent star?
 

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Are either of those options a threat to corals or fish? I know green brittle stars are fish eaters, but does this look like a green brittle star (if it was one) or more like a serpent star?
I wouldn’t think that little guy is gonna be able to catch any healthy fish or that he is even going to try.
 

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Only thing added recently was a BTA. Obviously not dipped, I bayer dip all of my corals. I've actually killed a brittle star with a bayer dip on another frag, but that was in a different tank in the LFS, so I don't know if the tank the nems were in had them. Does it seem like it is likely a brittle star or a terebellidae? If so, any idea which it might be?
both are very safe, a brittle star wont have more than 6 legs as a general rule. terebellidae have very flexible thin tentacles often dozens of them, and they can contract. the rigid skeleton on brittle star legs make them unable to contract and instead can only move about
 
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TDDredge

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both are very safe, a brittle star wont have more than 6 legs as a general rule. terebellidae have very flexible thin tentacles often dozens of them, and they can contract. the rigid skeleton on brittle star legs make them unable to contract and instead can only move about
Tried to suck it out with a turkey baster. One tentacle got very long, but never was able to pull out the main body so I haven't seen the main body. Does seem to move between different locations which feels a little more brittle star than polychaete. Only seen 4-5 tentacles or so. No more.
 

king aiptasia

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Tried to suck it out with a turkey baster. One tentacle got very long, but never was able to pull out the main body so I haven't seen the main body. Does seem to move between different locations which feels a little more brittle star than polychaete. Only seen 4-5 tentacles or so. No more.
leave it be, it will not become anything harmful. also polychaetes can be very mobile if there is a good food source
 
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TDDredge

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leave it be, it will not become anything harmful. also polychaetes can be very mobile if there is a good food source
Yeah well to be fair I tried to remove it before taking pictures for an ID, figure if I CAN remove things and then ask questions that's the goal. At this point yeah I am planning to leave it be. There was a slight paranoid concern that I was fostering a bobbit worm which is obviously a little out there, but you know, paranoia about pests. Still genuinely surprised anything managed to hitch hike on a nem. That's the only thing it could have come in on though.
 

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How confident do you feel in that? Also, the only recent addition to the tank was a BTA. That is the only thing that has been added recently, and obviously it was not dipped. Could a brittle star have hitch hiked in on one? Gonna be honest I kinda figured nothing could really hitch hike on a nem...

I have one identical to it that came in on something... mini brittle star I believe. Some species of brittle stars get large though.
 

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