Hydroids? Copepods? Some kind of worm....

[xdcbenoitxd]

Hi I need help please. I am trying to remove all good hitchhikers from this tank over the next coupe months and swap to a new one. The previous owner clearly never dipped. These are the hitch hikers I am aware of ; Bristle worm, Bobbit worm, Colostina snail, Asterina starfish, Limpet, Amphipods. I have 3 new ones I noticed that I need help to ID.

The first is the biggest problem. My usually beautiful GSP was completely closed and it looked like a bunch of my cat's hair had made it in the tank. I removed and dipped in coral RX, brushed gently and put it back in. The GSP opened back up but now I see strings again. could this be hydroids?

The second I just noticed and I believe might just be copepods but I never noticed them in 9 months.

The third I noticed on the glass when I was looking at what I believe are copepods. They are tiny and everywhere. I have no idea what they are. Their size is probably why I never noticed them.

Could I get help confirming what everything is please?

Ok attached the video/photo in wrong order
(copepods video? GSP photo where there could be hydroids. Hydroid video? Little worm on glass video.

 

[Tired]

Bobbit worms are extremely rare, basically nonexistent at this point due to rock not really being collected from their habitat. You're likely looking at some other species of eunicid worm, which may very well be a scavenger. Got any pics?

Unless the asterinas or limpets have been seen eating corals, those are probably fine. Many species will leave corals alone unless starving. Bristleworms are beneficial detritivores and are nearly impossible to avoid, amphipods are generally harmless and impossible to avoid. Collonista snails are harmless algae-eaters, no need to worry about them.

The round beasties look too big for copepods. Ostracods of some sort, maybe? Harmless, if so.

The second thing is a sphaghetti worm or similar animal. May mildly annoy corals if it touches them a lot, but generally harmless- it's reaching for detritus. Unlikely to be what's causing your entire GSP to close. It does sometimes close when growing, or, alternately, you might have vermetids annoying it.

The third creature is a worm of some sort. There's a type of tube-building worm that reaches out with two long tendrils to grab detritus. I forget what they're called, but it looks like that's one. Again, harmless.

 

[xdcbenoitxd]

Bobbit worms are extremely rare, basically nonexistent at this point due to rock not really being collected from their habitat. You're likely looking at some other species of eunicid worm, which may very well be a scavenger. Got any pics?

Unless the asterinas or limpets have been seen eating corals, those are probably fine. Many species will leave corals alone unless starving. Bristleworms are beneficial detritivores and are nearly impossible to avoid, amphipods are generally harmless and impossible to avoid. Collonista snails are harmless algae-eaters, no need to worry about them.

The round beasties look too big for copepods. Ostracods of some sort, maybe? Harmless, if so.

The second thing is a sphaghetti worm or similar animal. May mildly annoy corals if it touches them a lot, but generally harmless- it's reaching for detritus. Unlikely to be what's causing your entire GSP to close. It does sometimes close when growing, or, alternately, you might have vermetids annoying it.

The third creature is a worm of some sort. There's a type of tube-building worm that reaches out with two long tendrils to grab detritus. I forget what they're called, but it looks like that's one. Again, harmless.

Thanks for the speedy response.
It took me a bit to find the pic what quite a few people told me where bobbits. I would love if it wasn't The round beasties where zoomed in a lot but i looked up ostracods and it's very possible. I'm going to see if I can catch one and get it under a microscope. As for the strings my GSP did open back up after dipping and my water parameters where not great after a my trip (low dkh, calcium) so I'm hoping it's going to be happy from here on out
I quite like my asterina, amphipods, limpets and collostina and am collecting them to seed my new tank!

 

[xdcbenoitxd]

Bobbit worms are extremely rare, basically nonexistent at this point due to rock not really being collected from their habitat. You're likely looking at some other species of eunicid worm, which may very well be a scavenger. Got any pics?

Unless the asterinas or limpets have been seen eating corals, those are probably fine. Many species will leave corals alone unless starving. Bristleworms are beneficial detritivores and are nearly impossible to avoid, amphipods are generally harmless and impossible to avoid. Collonista snails are harmless algae-eaters, no need to worry about them.

The round beasties look too big for copepods. Ostracods of some sort, maybe? Harmless, if so.

The second thing is a sphaghetti worm or similar animal. May mildly annoy corals if it touches them a lot, but generally harmless- it's reaching for detritus. Unlikely to be what's causing your entire GSP to close. It does sometimes close when growing, or, alternately, you might have vermetids annoying it.

The third creature is a worm of some sort. There's a type of tube-building worm that reaches out with two long tendrils to grab detritus. I forget what they're called, but it looks like that's one. Again, harmless.

I just realized I added snails and I hadn't quarantined them first so that may be where some new stuff came from.

 

[Tired]

Who exactly told you that was a bobbit? It's very common for other eunicid worms to be mistaken for them. That looks like some sort of eunicid, but I wouldn't be confident in declaring it a bobbit. Especially if there's never been any wild-harvested Indo-Pacific rock or coral added, and especially if the tank has been up for awhile without these particular eunicids getting very big.

I'd be interested to see the round critters under a microscope.

Snails generally only bring in algae and other sessile things, though there are, of course, exceptions. The main worry with them is that they can transport ich cysts on their shells.

 

[xdcbenoitxd]

Who exactly told you that was a bobbit? It's very common for other eunicid worms to be mistaken for them. That looks like some sort of eunicid, but I wouldn't be confident in declaring it a bobbit. Especially if there's never been any wild-harvested Indo-Pacific rock or coral added, and especially if the tank has been up for awhile without these particular eunicids getting very big.

I'd be interested to see the round critters under a microscope.

Snails generally only bring in algae and other sessile things, though there are, of course, exceptions. The main worry with them is that they can transport ich cysts on their shells.

I posted a few threads a while back on here asking what kind of hitch hikers I had and that's the answer I got.

 

[WheatToast]

Bobbit worms are extremely rare, basically nonexistent at this point due to rock not really being collected from their habitat. You're likely looking at some other species of eunicid worm, which may very well be a scavenger. Got any pics?

It seems that the bobbit Worm (Eunice aphroditois) can be found around the Caribbean, Florida, and Australia (where live rock is still being imported) according to Marine Species and SeaLifeBase. Were they just more common in other popular live rock sources from the past, like Fiji?

The third creature is a worm of some sort. There's a type of tube-building worm that reaches out with two long tendrils to grab detritus. I forget what they're called, but it looks like that's one. Again, harmless.

Thanks for the speedy response.
It took me a bit to find the pic what quite a few people told me where bobbits. I would love if it wasn't The round beasties where zoomed in a lot but i looked up ostracods and it's very possible. I'm going to see if I can catch one and get it under a microscope. As for the strings my GSP did open back up after dipping and my water parameters where not great after a my trip (low dkh, calcium) so I'm hoping it's going to be happy from here on out
I quite like my asterina, amphipods, limpets and collostina and am collecting them to seed my new tank!

The worm in Video #3 almost looks like a Dorvilleidae worm with very long antennae (harmless detritivore). Maybe this is a similar worm or a rare species of Dorvilleidae.
The tube worm you are refering to is a Spionid worm. These worms are reported to both act as harmless detritivores and multiply uncontrollably. I only ever had a single one briefly in an old system.

 

[Tired]

If I remember right, the ones in Florida are found in deeper water than rock is grown in. Australia probably just doesn't have enough rock coming in for any bobbits to really show up.
(...though I should probably take a really close look at these baby eunicids on the rock I just got from Unique Corals, come to think of it. Anyone got any good pics of baby bobbits?)

Spionids! That's the name. I have some currently. Normally I don't see their tendrils, but if I turn the pumps off for a bit, a few sets show up. They've been in here for a couple of years, no uncontrollable multiplying so far. I know I've seen a couple of "help, my tank is full of comical amounts of spaghetti worms" threads, so maybe there are certain tanks that heavily favor tendril-having detritus worms?