Peanut Worm? Can you help Identify

ParticleMan · 2026-08-26T01:33:05-0400

I got this torch a couple week ago and it seems to be pretty happy. I did notice this evening though it seems to have some type of hitchhiker attached to the skeleton. I think it may be a peanut worm? It has a flat circular/oval face and thin stalk that goes directly into the skeleton of the torch. It's very quick to react to movement, light but when it's out it just seems to stay in the water column. When it retracts it can't be seen other than a small dis-coloration in the skeleton. I've attached a couple pictures which are about the best I could get. Can anyone help? Should i glue over the opening? Is it something to be worried about? The last picture is how it generally looks during the day.

EnterName · 2026-08-26T04:24:25-0400

The organism circled in the image below could be one large flatworm. Euphyllia eating flatworms can be quite translucent and often have a stripe in the middle just as you can see in the image.

Most flatworms are bad news, so I would give that coral an appropriate dip to make the potential hitchhiker(s) let go of the coral and then quarantine the coral if you can. If those organism(s) lay eggs you will need to repeat that process until all eggs are hatched and you removed all hatchlings before they can reproduce themselves.

I would also double check the red blobs on the coral skeleton. At first I thought these were Waminoa sp. flatworms but the side-view of them lets me doubt that ID a bit... They look still weird, so I would try to get them off during the dip it isn't something encrusting.

ParticleMan · 2026-08-26T17:59:49-0400

---Updated: I'm not actually referring to the red nodules; I figured out they are indeed Red Foraminiferans. Hard, cemented to the stalk, no issues. It was the flesh-colored protrusion that peaks out about half up the skeleton, from inside. best to see it on the 2nd and 3rd pictures. -----

That interesting you circled that outline as a protentional flat worm. Unless it appeared recently, I did dip the coral before it was added about 2 weeks ago and when I tried to scrape off the Foraminiferans there was nothing that seemed flat worm like. Even know it's just a hard skeleton surface when I use the exacto knife against it. Don't flatworms move at some point?

ParticleMan · 2026-08-26T18:04:38-0400

ParticleMan said:
I got this torch a couple week ago and it seems to be pretty happy. I did notice this evening though it seems to have some type of hitchhiker attached to the skeleton. I think it may be a peanut worm? It has a flat circular/oval face and thin stalk that goes directly into the skeleton of the torch. It's very quick to react to movement, light but when it's out it just seems to stay in the water column. When it retracts it can't be seen other than a small dis-coloration in the skeleton. I've attached a couple pictures which are about the best I could get. Can anyone help? Should i glue over the opening? Is it something to be worried about? The last picture is how it generally looks during the day.

/

ParticleMan said:
I got this torch a couple week ago and it seems to be pretty happy. I did notice this evening though it seems to have some type of hitchhiker attached to the skeleton. I think it may be a peanut worm? It has a flat circular/oval face and thin stalk that goes directly into the skeleton of the torch. It's very quick to react to movement, light but when it's out it just seems to stay in the water column. When it retracts it can't be seen other than a small dis-coloration in the skeleton. I've attached a couple pictures which are about the best I could get. Can anyone help? Should i glue over the opening? Is it something to be worried about? The last picture is how it generally looks during the day.

Updated: I'm not actually referring to the red nodules; I figured out they are indeed Red Foraminiferans. Hard, cemented to the stalk, no issues. It was the flesh-colored protrusion that peaks out about half up the skeleton, from inside. best to see it on the 2nd and 3rd pictures.

EnterName · 2026-08-26T18:22:29-0400

ParticleMan said:
That interesting you circled that outline as a protentional flat worm. Unless it appeared recently, I did dip the coral before it was added about 2 weeks ago and when I tried to scrape off the Foraminiferans there was nothing that seemed flat worm like. Even know it's just a hard skeleton surface when I use the exacto knife against it. Don't flatworms move at some point?

Flatworms would move or certainly dislike it if you stab them with a knife, so I was just tricked by the straight line and the weird shape which becomes more obvious when sharpening the image:

The flatworm would not crawl underneath the foraminifera so I just got tricked

So I assume you are referring to the spot circled below? Or am I still missing it

?

keagan · 2026-08-26T18:32:48-0400

Reacts to light and peeks out of a hole. Does it look like a feather duster crown in person?

ParticleMan · 2026-08-26T19:30:20-0400

EnterName said:
Flatworms would move or certainly dislike it if you stab them with a knife, so I was just tricked by the straight line and the weird shape which becomes more obvious when sharpening the image:

The flatworm would not crawl underneath the foraminifera so I just got tricked

So I assume you are referring to the spot circled below? Or am I still missing it ?

Yes exactly, my bad for not circling it. But exactly, its so hard to tell what it could be other than definitely living. It reacts to light and movement but that's it. It just sorta posts up on that spot. Could it be a feather duster? Would they burrow inside a coral skeleton like that?

ParticleMan · 2026-08-26T19:31:40-0400

keagan said:
Reacts to light and peeks out of a hole. Does it look like a feather duster crown in person?

From those enhancements it does look like it has some signs of a feather duster but the fact it retreats completely inside of the skeleton and almost closes the opening is what is confounding me.