Please help! I don't know what type of parasite/worm this is!?

[Jaybella8]

So I really need help, I recently had an infestation of these worms in my tank. I asked a local aquarium employee what It could be and I guess their lack of experience couldn't identify what I'm looking at here. Please! If anyone knows and can recommend a good, safe treatment for this, I've taken all the fish out of the tank so I would like to treat the tank asap because I can' keep them in the another tank for long

 

[skiergd011013]

Looks like a serpent or brittle star. If you could snap a pic from the other side if it i could be certain. If thats what it is, they are fine. Just scavengers.

 

[Jaybella8]

Looks like a serpent or brittle star. If you could snap a pic from the other side if it i could be certain. If thats what it is, they are fine. Just scavengers.

How do they just come about like That? The only reason I'm scared is because I had anchor worms, on my fish which is really rare for marine fish and I'm like totally grossed out and want to do a full cleanup before I reintroduce my fish

 

[skiergd011013]

How do they just grow out of nowhere?

they dont. They hitchhike. Could have come in on any piece of rock youve bought, any piece of coral etc.

 

[Heliarc19]

Looks a lot like mini brittle or something there are a lot of types of sea stars most of which are scavengers and these things can live through anything so there is no way to know how it came in but they are almost always a good thing imo

 

[Legal Reefer]

Do you have live rock or a sand bed in your tank?

 

[Jaybella8]

Do you have live rock or a sand bed in your tank?

Yes both, live rock and sand

 

[Jaybella8]

Yes both, live rock and sand

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

It's a micro brittle star.

 

[Jaybella8]

I guess since we are on the topic, is this considered another scavenger/clean crew too? Or is this a pest?

 

[Jaybella8]

Thank you sooo much guys!! I've been a freshwater fish person for years, I'm a newbie to salt, so this is like a whole new ballgame for me..

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I guess since we are on the topic, is this considered another scavenger/clean crew too? Or is this a pest?

No sweat. It a bit of a different ball game.

That btw, is an aptaisia. An anemone. You want to scrape that off the rock. They spread.

 

[Jaybella8]

No sweat. It a bit of a different ball game.

That btw, is an aptaisia. An anemone. You want to scrape that off the rock. They spread.

Cool yea I thought So! Do you know if the red leaves are anemone too?

 

[Jaybella8]

So I really need help, I recently had an infestation of these worms in my tank. I asked a local aquarium employee what It could be and I guess their lack of experience couldn't identify what I'm looking at here. Please! If anyone knows and can recommend a good, safe treatment for this, I've taken all the fish out of the tank so I would like to treat the tank asap because I can' keep them in the another tank for long

 

[4FordFamily]

Cool yea I thought So! Do you know if the red leaves are anemone too?

I see what appears to be Cyanobacteria and perhaps a button polyp on that rock (the one with the aiptasia)

 

[Jaybella8]

What is this? An anchor worm? I'm so paranoid lol

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I think it may be a red macro algae. Should come off with a toothbrush.

 

[GHsaltie]

The red leaves would be red grape algae. I don’t particularly mind having it myself.

 

[Wiz]

Nice branch!

 

[GHsaltie]

It does kind of look like anchor worms. I don’t have any experience with it but I would think best treatment would be prazipro, maybe start with a freshwater dip. @Humblefish @melypr1985 @ngoodermuth