Strange feather duster blob

[Panx]

Yesterday I received my order from WWC's live sale last weekend. Floated the bags in my qt tank, drip acclimated and gave a close visual inspection and removed anything suspicious with my tweezers.

This morning I used a flashlight to take a look and found this strange very thin string floating around coming from a white speck on the frag rack. The string has additional branching strings that sprout off it roughly every 5 mm, and I actually found a second one sitting on a closed up zoa. Using the tweezers I poked the white speck it is coming from and it seems to be gooey and sticky.

The thread is so thin it's hard to capture on camera but I've done my best here:

New item by Bill Pankau

photos.app.goo.gl

New item by Bill Pankau

photos.app.goo.gl

Any ideas?

 

[Fishbird]

If you look up digitate hydroids does that look like what you're seeing?

 

[Panx]

If you look up digitate hydroids does that look like what you're seeing?

Hmm it's close but not quite, this has distinct extra threads coming off it at regular intervals.

I tried to trace the thread in this image.

The main thread is extremely long, like 6-8 inches and the creature seems to be able to shrink and contract it back in... I'll try to get a video...

 

[Panx]

Video -->

Right at the start you get a pretty clear view of it but then it goes out of focus. At roughly the 7 second mark you see it contract itself. A second "main thread" has developed from the one sitting on the zoa.

 

[Panx]

Did a 15 minute Bayer dip followed by a 5 minute Coral RX dip, then three rinses in qt tank water before returning the corals to their tank. They're starting to open back up now.

I inspected the dip bowls and believe with 95% confidence I found and isolated one of the critters. Seems to be quite dead and had a blob of it's "thread" hanging off it, so my hope is the Bayer killed any others that were hitchhiking.

New item by Bill Pankau

photos.app.goo.gl

New item by Bill Pankau

photos.app.goo.gl

Seems like I may have also captured three baby bristle worms, strangely they survived both dips but I believe they've perished in the pipette since catching them.

 

[NYBumkin]

Hmm it's close but not quite, this has distinct extra threads coming off it at regular intervals.

I tried to trace the thread in this image.

The main thread is extremely long, like 6-8 inches and the creature seems to be able to shrink and contract it back in... I'll try to get a video...

I just found this attached to the underside of my egg crate frag rack, just as you describe and draw. There are two little volcano shaped bases, connected to each other attached to the underside of the rack. The "tentacles" are every bit 6" long and I can watch them retract then extend, assuming they are eating. What are they?!?!

 

[Panx]

I just found this attached to the underside of my egg crate frag rack, just as you describe and draw. There are two little volcano shaped bases, connected to each other attached to the underside of the rack. The "tentacles" are every bit 6" long and I can watch them retract then extend, assuming they are eating. What are they?!?!

Yes your description exactly matches what I had! I still have no clue what it was, though I know they are pretty mobile (stabbing one with tweezers seemed to hurt it and it moved, but was back to its original position hours later).

I can tell you that a dip in Bayer (160 mL to 1 gal water, 15 minutes) was effective, I had to dip the whole frag rack.

 

[NYBumkin]

Yes your description exactly matches what I had! I still have no clue what it was, though I know they are pretty mobile (stabbing one with tweezers seemed to hurt it and it moved, but was back to its original position hours later).

I can tell you that a dip in Bayer (160 mL to 1 gal water, 15 minutes) was effective, I had to dip the whole frag rack.

Awesome, thank you. I was thinking of sucking it out with a baster and just continuing with the frag quarantine and weekly dips with Bayer, Coral RX and Flatworm exit.

Any thoughts?
This is my first set of corals. I believe this thing came in from my WWC shipment as it showed up today after me putting the WWC shipment in last night.

 

[NYBumkin]

Heres a video of it, You can kind of see the tentacles/nets/sweepers what have you.

 

[Panx]

Awesome, thank you. I was thinking of sucking it out with a baster and just continuing with the frag quarantine and weekly dips with Bayer, Coral RX and Flatworm exit.

Any thoughts?
This is my first set of corals. I believe this thing came in from my WWC shipment as it showed up today after me putting the WWC shipment in last night.

I suspect you'll have trouble using a baster, probably it won't detach from the surface it's on. It almost seems like some type of flatworm, I actually did suspect that Flatworm Exit alone might work.

Having a separate qt for frags is already going above what I think most in this community are doing so that's good, normally people will just do a dip and then right into the display tank.
I'd suggest just doing a dip and then put back into the qt tank to monitor closely for the next 3 weeks, that's what I'm doing now and I haven't seen anything suspicious since the dip. As far as what to actually dip, I'm not sure how to advise. The rack it's attached to at the very least I'd say... if you wanted to get carried away you could probably do the rack and any other corals but you will want to look up proper procedure and if it's safe (I think I saw a SPS in that video you sent and I'm not sure how they handle Bayer). Or, for all we know since nobody seems to be able to identify it, this could be a completely harmless critter that is okay to be in a reef! lol

 

[NYBumkin]

I suspect you'll have trouble using a baster, probably it won't detach from the surface it's on. It almost seems like some type of flatworm, I actually did suspect that Flatworm Exit alone might work.

Having a separate qt for frags is already going above what I think most in this community are doing so that's good, normally people will just do a dip and then right into the display tank.
I'd suggest just doing a dip and then put back into the qt tank to monitor closely for the next 3 weeks, that's what I'm doing now and I haven't seen anything suspicious since the dip. As far as what to actually dip, I'm not sure how to advise. The rack it's attached to at the very least I'd say... if you wanted to get carried away you could probably do the rack and any other corals but you will want to look up proper procedure and if it's safe (I think I saw a SPS in that video you sent and I'm not sure how they handle Bayer). Or, for all we know since nobody seems to be able to identify it, this could be a completely harmless critter that is okay to be in a reef! lol

Lol, could be a goose laying golden eggs....maybe I'll propagate and sell lol

No SPS yet, zoas, palythoa, gsp, frogspawn, galaxea, pipe organ, duncan and chalice. My frag rack is too big to dip...I may just wait and see if it grows, or splits or what have you and develop some history on it myself. Start a new discovery thread

I'm going to dip the corals each week for a couple of weeks or so then keep them in the qt for a total of 60 days to make sure a majority of any ick Tomants (sp?) are done with....may stretch to the 76 day window which would make sure they are all done with from what I've read.

I'm trying to do this in the best way I can as I can barely afford the hobby let alone all of it dying...which doesn't even count the fact that they are living creatures and I kind of want to be good to them lol

I have a fish only 20g observation/quarantine tank (has a 6 line wrasse in it now), and a 10g copper qt tank running from the last 3 x Yellowtail Damselfish I put through preventative copper treatment prior to going into the display. I'll probably break down the copper tank this weekend until needed again. I have already rested on my ideals a bit by not putting all my fish through 6 weeks of copper and internal parasite treatment. The sketchy fish will get preventative copper treatment, the non-sketchy will be observed and treated only if needed.

I'm about to build a stand for a 40g breeder to plumb in to my DT for coral growout

How long have you been reefing?

 

[Panx]

Lol, could be a goose laying golden eggs....maybe I'll propagate and sell lol

lol yeah it could be! I wonder if WWC knows what this thing is, since we both seem to have gotten it from the live coral sale they just had.

No SPS yet, zoas, palythoa, gsp, frogspawn, galaxea, pipe organ, duncan and chalice.

Nice you got quite the haul!

I'm going to dip the corals each week for a couple of weeks or so then keep them in the qt for a total of 60 days to make sure a majority of any ick Tomants (sp?) are done with....may stretch to the 76 day window which would make sure they are all done with from what I've read.

Seems like a solid plan for dipping and monitoring, with 76 days you can be sure not to introduce ich.

That said it seems really unlikely to catch ich from corals, but I suppose there is always the chance...

• Trophont (feeding stage) - are attached to fish and they don't eat coral so almost assuredly can't catch these
• Protomont (crawling stage) - small chance to get one of these, but if you dip/rinse and inspect between the bag and qt you'd probably be 99% sure not to get this
• Tomont (cyst stage) - could be possible they encyst on a frag plug or skeleton, this stage is probably most likely where you'd get it
• Theronts (free swimming stage) - if you are tossing the water from the bag and just grabbing the coral i think you'd not get one of these either

How long have you been reefing?

I've been into freshwater for the past decade plus but began my adventures into salt a little over a year ago, started with a 90 gallon reef ready and a cheap 20 gallon aquarium as the sump.
Currently my 90 gallon is going through it's own fallow period (finished at the end of next week!) after I came down with a case of Ich that took my two orange storm clowns and a handful of other fish.
Previously I was not doing any quarantine at all and had removed the UV light from my sump which was probably the only thing keeping my ich in check before. I'll not make that mistake again!

 

[NYBumkin]

lol yeah it could be! I wonder if WWC knows what this thing is, since we both seem to have gotten it from the live coral sale they just had.


Nice you got quite the haul!


Seems like a solid plan for dipping and monitoring, with 76 days you can be sure not to introduce ich.

That said it seems really unlikely to catch ich from corals, but I suppose there is always the chance...

• Trophont (feeding stage) - are attached to fish and they don't eat coral so almost assuredly can't catch these
• Protomont (crawling stage) - small chance to get one of these, but if you dip/rinse and inspect between the bag and qt you'd probably be 99% sure not to get this
• Tomont (cyst stage) - could be possible they encyst on a frag plug or skeleton, this stage is probably most likely where you'd get it
• Theronts (free swimming stage) - if you are tossing the water from the bag and just grabbing the coral i think you'd not get one of these either

I've been into freshwater for the past decade plus but began my adventures into salt a little over a year ago, started with a 90 gallon reef ready and a cheap 20 gallon aquarium as the sump.
Currently my 90 gallon is going through it's own fallow period (finished at the end of next week!) after I came down with a case of Ich that took my two orange storm clowns and a handful of other fish.
Previously I was not doing any quarantine at all and had removed the UV light from my sump which was probably the only thing keeping my ich in check before. I'll not make that mistake again!

Thanks for the info! I got the frogspawn, zoas and paly at my local coral shop. Rest was the live sale. Stressful those things! Lol

I didn’t want to ask them as I don’t want to seem like I’m blaming or saying anything bad.

Send a photo when you get your tank running! Any corals in there you could share?

 

[Panx]

Yeah thats the same reason I was hesitant to ask WWC.

I'll send some pics when things are back to normal, there's not much to look at right now

By the way, I did some further research https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-free-tank-coral-additions.234769/post-2747482

 

[NYBumkin]

Yeah thats the same reason I was hesitant to ask WWC.

I'll send some pics when things are back to normal, there's not much to look at right now

By the way, I did some further research https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-free-tank-coral-additions.234769/post-2747482

Good ole Humblefish...has a way of making the complicated simple. Love it. Thanks!