Tiny White Eggs/Worms(?) on Rock

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mythesis

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Bought a frag attached to rock.

After the coral dip, we turned it over and saw these tiny white things all over the bottom.

What are they/what should we do?

I put it in my (currently empty) QT until hearing back.

Edit: Would help to include pic
PXL_20240825_230309610.MP.jpg
 
Spirorbid worms - harmless, little feather duster worms; they're filter-feeders.

Edit: To add, they can spread rapidly sometimes and become unsightly, but they're reportedly quite easy to scrape off and keep under control. Also, Spirorbid worms (taxonomic subfamily Spirorbinae) are in fact feather duster worms (order Sabellida):
https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=989
 
Last edited:
Bought a frag attached to rock.

After the coral dip, we turned it over and saw these tiny white things all over the bottom.

What are they/what should we do?

I put it in my (currently empty) QT until hearing back.

Edit: Would help to include pic
PXL_20240825_230309610.MP.jpg
These aren't duster worms but worms that feed on algae and multiply very quickly and will end up in plumbing and in sumps. When I had/have them, I simply scrape them off into a net using the edge of an old credit card or similar tool
 
Hm, ok.

I also have a copper band that I'm worried about not eating...maybe I should just put him back in the QT and see if he'll go after these...
 
Spirorbid worms - harmless, little feather duster worms; they're filter-feeders.

Edit: To add, they can spread rapidly sometimes and become unsightly, but they're reportedly quite easy to scrape off and keep under control. Also, Spirorbid worms (taxonomic subfamily Spirorbinae) are in fact feather duster worms (order Sabellida):
https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=989
These guys were on the bottom of the rock with the aptasia/barnacle you diagnosed in another thread.

It's now covered in these tiny white guys.

This was in the sand bed previously

1000006366.jpg
 
These guys were on the bottom of the rock with the aptasia/barnacle you diagnosed in another thread.

It's now covered in these tiny white guys.

This was in the sand bed previously

1000006366.jpg
Haha, yeah looks like the Spirorbids are doing well and enjoying themselves - as mentioned, if they get out of hand or you want to trim their numbers back a bit, you can just scrape them off.

The big white thing there is interesting - is that part of the rock, or is it a hitchhiker?
 

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