melev

Here are some interesting things that grow in our tanks that aren't readily visible. You may even have wondered if they are okay or not. Unless I state differently, most items taken in my reef are fine or I would have eliminated them.

Asterina starfish. They self-propagate by ripping themselves apart and grow more arms from the center. For the most part, they are well-behaved. Sometimes you'll see them on zoanthids, and it might be good to rescue the polyps manually. If they appear blue-ish in your reef, they may be the kind that snack on SPS. That happened to my 280g reef many years ago, and I had to get some Harlequin shrimp to devour their population and keep my stonies safe. This one is 3/8" tip to tip.

Tiny feather duster. This is a common filter-feeder, which built a calcified tube to call home. When spooked, it will quickly retract into the tube for protection. It eats particulates that flow past its crown and are usually out all the time. It may be referred to as a tube worm, but I believe those are usually in a soft brown tube rather than a calcified one.

Orange Ball Anemones are hard to spot during the daylight period, but are easily seen late at night with a flashlight. Their body is clear, but the tips of the tentacles have round orange balls. These are usually quite small, but can stretch out to be 1/2" to 3/4" wide.

Spirorbid worms grow on plumbing, in the overflows and in the sump. They are normally about pin-head in size, and extend a feathery-crown to filter feed. They do no harm. These were spotted on my return line in the display tank.