spikey growth

[Au79Dragon]

i originally posted this in the beginner's forum, but i think this ID forum is more appropriate.

 

anyone know what these spikey things are? they're growing on my rocks and snails.

[sjpresley]

Can you get a picture in better focus? Or a good description of them (colors, texture, growthrate, hardness, etc).

 

Looks like they might be foraminiferans.

[TiGs]

What do those spikey things do when lights are on, when lights are off, do they extend, do polyps appear, etc?

[Au79Dragon]

here's a pic of the rock.

 

the spikes don't do anything except grow longer over time. most are maroon, but some are dark green. they are pretty hard, but yet brittle. i can break the spike off easily, but the pig-tail base sticks to the rock and snails pretty good.

 

thanks for the help.

[Au79Dragon]

i think i found the answer...

 

an excerpt from

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/newreply.p...&threadid=10765

Worms that ain't..

Vermetid Snails In Marine Aquaria

by Ron Shimek

 

...

Vermetid snails are relatively diverse, over a hundred species have been described, and some of them may be commonly found in aquaria. A small species with a brown, reddish, or purple shell is probably most common. This may be a species of the genus Dendropoma (Abbott and Dance, 1982). Individuals of this species form a small mound of shell about 2-3 mm (1/8 inch) on a side with a vertical tube extending upward about 4-5 mm (1/5 inch). The tubes are quite sharp and actually can give an unwary person a nasty cut. These animals proliferate very in our systems, and seem to prefer areas with turbulent flow and high currents. Where they are common, they can significantly reduce pump efficiency by increasing water resistance in pipes and tubing. This species probably was Caribbean in origin, but now is endemic in many dealers tanks and may be found on rocks and other hard substrata (they grow well on snail shells, bare coral skeletons, and other hard biogenic substrates).

...

 

thanks everyone.