Spikes growing from hammer coral skeleton

[spaceheater]

Hi there.

 

Over the last couple weeks I've noticed spike growing from the skeleton of my branching hammer coral. The bases appear to have some sort of exoskeleton, but they sway around from the point where they attach to the coral. They also each have a long, thin, whip like extension (maybe 1" long) that is very flexible.

 

Can anyone tell me what these are and are they harmful? Should I remove them? So far they've only popped up on the hammer.

 

Also in between the two major branches there is a bundle of strands that look almost like rotten brown chaeto, except that they are straight and pretty rigid. Not sure if these are related to the other things.

 

[hey]

sounds like vermetid snails, i have some that reside on the base of my torch. They are ugly and can irritate corals but I havnt had an issue with that really in the past year or so I have had them.

[spaceheater]

sounds like vermetid snails, i have some that reside on the base of my torch. They are ugly and can irritate corals but I havnt had an issue with that really in the past year or so I have had them.

I think you're right. Since discovering the hammer my two bumblebee snails haven't left it, and the spikes are slowly going away. I read a couple stories of BB's eating vermetids. I'm guessing that's what they were and that I serendipitously already had a remedy.