Worm squirting stuff at me!

[overgrownaquatics]

Hey all,

 

First time poster, long time lurker...been absorbing as much info as I can.

My tanks been going for 3 weeks now. At first the whole thing looked dead, but now life is popping up everywhere!

I've got 15lbs of Premium Aquatics liverock rubble, 5lbs Premium Aquatics Rockpool sludge, 1lb of LFS livesand, and 15lbs aragonite.

I am running 65w PC, a HOB filter w/ carbon and a small pump for circulation.

The tank itself is 10g.

 

Anyway...Today I was rearranging after a recent structural collapse (liverock rubble is maddeningly diffidult to arrange). When something made me jump, like a rush of movement.

I figured I was just seeing things, but then when I stepped back to enjoy my work it happened again, only this time I could see it was a puff of "smoke" eminating from a worm poking out of the rock. He did it again, obviosly agitated from my moving the rock...

What kind of worm is it? And will the chemicals it is releasing foul my water?

 

Also, what do baby zooanthids look like? Because I have some minute green discs on stalks with greyish centers (maybe a few millimeters big overall) I believe I can discern some tentacle like structures around the edges...are these baby zoos? Please say yes!

 

Thanks!

[Angel]

It is hard to id with the description that you give. Do you have a pic? You would probably get better results that way and possibly a positive id on them. As far as the zoo question, you can look here: http://www.nano-reef.com/corals/

[mineralrock]

it could be any type of worm...more info please....most likely this is breeding behavior. your a dad now.

 

baby zoos look like small zoos...they usually bud from that of a parent stem.

[overgrownaquatics]

unfortunately no photo is really possible of the worm. It lives inside the rock. It only stuck it's head/tail out to squirt at me. It is about 1cm diameter.

 

Also my camera/photo skills are not exactly up to par.

 

What kinds of worms squirt clouds of stuff to ward off threats?

[Angel]

Originally posted by mineralrock

it could be any type of worm

[overgrownaquatics]

Am I to take it then that all types of worm live inside of rocks, squirt clouds of stuff, and are fairly large (1cm diameter)?

 

What is the cloud of stuff then? Poison? Sand? Sperm? Eggs? Babies? Of course my real concern is will it harm my tank, but so far it hasn't so I'll just assume not.

[Angel]

No, but without further info/description or a pic, we cannot elaborate on what the worm or the substance is. That is the joy of searching for all of these new things that we come across.

[overgrownaquatics]

I believe I have figured out what this thing is now, and for the sake of the dispersal of info, or in case anyone else sees this in the future and is confused I will share my discovery...

I believe the "worm" is actually the foot of a Piddock (rock-boring) clam. I believe clams squirt jets of water when disturbed...and it was down inside a hole that very closely resembles the hole of a Piddock. Also, there is a small clam elsewhere on the same rock and it is partially buried in a little hole in the rock. At first I though it was stuck and would die when it grew too big...I am given to understand that Piddocks occur in groups, so I figure the "squirting worm" is actually a clam in a very deep burrow.

 

I also have a medium sized Scallop, that has been thriving since I noticed it, and it even survived the cycling of my tank which was swift and severe. If anyone's been wondering about clams that can be kept in aquaria, here are apparently two kinds that thrive...not very pretty to look at though...just kind of brown.

 

Thanks.