What kind of alien is this?

[Jessy-Ray]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHVArublqNG/?igshid=1s33puh76tsde
 

anybody know what the heck this is?

[Tired]

Spaghetti worm seems right. Do the feelers repeatedly come out of the same general area of rockwork and feel around? And do you see any other feelers tucked up under there? 

 

Spaghetti worms are almost completely harmless. They eat detritus and are generally considered beneficial, but if they set up shop by a coral, they can annoy it by groping over it for food. I had some miniature lime green ones in my old tank. 

[farkwar]

On 11/8/2020 at 5:06 AM, Jessy-Ray said:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHVArublqNG/?igshid=1s33puh76tsde
 

anybody know what the heck this is?

Creepy is what it is

 

Forgot to add, AF

[WV Reefer]

On 11/8/2020 at 8:06 AM, Jessy-Ray said:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHVArublqNG/?igshid=1s33puh76tsde
 

anybody know what the heck this is?

Seems too big and too fast for a spaghetti worm even though some types can get quite large. 
 

 

[farkwar]

21 minutes ago, WV Reefer said:

Seems too big and too fast for a spaghetti worm even though some types can get quite large. 
 

 

Correct

 

It's a Spoon Worm

 

 

[WV Reefer]

9 minutes ago, farkwar said:

Correct

 

It's a Spoon Worm

Never would have guessed that one. 

 

 

***it’s funny that they are described as “rude” 😂

[sublunary]

Great video.  I've seen a lot of photos of spoon worms but had no idea they moved that fast!

[Tired]

Huh, don't think I've seen those. Neat. I guess the forked end of the tendril gives it away as a spoon worm. 

 

...wait a minute. That's another name for a fat innkeeper worm, isn't it? The ones that make the u-shaped sand tunnels and look incredibly rude? 

 

Yeah, I looked it up. Congrats, OP, you have something colloquially referred to as a penis fish. I've just been reading about them. They get a bit large as aquarium worms go, but are detritivores, similar to spaghetti worms. I wonder if you could train yours to take food from tongs? 

[farkwar]

22 hours ago, Tired said:

Huh, don't think I've seen those. Neat. I guess the forked end of the tendril gives it away as a spoon worm. 

 

...wait a minute. That's another name for a fat innkeeper worm, isn't it? The ones that make the u-shaped sand tunnels and look incredibly rude? 

 

Yeah, I looked it up. Congrats, OP, you have something colloquially referred to as a penis fish. I've just been reading about them. They get a bit large as aquarium worms go, but are detritivores, similar to spaghetti worms. I wonder if you could train yours to take food from tongs? 

People eat those forked tongue schlong, erm I mean spoon, worms, gross

 

Guarantee you, Covid-20 comes from them next year

 

I also guarantee I asked the same question here 6 years ago.  Long time

[Jessy-Ray]

On 11/10/2020 at 6:03 AM, farkwar said:

Correct

 

It's a Spoon Worm

 

 

That’s the one!

[Jessy-Ray]

On 11/10/2020 at 10:20 AM, Tired said:

Huh, don't think I've seen those. Neat. I guess the forked end of the tendril gives it away as a spoon worm. 

 

...wait a minute. That's another name for a fat innkeeper worm, isn't it? The ones that make the u-shaped sand tunnels and look incredibly rude? 

 

Yeah, I looked it up. Congrats, OP, you have something colloquially referred to as a penis fish. I've just been reading about them. They get a bit large as aquarium worms go, but are detritivores, similar to spaghetti worms. I wonder if you could train yours to take food from tongs? 

I don’t think I’ll be training it, just keeping a close eye on it ready to fill it’s hole up with super glue if it gets any funny ideas

[Tired]

No need to kill it, it's just grabbing around for detritus. It would probably get away from the glue anyway. 

 

Most critters you're likely to see in your reef tank are harmless, and many are beneficial. Spoon worms can be considered beneficial due to their diet. 

[Jessy-Ray]

5 hours ago, Tired said:

No need to kill it, it's just grabbing around for detritus. It would probably get away from the glue anyway. 

 

Most critters you're likely to see in your reef tank are harmless, and many are beneficial. Spoon worms can be considered beneficial due to their diet. 

lol I’m not new to reefing, just never seen a spoon worm before.

 

the glue was a joke 😅

[An Bollenessor]

The green colour suggests it is a, hold on, green spoon worm: Bonellia viridis.

 

https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/00000161-8b86-d7a0-a7e1-dbf7ba8a0000

 

[Jessy-Ray]

A conclusion to this thread....

a few weeks after my post here the spoon worm for one reason or another ended up in the water column and got sucked into one of the mp40s

RIP to the freaky green spoon worm.

 

[king aiptasia]

On 11/10/2020 at 7:38 PM, farkwar said:

People eat those forked tongue schlong, erm I mean spoon, worms, gross

 

Guarantee you, Covid-20 comes from them next year

 

I also guarantee I asked the same question here 6 years ago.  Long time

Good job on identification.

 

OP and all other readers, for future reference Terebellida (the order with all species known as "spaghetti worms") do not have bifurcated tentacles.

[mcarroll]

Seems like it could be a peanut worm too....something I've seen in reefs before, whereas I've never heard of spoon worms in home reefs.  (Both worms are morphologically similar, BTW.)

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sipuncula

https://www.google.com/search?q=peanut+worm (check images)

 

Hungry?  This should cure it:

http://www.clovegarden.com/ingred/aw_sipunz.html

 

Update: Somehow I missed the final pic that shows the color.   Def. looks like spoon worm.  Huh!  (Sorry he didn't make it, but most worms are very fragile like that and don't end up making it...bristleworms are the main/only real exception.)