Under my brain, ? sweepers?

[steelhealr]

OK guys...I need help on this one. My favites has strange things coming out from under the frag it's on. It's not a great pic, but, I snapped it under the light of a flashlight to capture it. The brain has the regular brown sweeper tentacles coming out from the central portion of each polyp, but, these things look like they are coming out from under the rock. They are about 1.5 inches long, appear whitish. They move like octupus tentacles, curling in on themselves when food comes by. It's not a bristle worm...isn't crawling. This extends into the current. Is there another sweeper system assoicated with the brain...or...(gulp), is this something else? Thanks. SH

 

[reef n ale]

That is tough pic SH. Could it be some sort of star?

 

Rob

[Reef_Mad_Man]

Thats a GREAT pic! Its a mini star IE brittle or something along those lines. THey never comeout of the rock they call home either (at least VERY RARELY! LOL).

[fishwife]

Bet it is. I've got lots of (what I think are) brittle stars wedged in my rock. They extend their legs (mine are white with dark stripes) and look a lot like a worm or something. They look like what you've got.

[steelhealr]

Excellent call everyone. You know something....after I got my tubipora, I remember seeing a 1/2" star on the frag one night in the dark. Looked like a hitchhiker. It disappeared never to be seen again. When the brain was ailing, I moved it up higher near the tubipora to recover, then moved it back down to the substrate when it filled out. I wonder if that star latched on to the bottom of the brain and moved down with it. Thanks. I think it's a good call. I'll keep an eye on it. SH

[Caesar777]

Yup, serpent star. Mine love to hide i nthe rock or under corals, and wave their little arms around. (Both my tiny white ones, small gray/black/burgundy ones, and my 1-2 full-sized ones.)