What kind of feather duster and worm?

[mh0ward]

Hello everyone, just got some corals and have a couple hitchhikers that I'd like to ID if possible. One is a really tiny feather duster, about the size of a piece of mysis, maybe even slightly smaller. Anyone know what kind it is or how big it might get? It would be pretty cool if it at least got big enough to see without a microscope!

I've also got what looks like some sort of segmented worm and I'm not sure if it is beneficial/desirable or not. It looks like it has 2 pairs of legs (or spikes?) on each segment.

Thanks in advance!

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Hello everyone, just got some corals and have a couple hitchhikers that I'd like to ID if possible. One is a really tiny feather duster, about the size of a piece of mysis, maybe even slightly smaller. Anyone know what kind it is or how big it might get? It would be pretty cool if it at least got big enough to see without a microscope!

I've also got what looks like some sort of segmented worm and I'm not sure if it is beneficial/desirable or not. It looks like it has 2 pairs of legs (or spikes?) on each segment.

Thanks in advance!

Unfortunately, ID'ing feather dusters is a difficult endeavor (particularly with live specimens in their tubes) - I can tell you yours is from the family Sabellidae; my first thought would be a Bispira species of some variety, but I can't confirm that.

The segmented worm is a Polychaete of some kind (the legs/spikes are the bristles coming out of the parapodia of the worm), but I couldn't say what kind from the pic. Most polychaetes are harmless/beneficial (as long as you don't get poked by the bristles), so unless it's particularly large or your snails start going missing, I wouldn't worry about it.