threads shooting from leather

[strayvoltage]

I have this thred like thing shooting out from my umbrella leather. Have never known just what it was for the longest time. I had talked with Sam from the Coral Reef and he really hadn't heard of them either. Then one day while talking with Sam he told me he seen one from a leather he had in the shop. I done some research and tried to find out what it was but no luck. Well now I have or at least think I have found out what it is. It is called a benthic ctenophore. Here is where I found out about it if anybody cares to have a look and or read. Is an interesting read , or was for me. http://www.seaslugforum.net/display.cfm?id=12274

I found this site from the one that killingseed posted about hitchikers and it was a link to look at the colonial hydroids.

Thanks John for that site it has proven to be a great tool.

[Salty Sam]

Comb Worms.....I have heard about these but had never seen one till now.....thats what I had off one of my Leathers.

[strayvoltage]

Sam. Do you know or have you heard, if they will do any harm to the coral? I really can't find this out so far. I remember when you had that one on that leather in the shop. I had asked you about them a while before then you seen that one there.

[Salty Sam]

It seem to flow into other Corals and no impact that I could tell....I think they are just trying to capture food.

[killingseed]

ya , but something like that can be enought to cause irritation to other corals so they close and closed corals doesnt eat or repoduce.

now that i think about there was something like that on one of my brother leathers he got a while back look like a flat worm but had that stringy look at night, but like sam said its trying to get food to eat. i driped his leather in fresh water and it jumped ship from the leather almost at the moment it hit the fresh water. the leather wasnt happy about it but after a couple days it look good again.

now i am not say you need to dip it. but odds things do hitch rides, and same are not good at all. just being aware of them and what they look like.

i have seem people say that have pods all over at night, turns out they are just not sure the differnt from the micro snails and the pods like copepods. even then i think its hard to tell the diffence form the good micro snails and the bad ones i.e. (sundials) which over time the sundail will get much bigger then the COLLONISTA SNAILS "micro snail" ,eat algea.

as i have read about dipping zoa' and what can eat them turns out some people are saying that pods may be eating zoa's as well as other things like nub's and sundails. so keeping 6 lines and Mandarins to help provent the pods from eating them is helpful, but i think there is a catch 22 there, if pods eat zoa, then the Mandarin eat the pods, but you need to have a replanishing supply of pods for the Mandarin, sense they will clean out the pods from a tank unless you get your Mandarin to eat things other then pods.

just some personal thoughts on the matter.