Is it safe?

[George]

No, not Marathon Man... THIS thing.

I'm fairly sure it was a hitchhiker on dead branch coral that the mushroom was attached to that I got at the beginners table at the Fall Swap. I would sometimes see very tiny worms protruding from tiny tubes on the dead coral -- so, I figured, "Ok, tube worms." Those bristles aren't visible to the naked eye (at least these old eyes!) -- discovered those after enlarging the pic. Then I was surprised to see, a) one of them outside his tube "walking" on my substrate, and, b) that it was so complex in structure, with arms yet!

The strange hitchhikers that just appear in this hobby amaze me. (An urchin just popped up one day, too!!!) There's no real equivalent in fresh water aquaria.

George

 

[KathyC]

Reef Safe. It is a mini-brittle star with a couple of missing legs - that seem to be growing back.
Good guys - they eat the food the fish don't get.

 

[cowfish]

+1

Love those little guys.

 

[daisy]

if you have one now, you'll have hundreds in time - they are GREAT! I love the way they look, and they're a great part of your reef ecosystem.

 

[REEF ADDICT]

Wooow good to hear i have plenty of those in my tank ....

 

[George]

Thanks, Kathy, et al. I didn't know brittle stars could have anything other than a round body. And it didn't even occur to me that the two short arms were simply "growing back" and not two antennae with maybe a mouth in between.

Boy, the old saying, "Things aren't always as they appear," applies in spades given all these alien creatures in this hobby!

George

 

[SevTT]

Reef Safe. It is a mini-brittle star with a couple of missing legs - that seem to be growing back.
Good guys - they eat the food the fish don't get.

Actually, it looks like the body war cut in half, and is now regrowing.