Worm ID with pic

[Spiffyguy]

Last night I was on flashlight patrol and I saw a rather strange worm. It seemed to be coming out a hole. It has a flat head and I did not see a mouth or tentacles. If you were to lay it flat the bottom was white and the top was dark with white stripes. The worm was round and not flat. I could not see how long it was since it was coming out of the rock and was VERY light sensitive. I did not try my red light since I couldn't find it.

Today I saw what appears to be the same guy. It is in the same area just not coming out of the rocks. So here is a pic and a zoomed in crop of same pic. Sorry for blurryness but I had to flashlight it and use macro on my camera with a magniying glass. I am going to try to get some better pics but this was the best out of the 20+ I shot. Oh and it did not move from the flashlight in this position. But main lights are on right now.

http://spiffyguy.com/images/reefcentral/posts/slides/IMG_5095.jpg

and the zoom

http://spiffyguy.com/images/reefcentral/posts/slides/IMG_5095a.jpg

Any ideas on what it may be? Not too good at describing so if you want more information let me know what parts to describe or get better shots of.

Thanks.

[graveyardworm]

Looks like a peanut worm to me.

read this (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-04/rs/index.php)

[Spiffyguy]

I wasn't sure if it was a peanut worm or not. I have not seen the fatter end or the tentacles so I wasn't sure. That article is a good read too bad at the end he basicly says they will starve. Still the work is rather neat. Would target feeding be a worth while shot if I wanted to keep it alive? It is not effected by my red light. I am sure I can get a flake or something down there for it.

[ManEatingGuppy]

not a peanut worm, im not sure what kind of worm it is, i have alot in my tank, not really sure if its reef safe either, no serious damage yet. if u look at it closley looks exatcly like catapillar.

[LeslieH]

Other possibilities are nemerteans (ribbon worms) and polychaetes (bristle worms). Some polychaetes have very small bristles (unlike fireworms) which are not easily noticeable. My first impression is nemertean.

[Spiffyguy]

it is certainly round for sure. There is no flattening when it moves. It has stretched out of its hole atleast and inch and a half if not two with no end in sight. It does appear to be smooth. I did see some sort of head, perhaps tentacles like a peanut worm. When hit with light it retracted that whiteish looking appendage in and sort of folded its front into the body. Hard to explain but neat to see none the less.

My camera is not very good at getting shots. I may take my video camera and set up a tripod and try to get some footage. I will check out a goolge search on Nemerteans and see if anything is close. Thanks

[bllfish]

looks like a starfish leg to me.

[Spiffyguy]

hehe yea I guess it does. That would be one cool looking star fish. I will try to get some better shots. Its hole is on the right hand side of that picture. The hole is in a small cave type area of the live rock and on the side of the tank too so not much room to move. I think the video option may yeild some better images. Will try this weekend to get some good stuff.

[bllfish]

I started out with one in my liverock now I have 4 or 5 and I find a baby starfish about every two months. Is is funny to go to the tank after the lights have been off and shine a flashlight into the tank. There is a lot more life in there than you think. The starfish legs look like twigs growing out of the rock