Marine Alien

[jeffaquarius]

I have aliens in my reef tank and I would be glad if someone can identify it for me. I have 2 of them hiding inside the live rocks. I happen to take a video with my cell but unfortunately it is tilting sideways and i can not edit it. They stretch and shrink like a very elastic rubber band. They come out very seldom and only if no one is watching. It seems it has 3 legs like a star fish with green color. I can only assume they feed on algae. When they come out, 1 of their 3 legs is always attached inside the live rock. When startled they instantly shrink back and hide.

 

[chenzo9999]

very weird - have no idea, but wanted to follow this thread

 

[spoonman]

Looks like a brittle star to me.

 

[jeffaquarius]

If it is a brittle star, why would it be the opposite because it is not brittle at all. It is very elastic like a bubble gum that can stretch for 12 inches long crawling nearby the rock where it hides without even breaking apart.

 

[jeffaquarius]

Here is the link to video

Marine Alien on Reef - note video is tilted sideways - YouTube

 

[Godfrey]

That's weird!! Not a clue,following along just to see if you figure out what it is

 

[Ingy]

Wired looking thing. Some kind of worm I'd guess. Not a spoinid but something like that.

 

[AbsoluteFaye]

That's crazy! If that's just his arms I'd love to see the whole thing! Almost looks like squid feeding tentacles. I'm going to follow along too. More videos please! Can you shine a light in the hole he's in?

 

[Ronin77]

Good god!!! When it retracts and zips around the rock. That thing is crazy.

 

[54seaweed]

that looks to be a squid or octopus

 

[Crystal A]

Dude what is that? That is some freaky stuff man. Hope the collective can figure this one out.

 

[Azul17]

You should spy on it at night and see if the whole thing comes out. Make sure you have camera ready

 

[AbsoluteFaye]

Having nothing better to do on my birthday at 3am, I started searching for your alien. I think it's a spoon worm. Most pics on google look like a fat worm thing but once it extends its arms it looks like what you have. It says they can live in crevices of rocks and feed with their arms. Here's one if the pics. They come in different colors.

 

[Danielbdn]

That is cool looking. I think Faye is correct. I had something similar in my tank except mine was flesh colored and only came out when the lights were off.

 

[Jmkb02]

Did you look into it maybe being a ribbon eel? I've seen them a few times and it looks close...

 

[jeffaquarius]

Another video

Marine Alien 2 - YouTube

 

[Crystal A]

I love the music. Lol Faye could be on to somthing here. Definatly looks to be a spoon worm. I'm gonna google that now and check it out. Oh and happy b-day Faye.

 

[Jaketit]

Maybe it was from a reef near a power plant

 

[Godfrey]

Good googling Faye and happy birthday that's what I found too. It's a female spoon worm. From sound of it not bad in reef, itoxic if eaten or mess with

 

[AbsoluteFaye]

Haha thx guys. I was convinced it was cephalopod feeding tentacles but everything I looked up was just slightly off. Those spoon worms are..... Interesting looking. Lol. I read that they can hide in rocks and then get to fat to get out. So maybe we will never see this crazy creature but seriously I'd be filming that thing nonstop! It's so weird!