what are the cob webs in my reef

[Fin-tastic Aq]

is this due to me not properly taking care of the reef they seem to hang out on the mushrooms , i fish-em out whenever i see them .
what reason would they be there

 

[reefrunner69]

Please describe the cob webs in greater detail, or provide a pic.

 

[Fin-tastic Aq]

i'll try to snap a shot tonight

 

[steve-s]

Sounds possibley like it could be a vermetid snail. They will spin "webs" or secrete mucus in order to catch their foods.

I would still post the pic to be absolutley sure though.

Cheers
Steve

 

[echo7]

i think you might have a filter feeder of some kind. thier calledSerpulorbis inopertus and they use the webs wich are actually mucus to catch food. are the webs comming out of a shell like tube? they often look similar to a worm curled up, although they sometimes are not curled up. they usually come in on live rock. i got mine on my fiji live rock, they thrived and reproduced in my tank.
you shouldn't worry about it if my description matches. if not you should run around in circles and panic!- just kidding. if you want to get rid of them because you don't like the webs just continue removing the webs. eventually they should starve. however i found them to be an interesting addition to the tank and look cool when they get big.

 

[ReefLady]

I'd agree with Steve - do you have any critters that look like matchsticks on your LR? These could be vermetid gastropods - they do send out kind of a 'fishing line' to catch food.

Here's a pic of ones that were in our tank (keep in mind that this is a macro shot - these "sticks" are about 1/2" long):

HTH,

 

[Fin-tastic Aq]

that's what i have just like in the above picture, i was told it could be from leathers as well , somthing about if they feel like there in threat thet spew out the webs
??? you guy's would know better than myself

 

[steve-s]

Personally I would leave them be. They rarely if ever cause any real problems (unless in large populations) and can be an interesting addition to your "ecosystem"

Cheers
Steve