Two small tentacles sticking out of my goniopora?? Spionid worm??

[HALFFISH]

There are two small tentacles sticking out of my goniopora, when I try to grab them with a tweezer or get anywhere near them they retract… I was reading it could possible be a spionid worm? Shoud I be worried ?

 

[GSPClown94]

Pictures would be helpful.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Can you post a picture? Sounds like spoinid but a pic will confirm

 

[akossard]

Yeah, post some pictures. Usually for me, if I see tentacles, its a Brittle Starfish. If you dip the corals, they came of, but I think they are benefical

 

[Tahoe61]

If there's nothing wrong with the Goniopora, I probably would just leave it alone. Is the coral not expanding normally?

 

[HALFFISH]

If there's nothing wrong with the Goniopora, I probably would just leave it alone. Is the coral not expanding normally?

I just recently switched my lighting around, so I believe that’s why it’s closed up at the moment . I’m going to keep an eye on it.

 

[HALFFISH]

Yeah, post some pictures. Usually for me, if I see tentacles, it’s a Brittle Starfish. If you dip the corals, they came of, but I think they are benefical

Hello, I posted pics and a video

 

[Crabs McJones]

Yup looks like spoinid to me

 

[HALFFISH]

Yup looks like spoinid to me

Should I be worried? dip the coral? It’s pretty crazy that they can burrow into the coral

 

[Crabs McJones]

Should I be worried? dip the coral? It’s pretty crazy that they can burrow into the coral

Nope, let ot be

 

[trevorhiller]

I'm trying to convince myself these are not a problem.

However, in my tank, I sort of think that they are. I feed fairly heavily and only use a skimmer, UV, carbon dosing for filtration (no mechanical filtration aside from manual siphoning) and they get to be rather bothersome to me personally because some in some corals they grow so dense they spoil the look of the coral. I've also got a couple frags that have some in the bases that have not grown in 2 years. Admitted this could be unrelated.

I've got my new tank setup and I'm debating on even moving any of these infected corals into it, because I really would like to not have them in the new tank, but seeing how they are internal and survive dips including Bayer I'm not sure that actually something you can accomplish.

You can see mine in this after lights out video. Anywhere there is a little brown "nub" there is a spionid worm.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I'm trying to convince myself these are not a problem.

However, in my tank, I sort of think that they are. I feed fairly heavily and only use a skimmer, UV, carbon dosing for filtration (no mechanical filtration aside from manual siphoning) and they get to be rather bothersome to me personally because some in some corals they grow so dense they spoil the look of the coral. I've also got a couple frags that have some in the bases that have not grown in 2 years. Admitted this could be unrelated.

I've got my new tank setup and I'm debating on even moving any of these infected corals into it, because I really would like to not have them in the new tank, but seeing how they are internal and survive dips including Bayer I'm not sure that actually something you can accomplish.

You can see mine in this after lights out video. Anywhere there is a little brown "nub" there is a spionid worm.

Regular Spionids are harmless; Coral-boring Spionids, however, cause major issues in large numbers, and are frequently invasive (so they frequently grow to large numbers).

Manual removal and predation with the critters currently available to us in the hobby are ineffective (coral-boring spionids can regrow large portions of their body, including their heads, should they lose them to predation or being plucked off with tweezers, so you have to get the full worm or it will just grow back). They are also incredibly resilient to chemical treatments (Reefahholic crashed their tank trying to treat these chemically, and IIRC, some still survived), though the level of resilience seems to vary from one species to another (which is likely why some people report successful treatment while others don't).

For some not-so-light reading on them, the threads below are informative (and I have more you can read if you want); just be aware that some of the reefers who have had coral-boring spionids in the past might just suggest getting rid of the coral (or taking an uninfected frag from it and getting rid of the rest) to avoid them spreading:

Coral Boring Spionid Worms -- an ugly bane to SPS

This is not something I've ever seen before. They are extremely ugly. Mar the appearance of SPS. This is on a "Beach Bum" encrusting montipora. I would take aphasia or even montipora eating nudibranchs over this crap. I've beat those with hard work. Not sure how to eliminate these without...

www.reef2reef.com

Coral Boring Spionid Worms- Anybody Killed them?

These turds have survived Bayer, Coral RX Pro, KCI, and Exodus dip. They apparently retract into their tubes, and back into the coral skeleton where they apparently are safe from the medications. Below I will post some pictures for reference. The first pic is mine, but the others are just...

www.reef2reef.com

1% Ivermectin (in-tank) Treatment for Coral Boring Spionid Worms

Disclaimer: Do not try this at home. It’s not reef safe. I will not take any responsibility for anyone crashing their system. I DO NOT recommend anybody try this. :-) Ivermectin used: AGRI-MECTIN 1% Potency: (1 mL = 10mg) Expiration date: 11/24 Start Date: Sunday 07/28/24 System info: 105/G...

www.reef2reef.com