owndcheif

k i'm looking at my live rock and a see some sort of.... tendril coming from the rocks. i'm used to seeing worms and stuff but this one is rather fat and when it retreats into the rockwork it looks like the end of a water snake(http://www.germes-online.com/direct/...ater_Snake.jpg) moving inward. it may or may not have had a frilly bit on it when fully extended, i'd say it's maybe 1cm diameter at least 3 inches long and black with white bands. what is it?


paint was being a pain so i couldnt circle it but this is a landscape shot and it is dead center moving to the left.

Matt

It is a miniture snowflake eel. I have around 50 of them and they are so cute

They are harmless at that size and they play together


Hope This Helps

-Matt

owndcheif

sorry, how big will it grow? is it reef safe? more info would be appreciated

Matt

It will grow about 12 Inches when it is fully grown. Yes it is reef safe but i recommend only 1 per tank. Also when they are about 6-8 inches then you should take them to your LFS and trade them in. Some LFS' sell traps for them.

How big is your tank?

owndcheif

my tank is a 29 gallon, i really don't want an eel. and it for sure does have some sort of filter feeding mechanism on it.

it seems to come out of the rock while staying in the dark and rake it's "mouth" over the live rock.

Matt

When they get a little bit bigger then go buy a trap and that will solve your problem.

P.S. The chances are that they wont even live much longer. Most of them will die off soon. If you want to save them then go and buy some food for them if you dont want to then dont give them any special foods.

Yerp thats definetely a baby snowflake eel.

Read my above post for info.

owndcheif

what do they eat? i'l make sure i don't put it in.

Matt

They only eat foods that are specially made for them. if you put in frozen brine shrimp for your fish then they wont eat it.

Just dont buy any special foods for them.

owndcheif

ok just to be extra super shure here is another pic of it

and i don't know if it is a baby snowflake eel, do they have some sort of larval stage before they grow a head?

Matt

Oh. I Think That Is Just A Sea-Worm.

LOL. Sorry but in the first picture it wasnt clear.

owndcheif

yeah the first pic was really bad, i can't find my camera so these are from my phone. the big question is do i want to and how do i, kill it?

Matt

No you dont want too. Just leave it, It is harmless

It wont harm any fish/corals/inverts.

Mike

Most likely it is just a harmless peanut worm or similar. I have them in my tanks too. It's hard to get a pic because they only seem to come out at night and then retreat quickly when the lights come on. Try using a red light to view the tank at night and you'll see a lot of cool stuff.

Matt

An Idea for a "red light" is a torch wrapped in selofane (spelling?). I have tried it and you see LOTS of awesome creatures. I saw a starfish the looks really hairy and thin.

Hope All Goes Well,

Matt