Reef Discussion
How is this for some reading and pics ?
http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchworms.html
There are sub parts to the site that cover other things too from snails crabs to all the tiny critters along with what is beneficial and what is a pest!
http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchworms.html
There are sub parts to the site that cover other things too from snails crabs to all the tiny critters along with what is beneficial and what is a pest!
I actually filmed and photographed 2 weirdo thingys in my tank last night (hitched in on my new green star polyp coral). I believe the ugly one is some sort of worm, maybe a peanut worm - its dark green and zips back into its hole if I put the light on it too suddenly. The really ugly one is some sort of sea cucumber, I think. Its not fond of light either but it was still out this morning so I managed some better photos. I'll post them later tonight after work:)
I've been meaning to say, Megan - I love your avatar.:worship
I adore Ferrets but can't have any up here
*sob* I had a pet one a few years ago and had to leave him in the US when I moved back here. He was the best!! I got some more vids this afternoon of the weird green wormy thing - its pouring rain here and inspite of the tank light, he must've felt it was ok to come out. He's a very handsome dark sea green. The other sea cucumber thing has disappeared again but that's ok, I got his mug-shot and you'll be seeing the little beastie soon :D I'm off to work in a minute or two (just waiting for my work mate) so will post tonight after 9, when I get in and the kids aren't at me to look at this or do that or squabbling about something else!! LOL!!
I adore Ferrets but can't have any up here
*sob* I had a pet one a few years ago and had to leave him in the US when I moved back here. He was the best!! I got some more vids this afternoon of the weird green wormy thing - its pouring rain here and inspite of the tank light, he must've felt it was ok to come out. He's a very handsome dark sea green. The other sea cucumber thing has disappeared again but that's ok, I got his mug-shot and you'll be seeing the little beastie soon :D I'm off to work in a minute or two (just waiting for my work mate) so will post tonight after 9, when I get in and the kids aren't at me to look at this or do that or squabbling about something else!! LOL!!Ok, here we go:
This first one I discovered and filmed last night but late this afternoon, he was out in broad daylight (admittedly,its been overcast and raining for 2 days) He's actually a very handsome emerald green. I know I've seen something like him somewhere but can't recall where or what its called.I know I'll feel stupid as soon as one of you tells me coz I know i've seen his like before. The two heads deal is bit of a giveaway.....Anyway, here he is, in all his glory. First is a pic, 2nd is a short vid.: Rats - its too big for the server. Have to edit another day. I'll put up a few pix of it instead
This first one I discovered and filmed last night but late this afternoon, he was out in broad daylight (admittedly,its been overcast and raining for 2 days) He's actually a very handsome emerald green. I know I've seen something like him somewhere but can't recall where or what its called.I know I'll feel stupid as soon as one of you tells me coz I know i've seen his like before. The two heads deal is bit of a giveaway.....Anyway, here he is, in all his glory. First is a pic, 2nd is a short vid.: Rats - its too big for the server. Have to edit another day. I'll put up a few pix of it instead
And this guy, in the middle of the pic, seems to be an echinoderm - a cucumber or sea apple or something. Tho, personally, I think he looks like a badly cooked dim sim....
I just want to know if he's Good or Bad. I already know he's Ugly!! LOL!!:D Oh and please ignore the big snufflenose at the left of the pic - its my Telescopium. I call him Mr Snuffle Up The Dust. Snuffy, for short.
I just want to know if he's Good or Bad. I already know he's Ugly!! LOL!!:D Oh and please ignore the big snufflenose at the left of the pic - its my Telescopium. I call him Mr Snuffle Up The Dust. Snuffy, for short.
The second thing looks like the same sort of thing that I have somewhere in my tank. When it was at the front I had noticed using a magnifying glass that it sometimes put out filter feeding branches. At one stage it also was climbing on my glass. Haven't seen it for a while now but it was over 3 months between times of seeing it the last time.
Some sort of cucumber/slug....
I just love the things that come out of liverock...shame you don't see them much.
Some sort of cucumber/slug....
I just love the things that come out of liverock...shame you don't see them much.
Spot ON, Firebird!!:worship That's exactly what she is. And yes, she is a definate She. I looked them up and they're interesting critters - one of the few members of the worm family that has definate sexual dimorphism. The females are large, dark green and have the two mouthpart deal thing happening. When they are tiny larvae, they swim into a hole or crevice and grow there. Their body looks like a green, fluid filled sausage skin but you never see it - her body, which can grow up to 15cm, remains hidden in the crevice she entered as a larvae. The only part that comes out are the two long probiscus thingys that are actually two parts of her mouth - and those can stretch up to ten times her length. She has no eyes or sensory organs (that we recognise) to speak of and just creeps about, tasting out detritus to eat....kinda like that beer ad where the tongue heads off on its own to get a beer.....always found that ad disturbing, actually.....Anyhoo....
The chemical that gives her body its amazing emerald-sea-green hue is called "Bonellin" which is a powerful biocide - can paralyze small animals and kill bacteria, larvae and red blood cells. For this reason, its being investigated by scientists as a possible model for future antibiotics.
Now for the weird shit.....
As free swimming larvae, the worm has no gender. If it lands in an area unpopulated by its own kind, the larvae develops into a female. All well and good.
If the larvae lands on an adult female, the Bonellin chemical causes the larvae to develop into a male. Also fine and dandy.
But then the male clings to the females body and is absorbed into, or is actuallly sucked up through her feeding probiscus into her body, eventually arriving in her gential sac, where he lives out his life fertilizing eggs and being supplied with all his nutrient needs.
So when I called my ex "a worm", I was fairly close to the truth:p
And that old joke that "males spend 9 months trying to get out and the rest of their lives trying to get back in" seems to be an achievable goal.....if you're a worm....;):D
The chemical that gives her body its amazing emerald-sea-green hue is called "Bonellin" which is a powerful biocide - can paralyze small animals and kill bacteria, larvae and red blood cells. For this reason, its being investigated by scientists as a possible model for future antibiotics.
Now for the weird shit.....
As free swimming larvae, the worm has no gender. If it lands in an area unpopulated by its own kind, the larvae develops into a female. All well and good.
If the larvae lands on an adult female, the Bonellin chemical causes the larvae to develop into a male. Also fine and dandy.
But then the male clings to the females body and is absorbed into, or is actuallly sucked up through her feeding probiscus into her body, eventually arriving in her gential sac, where he lives out his life fertilizing eggs and being supplied with all his nutrient needs.
So when I called my ex "a worm", I was fairly close to the truth:p
And that old joke that "males spend 9 months trying to get out and the rest of their lives trying to get back in" seems to be an achievable goal.....if you're a worm....;):D
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