Identification pls! Pink blobs/ Centipede thing

[Wackydaffy]

I noticed these pink blobs on one of my rocks today. They appear to only be on one of the rocks, and only on the side not in direct light. There are about 5 of them, the largest is the size of the nail of a pinky.

Any ideas if they are good/bad? What they are? Pic attached.


Also, yesterday I picked up some Zoa's from another member. Before I put them in my tank I noticed a translucent pink/orangish centipede. Didn't know if it was good or bad so I got rid of it. Last night while I was staring at them i noticed small black maybe milimeter across tendrils with small spines.legs along its sides that could be like a centipede. Good, bad? That Zoa also has like featherduster worm type thing on it, tiny, could the black things just be another end to that feather worm type thing?

I noticed today on a rock in the middle of my tank, a tiny, 1/5" 2milimeter wide centipede thing, couldn't take a picture of it, it went back into the rocks. Should I be worried?

Also, after the winter social I have noticed little starfish everywhere. Now, there it was talked about how red starfish could be bad. I have noticed the small ones for a while, but I have seen 2 that seem a little larger than the rest. They sort of hitchhike around on my snail and crabs shells. I hope the pic is good enough for you to see and know if it is a good starfish or bad one.


Any help would be appreciated.

 

[blide]

Use this page to identify your creatures...

http://www.melevsreef.com/id/

 

[melev]

Does the pink spot move? Can you peel it off with a toothpick? If it is part of the rock, it could be coralline aglae (the good algae we want) starting to grow.

The starfish is an asterina. Generally they are fine.

The centipede is probably a bristleworm, usually fine.

Turn off your pop-up stopper, and check out all the critters here:
http://www.melevsreef.com/id/

 

[Ashlar]

@Wackydaffy wrote:

Can't tell for sure, could be coraline algae or mushrooms.

@Wackydaffy wrote:

Bristleworm.. good guy, no worries.

 

[Tag]

Not a pro --- by far but I have found and removed 4 of these coral eating starfish from my tank (these are unwanted). Notice the erregular shape.

 

[feasible]

@Wackydaffy wrote:

Kevin, you may have taken home one of my bristleworms and probably one or two of my numerous miniture bristle stars. I think the only danger you would have from the bristle stars is see that damn things everywhere after a few months waving their arms in the air trying to get food when you feed the tank.

 

[DalaiTom]

@Wackydaffy wrote:

OK, I know this is just me, but...
I would like to encourage you to not take the attitude of the above.
There are many more helpful and harmless creatures that you will discover in your tank than there are creatures that will menace your fish and corals. I would suggest to remove any questionable animal to a bag or container until you can get an ID here or the forum. Then, if you still don't want the critter in your tank, offer it for free on the forums.
In this case, it sounds like a harmless bristleworm was "got rid of". Not that there's a shortage of bristleworms, but they are living creatures that are usually considered beneficial.
I know there are others here that disagree with this view.
They're wrong. :lol:

 

[orchidsnfish]

The pink looks like a sponge to me too. I have tons of these in my SH tank.

Angela

 

[Ashlar]

Matt, do you have any reference as to determination of good vs bad?

Here's a quote:

@Dr. Ron wrote:

And another one that may help explain the change in attitude:

@Calfo wrote:

Calfo seems to be saying that in very nutrient poor SPS tanks, these guys may be a problem, but in your average mixed reef, they're not likely to be a problem.

That fits with my personal experience- in my 'dirty' tank, I haven't had any losses that I can attribute to these guys. So maybe the distinction about good vs. bad should also depend on what kind of tank you're going to keep.

references:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/ac/feature/index.php
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-12/rs/index.php

 

[Ashlar]

Interesting.. apparently color may not be a good determinant, either..

http://www.reefs.org/library/article/coral_eating_starfish.html

@Rob Toonen wrote:

Maybe we can ask Rob if his opinion on these guys has changed (this was 2001) at Next Wave.

 

[Ashlar]

@Matt wrote:

*nod* I just hesitate to translate even my own personal experience into a recommendation- at least without relating the conditions in my tank that may affect their diet. Under X circumstances, I've not had any issues with them, but others with Y conditions have had issues with them eating Z.

So little is known about so many critters that we keep that generalizations seem to have just as many exceptions as rules.

With these guys, you can take a 'watch and see' attitude, or a 'when in doubt, throw it out' attitude. Considering that we work so hard to encourage diversity in recreating a small slice of the ocean, I prefer to err on the side of wait and see.