Question???

[carpenterman23]

This morning I work to see some signs of life in my cycling tank. Saw several bristel worms and these white tentacles sticking out of serval holes in the live rock. What could it be?? I tried to get a picture but my camera cant take a good picture of it. There are 3-4 tentacles sticking out and are as thin as hair. they are pure white. Any help would be great!!!

[Toddrtrex]

Off the top of my head I would say mini brittle stars -- it is rare that you will see the whole thing, usually just some waving arms -- harmless hitchhikers.

Here is a poor picture of a whole one -- you can see the fin of an inch long Potter's dwarf angel at the left hand corner for size reference.

[carpenterman23]

I think thats its. Do i need to worry about them dying from the tank cycling? Should I be feeding them?
Thanks for your help also..

[Toddrtrex]

This is a gray area -- I am on the side of doing water changes during the cycle -- to limit the ammonia spike and preserve the life on/in the rocks that you paid for.

So, if it was me, I would be doing water changes (( amount depending on the size of the tank )), during this time. As for feeding them -- I wouldn't worry too much about it, but if you want, you could throw in a few very small pieces of food.

[carpenterman23]

Originally Posted by Toddrtrex

This is a gray area -- I am on the side of doing water changes during the cycle -- to limit the ammonia spike and preserve the life on/in the rocks that you paid for.

So, if it was me, I would be doing water changes (( amount depending on the size of the tank )), during this time. As for feeding them -- I wouldn't worry too much about it, but if you want, you could throw in a few very small pieces of food.

Thanks for your help. I went ahead and did a small water change and it dropped my levels a bit. Its cool to see the life that is showing in my tank now..