I bought a 3 pound piece of rock today. When I got home I see that I have 4 little thing that look like tiny feather dusters coming from it. Are these feather dusters or some type of live rock creature that is a part of the rock? Thanks.
the critters in my live rock???
- Thread starter BBN
- Start date
Boogiechillin
It's ok, I confuse my students too.
It's perfectly normal to see small featherdusters hitch hike in on live rock. They don't require any special attention and pose no threat to anything else. Enjoy the freebies! 
There are several types of tube worms, each with their own niche. Some occupy existing holes in the rock, while others actively chew their own hole. Some secrete a sticky substance that they use to build a tube around them, similar to FW caddis fly larvae, while others build a stony tube for themselves. Cool things to check for! The feeding mechanisms vary as well--the feathery type, with their filtering fans, to the 'fisher's--the little guys that spit out a sticky string to catch particles, to ones that sneak out at night and search for food.
Thanks for the replies! I have now counted 7 of the little things and one that is REAL tiny w/ more of a reddish color. Te others are sort of off-white. Really neat! I almost got a free small hermit crab hitchhike along too. When the LFS lady was scooping out the rock she was almost in the bag w/ the rock and a crab the size of a marble popped out of the rock at the last minute!
Oh well, I still like what I got!!!
Oh well, I still like what I got!!!