prickly problem

Question
Hey i was wondering if u could help me.I have a 665L tank (176us gallons) marine aquarium.I have a slight problem with these type of hollow tubes about 2cm in length and very thin which are popping up all about in my tank.They seem to be some type of a tube that could be made by a worm but there is nothing inside of them.Do u maybe know what they could be and how to get rid of them.

Answer
Hi Jimbo. If these tubes seem to be popping up in your tank then there has to be something inside building them. You may need to take a closer look. I don't know of any creature that can live in your tank that would construct a hard tube and not use it to live in. You may have tube snails also known as vermetid snails. Typical tube snails will construct tubes that look similar to tube worms. However upon close inspection you will not see any tentacles sticking out. Tube snails will close off the top of the tube with their foot. Sometimes it will be down the shaft of the tube a bit so it may appear that it is an empty tube. These snails feed by spreading a mucus web out of the top of the tube. This web is clear and can be very difficult to see. The web will trap small particulate matter in it by way of the current in your tank. The snail then sucks the mucus back in to its tube and eats the particles it has captured. They can reproduce at a quick rate. The tubes are typically reddish to brown and even purple in color unlike the tubeworms which construct tubes that are basically white or tan. I am not sure of any other creature that builds a tube besides the tube snail and the tube worms(typical feather duster worms). Since you are not seeing any tentacles sprouting up through the opening of the tube I can rule out the tube worms which leaves me to believe that it is a tube snail that you are (not;) seeing. If you are not satisfied with this answer then you can get back to me with a better description and I will try again!