any clues on what this is

I recently noticed a few of these hanging on the bottom of a rock, and was wondering if anyone had a thought. They are about smaller then a dime and have a bout 6-10 tentacles :-/ that are tan and red striped.

Thanks!

 

they look like the legs of a Brittle Starfish to me

harmless IME but sometimes the numbers can become an issue

Steve

 

looks like more than one mini brittle star... I think they typically have 5 legs, so what you see is more than one sticking their legs out of a crevice, which is very typical, IME. They are good critters to have, being mostly detrivores, but will also grab uneaten food if they can.

 

thanks for the info.

So for some reason i feel this is a really dumb question but here it goes.....

Any chance they came off of my big bristle star?

 

No they did not, and their numbers are limited by available food.

 

Definitely micro brittles. Good little critters to have.

 

+1

I would pick these any day over a number of other detrivores...