Purple tube with sweeper

This is a purple tube with a sweeper that is about 3-4 inches long. Good or bad?
The sweeper is touching my frogspawn (and has been for about a week)but doesn't really seem to be bothering it.

 

sounds cool got a pic of it?

 

you can always move your coral to be safe.
the other day i say a red mushroom spitting out its purple guts to fight some frogspawn

 

Sorry I thought the pic was there.

 

holey crap that's a long sweeper, I can't see the tube well enough for a positive ID, google vermetid snail and see what you think.

 

looks like the feeder string stuff from a vermetid and no it won't hurt anything(or shouldn't). I've got them in my tank and they are just filter feeders. If it doesn't like the f.s. it'll move.

 

Thanks guys I think that's what it is. I think I'm going to remove it since some articles say it can get out of control:
Snails That Worm Their Way Into Tanks by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com


Vermetid snails are relatively diverse; over a hundred species have been described, and some of them are commonly found in aquaria. Although several species are found occasionally in our systems, generally entering on live rock, one variety in particular may become very abundant, and be a serious nuisance in some systems. This species, probably the most common, is small, with a brown, reddish, or purple shell. Interestingly, the animal is difficult to identify, although that has not stopped numerous reef aquarists from doing so. It probably is Spiroglyphus annulatus, which is a small vermetid originally from the Caribbean. However, similar small species live elsewhere in the world, and they all look pretty much alike. It will probably take genetic testing to verify the identity of our aquarium friends. Whatever species it is, this particular one has small individuals. The tube seldom is over one or two millimeters wide. The shells are typically reddish or reddish-brown; sometimes they are even tinged with violet. The animal forms a small, calcareous shell mound and then sends up a short, three to five millimeter long, vertical stalk. The upper edge of this tube may be razor sharp, and may inflict rather nasty cuts. A few of these would be no real problem; however, this animal reproduces very well in marine aquaria. Left unchecked, it can reach populations of over several thousand in a few months. They prefer high current areas, and will infest and clog plumbing, significantly reducing water flow. In severe infestations they can clog and shut down pumps. The only solution in cases like these is physical removal of the animals using whatever method is easiest (a muriatic acid bath works well).

Fortunately, some fishes such as Copperband butterfly fishes, seem to eat them, and some hermit crabs will eat them as well. Eating these worm snails may well be the only truly beneficial effect of hermit crabs in aquaria.

The larger vermetids found in reef tanks are probably in the genera Dendropoma and Serpulorbis (Abbott and Dance, 1982). They do not seem to reproduce well in our systems and never obtain the plague proportions of their smaller cousins. These larger species tend to enter our systems on live rock or in coral, and are more interesting curiosities than any kind of pest. For some reason the larger species don't seem to proliferate as rapidly, though, and often remain as relatively solitary animals. The larger species seem to be more likely on Indo-Pacific live rock. A moderately large vermetid in the genus Petaloconchus is common in the Caribbean, and makes its way into aquaria now and then on aquacultured live rock. Given the appropriate conditions it is likely it will proliferate as well.

Xtalreef

The vermitid snail is yet another critter that lives in a tube. These filter feed by throwing out a mucous "net" to catch food. Most of the time, you won't see the worm but will be wondering what the "spiderwebs" in your tank are. Here's your culprit. They are harmless but can irritate corals if their nets are too close.

 

I removed it and found several others around. Not sure how fast the multiply.

 

Can't get rid of these things. .. they're popping up more and more. I just scrape them off.