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strange worm


AWillroth

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I know this is gonna be impossible without a picture, so as soon as i am able, i will take one. Last night in my pico, I saw something strange and shadowy on the bottom so I flipped the light on. As soon as I did, whatever I was looking at instantly retreated into the live rock. When I say instant, I mean this guy was fast. almost too fast to see. 3 more times throughout the night I flip on the light to the same effect, in the same location. The third time I finally caught a decent glimpse. Its a worm, doesnt appear to be segmented, with a tan body and round, orange head. The part that stuck out of the rock was about 1.5 inches long. Any ideas?

 

 

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Sound like a Eunice worm. They are quick S.O.B.S. If it is then its bad news bears.

 

You love to scare people! Haha, but you might be right this time.

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Sounds like a eunice. I have seen 3 in my tank in a year and a half, and I haven't seen any ill effects. Some are just scavengers that stay small from what I have read. Not all are fish and coral eaters. Seems to be one of those pests that it is always safer to remove just to be cautious. The ones in my tank were too small to catch, but like I said they haven't done any damage so far. This article should at least put your mind somewhat at ease that most are benign if you are unable to catch it.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-04/rs/index.php

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Eunice is what I was already leaning toward. It's in my 2.5 gallon pico wih no fish, so maybe I'll just leave it?

Edit: the Oenone fulgida seems to match the description maybe even a little more.

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Dr.Brain Coral

As said above there are small ones that aren't any harm that will just eat leftover food. The big ones are the ones you need to worry about as said above. They can be slightly challenging to remove sometimes requiring busting open the rock. Sorry for my blunt post at the beginning. I had planned to come back but it slipped my mind.



You love to scare people! Haha, but you might be right this time.

:naughtydance:

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Dr.Brain Coral

Eunice is what I was already leaning toward. It's in my 2.5 gallon pico wih no fish, so maybe I'll just leave it?

Edit: the Oenone fulgida seems to match the description maybe even a little more.

Its up to you. You could get a friendly one who is a dear member of your tank or get a coral munching monster. I read about this little eunice worm that was in his tank and it built a home right up to the glass. He fed it mysis so it wouldn't munch his corals which I thought was pretty cool. Maybe a eunice worm will be the star attraction in my super secret project.........

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I had one that destroyed almost everything in my tank. It cleaned zoanthids off of the rocks, ate all of my tiny starfish, etc etc.

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