ID this yellow worm?

[Benny314]

Hi all,

 

Sorry about the pants pictures, but can anyone identify this worm?

I haven't seen the head/mouth parts, but the segmented body is hopefully enough for an id?

(Ignore the aiptaisa............... lol)

 

[amphipod]

Terribly sorry but there is too many polychaetes that have segments and parapodia like that to get a good identification. Assumably the worm is harmless like basically all polychaetes you'll find in the aquarium.

You would have to see the head to get much further.

[Benny314]

Bugger.

Cheers for the help though. I saw the tail yesterday, it just narrowed to a point, nothing special.

Have to hope I see it coming out of it's hole. When I took the pictures the other night it was static like this, and last night I found it in the same position already stretched across the rock, but it reacted to the light being shined on it last night and moved back into the rock work letting me see the tail.

[amphipod]

When you see it next, count the antennae, and try to get a nice look at his head, there's a surprising diversity in the antenna count. Mouthparts are usually quite unique also, too bad some people think any worm is bad, but in fact almost every worm in our tanks are actually great guys that can be priceless additions to a tank, though their effect may not be as prominent or visible as the effect of animals like a snail, the effect though often unseen is still there, I do wish more aquarists would have respect for animals, even the seemingly insignificant worms and other little hitch hikers.

[Benny314]

Yeah I'm a firm believer that bristle worms and the like make great cuc. However I have quite a few (really need to get a wrasse to keep them in check) and they're starting to get a bit bold, and bloody big lol.

But yes our aim is to establish and maintain a mini eco system, yet so many seem to want to remove the base creatures that support such an eco system with out proper consideration for their role and or natural ways to control them.

[amphipod]

Realistically the worm population limits its self to available food, so you really don't have to buy yourself an entire fish to control the population. Eventually there isn't enough food and at that point any extra worms will cause starvation in other worms, so the population no longer increases.