Demon Worm? HELP! Should I Pull and Kill? Or leave be...

[Michael_Price]

Hello Reef Lovers! I have a small (Maybe big) Problem. I have an odd Red/White worm looking thing that came out of my Galaxy Coral when I turned the lights on just now for feeding... It was out a bit further, but hid under the rock before a better picture. Im not sure if this is a Star fish with its leg out, Or a type of bristle worm... I did not see the other end and this is the first have seen it. About 1-2 inches long from what I saw, but was not all the way out.

 

Any one know what this guy is? And better yet, should i take it out? Im doing a water change Sunday so I don't mind. but if its not bad ill leave it. Advice please! I could not find anything like this in my search but i only looked for bout 15 minutes.

[Muraki]

Bristle worm. You will see many more. No need to rush on removing them. They are good at cleaning up leftover food etc. I can't count the number of them in my tank... I remove them when I can, but that is only because the population is so high from over feeding my tank.

[ajmckay]

Just a bristle worm

 

https://reefcorner.com/reef-database-index/hitchhiker-index/bristle-worms/

[Clown79]

Bristle worm. Good cleaners

[driftsaru]

anyone getting the really thick kind? i found a few nubs that im guessing were babies. these things were as thick as a sharpie O_O

[RIP Sebastian]

Just a bristle worm. I've got tons of 'em.

[burtbollinger]

I could not find anything like this in my search but i only looked for bout 15 minutes.

 

Curious...(and I'm just messing with you, but...) what did you search for during that 15 minutes?

 

http://bfy.tw/9DM1

[ajmckay]

anyone getting the really thick kind? i found a few nubs that im guessing were babies. these things were as thick as a sharpie O_O

I've seen a few of them in my tank. As you would imagine they're very cryptic. It's a very general statement but I usually refer to the thicker ones as "fire worms" and I got hit by one once and it stung super super bad. Each time I see it I usually pull out as much as I can and pour some peroxide into it's hole. Haven't seen it in a while thankfully.

[jedimasterben]

This is one type of fireworm.

 

[pntbll687]

Some bristle worms are ok, but they can become a problem. I inherited my in laws 200g and used rock. Literally thousands of worms coming out of the rock after sitting in buckets for a day.

 

If population gets too high, arrow crabs eat them. I got one, and he always had a worm in his claws.

[Michael_Price]

 

Curious...(and I'm just messing with you, but...) what did you search for during that 15 minutes?

 

http://bfy.tw/9DM1

 

Ha ha I searched for "Red/White Bristle worms" and none like the one I saw popped up. And I saw so many different types it was overwhelming.. so I was mainly curious if 1, this is a bristle worm (now I know it is) and 2, is it one of the bad ones I read about. I saw some that get Gigantic and eat corals... I don't want that!

 

Thanks for the responses!

 

Ill just watch them as my tank grows and suck them out with my turkey blaster when they are in the open, Glad its not something i need to tear my tank apart for!

[Alveus]

Bristle worm. Nothing to worry about, just don't touch them!

[Muraki]

What is ironic. I decided to trim away some of the chaeto I keep in my display as a Mandarin feeding ground. Removed half of it and placed into a bucket of fresh water. I think I killed over a hundred small bristle worms. Chaeto builds up so much waste, but they were keeping it spotless.