Eunice Worm! - How do I get rid of this?!

Okay, I had my suspicions that I had a Eunice worm before, but I just never got a good look at it...

But I rearranged my rocks, moved this nice frag of firecracker reds higher up my aquascape, and this is what I discovered tonite...

HOW DO I GET RID OF THIS?! PLEASE HELP.

He literally was able to drag the zoo's plus rock an inch and he started to chow down...:*(

He's SUPER fast and I don't think I'll be able to catch him thru the traditional surprise-n-tweeze methods...he also seems SUPER long, and I don't want him to break in half and become two monster worms...

ANY ADVICE WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED!

Anyone successfully lure and catch one of these?

Take a two liter bottle and cut the top 1/3 off. Place a shrimp or other meaty treat inside. (You may have to put a small live rock inside to weigh it down.) Turn the top upside down and put it back on. Place the inside-out mouth near the spot where you saw him and leave it overnight. You'll catch other worms, and probably any shrimp that are in the tank too, but hopefully with some diligence the bad guy will get caught.. .

Good luck!

Thanks, FishinInTheDark! I am trying to visualize what you described in my head...I think I got it. I will give that a shot.

I just read on another site that using pantyhose w/ shrimp inside could lure him and when he goes for the shrimp, his bristle's will get caught in the nylon...then yank out....that sounds tricky too...

What kind of shrimp works best for bait (for both pantyhose and 2-liter bottle strategies)?

Has anyone been successful w/ the pantyhose strategy?

ACK!!!

I have been trying to get a photo of this same worm in my tank without success. I was about to post a description to try and get an ID. You actually saw him eat your zoo's?? Thats just great because I think there are atleast two in my tank. Guess I'll have to build a trap.

Mark

good luck getting em out.. i been trying to get rid of mine for about 3 years now.. some day i might be able to keep zoanthids in my 30g...

3 years??? So for sure they eat zoo's? Have they eaten anything else in your tank?

dude that is one f'ing crazy worm. WTF! how big is that sucker?

well...my best estimate as to just the portion of the body that was visible (god knows how much of the worm was still concealed in the rock) is about 5-6".

iv witnessed mine eating zoanthids, sarcophyton, xenia, ricordea, snails, and an occasional lps.. He also makes attaching new frags a pain in the ass.. any loose sps frag usually gets pulled around and off the rock down into the sand. My best estimate is that the one in my tank is somewhere between 18-24".. and is about 1/4"-1/2" thick.. Its hard to say cuz they can stretch out and get real thin and long or be short and squat.. but iv seen it extend out of the sand at least 18" .. real cool critters, just a menace on zoos.

On a different note, he looks rather cool.

At one time I had one of those, I just decided to take out the yellow polyp rock he came in on and throw him and it away...

OMG killer worm! YUCK YUCK!

Someone found this article for me. Crazy stuff...but the most horrific is the fact that this guy's Eunice was growing at a rate of 3 inches per month!

See this guy's 6 footer!

I really gotta get him outta there fast...

Wow. The worm in that article was freakin' amazing. That is the nastiest looking damn thing I've ever seen. I would imagine it could cause some severe damage in a reef tank. Although I doubt a worm could get 7 feet long in our small tanks (this one was in a 500g) but still. That's amazing.

Originally posted by Rmcm2424

Although I doubt a worm could get 7 feet long in our small tanks (this one was in a 500g) but still. That's amazing.

true, but they do grow fast, even faster if you feed them plenty of corals

I bet a mantis could knock him out LOL.

That's a good idea, throw a mantis shrimp in there. Would be like godzilla vs. wormo.

That's a good idea, throw a mantis shrimp in there. Would be like godzilla vs. wormo.

Well if I ever catch him, I'll send it to you and you can host the battle of the century. :

Well, I'm disgusted. I feel totally nauseated and paranoid. My nightmare has been some bug or worm crawling out of the tank and getting me while I sleep. ha ha! Or how about your cleaning the tank when all of a sudden, WHAM!!!! This thing has you by your gloves(you wear gloves right?) But you can't get your hand out and it is thrashing around slowly dissolving the tissue on your hand. AHHHHHH!!!! (Hey it's Halloween anyway)

Haha...I actually do not wear gloves. But now you're making me want to wear them.

Today, I am going to re-aquascape my entire rockwork. If you no longer see any posts by me, that probably means the eunice worm ate me alive. or at least ate my hand which would thus prevent me from posting since I need both to type.

LOL! I actually lived in the same city as the 6 foot worm and one day I was in our local reef shop and this guy comes in and says...wanna see a 6 foot worm? Sure i say....Holy S$% is all i can say. That thing was big and mean looking, he had it coiled up in a 5 gallon bucket!

Mike

hi peeps im new, i had a 24" (measured) on of these worms in my tank, took me two months to catch it!! i got a 2ltr bottle and cut a round hole in the top, then placed a silicone nozel into it, for bait is just used some frozen food. i can rig another up and post a pic if needed.

cheers jon

lol, it won't dissolve away your tissue - it will probably want someplace warm and wet to go though- so just imagine it crawling out of your tank and into your ear

Happy Halloween:x