teajay33 Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 i recently bought this really beautiful unattached set of zoos. i set them on the bottom of my tank in the sand with a couple pieces of live rock rubble so they could attach. over the past two nights i noticed they were all crambed into a nook in a live rock on the other side of the tank. (and some missing mind you..) so i did my research, i looked half the night for this mystery animal thats draggin them half way across the tank and then eatting them in the saftey of its home. i found results on the first night, it wasnt much.. it was the blink of an eye.. but i saw this worm looking creature moving back into the live rock where it was pulling my zoos. now the question is, what can i do? i've got half the colony of zoos i started with here, and it seems i'm gonna lose them at a rate of 25% until i catch this beast. any ideas? please "help obi wan kenobi, you're my only hope!" hahaha thanks in advance! TJ Link to comment
eklikewhoa Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 get a jar and put a frag in there to bait it and the rest of your frags up high or on a eggcrate suspend from LR or the sandbed to make it go to the trap. Link to comment
Fanof49ASU Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 I have bristle worms living in my zoas. They don't seem to hurt them. Link to comment
dsoz Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 Read this, you may have a small one of these. If you do, be afraid, be very afraid! http://www.oregonreef.com/sub_worm.htm dsoz Link to comment
teajay33 Posted June 27, 2007 Author Share Posted June 27, 2007 Read this, you may have a small one of these. If you do, be afraid, be very afraid! http://www.oregonreef.com/sub_worm.htm dsoz its not a nudi, its more like in that link. wee.. sounds like fun. i'm trying the jar trick tonight. mine isnt near that big,he lives in the smallest live rock peice i have. its probably 2-3 inches long tho. thanks for the help, i'll keep you all updated in the morning:) Link to comment
justinl Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 sounds like you got a true carribean fireworm (coral eaters). this guy is a member of the fireworms who are members of the bristleworm family... hence the close resemblence. thankfully the TCFs are rare... of course that didnt help you much did it? yeah you'll want to take that bad boi out. you can use several different baits including zoos, meaty frozen foods, fish pellets, etc... they arent picky. do you best to get it out in ONE piece. if it breaks up the frags can just grow into new smaller more annoying little nightmares. Link to comment
Ebn Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 If there's nothing in the rock, do a freshwater dip on it. Link to comment
teajay33 Posted June 29, 2007 Author Share Posted June 29, 2007 If there's nothing in the rock, do a freshwater dip on it. update: i caught my hermit crab. good job lol. and as far as whats on it, one of my mushrooms has kinda stuck to it, and i've recently started growing some green star polyps on it. i can probably pry the mushroom off, its mostly in the sand.. and GSP grow a lot quick.. might have to fresh water dip it. i'll give it a few more days with the jar trap. we'll see what happens. Link to comment
teajay33 Posted June 29, 2007 Author Share Posted June 29, 2007 update, day 2. the worm is long enough to go down the jar and pull up the bait. frustrated i carefully peeled off the mushroom partially attached and luckly no GSP had attached to the rock. i fresh water dipped it. out came a worm, about the size of a penny (length wise) i grabbed him with my tweezers. unfortunately it seems some of the worm is still in the rock. i decided to leave it in the fresh water. now the question is.. how long should i keep it in there before the other half of the worm comes out? and if i do keep it in there over a period of time, wont the die off affect my tank? maybe i should seed it again in my bigger tank? thanks in advance! Link to comment
Ebn Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 Is the other end of the worm another worm or is it dead? If you can, pull that rock out there and keep on doing dips; 15 minute durations. If you don't mind reseeding the rock, then soak it indefinitely, until you know that sucker is dead and then reseed it in your larger tank. Link to comment
teajay33 Posted June 29, 2007 Author Share Posted June 29, 2007 Is the other end of the worm another worm or is it dead? If you can, pull that rock out there and keep on doing dips; 15 minute durations. If you don't mind reseeding the rock, then soak it indefinitely, until you know that sucker is dead and then reseed it in your larger tank. "I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure." - Ripley, "Aliens"... i think that says it best.. i'll keep the rock in fresh water dip for about a day. that should fix it. maybe 2. or 5.. a week. lol thanks for all your help. now if i can just get these poor zoos to come back out. they may be beyong saving. they look all ragged and munched on. Link to comment
Ebn Posted June 30, 2007 Share Posted June 30, 2007 Dip the zoas in an iodine/SW dip for 5 minutes. It'll stop the decay from spreading. Link to comment
Sea Slug Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 This is what I would do , you know exactly which rock the zoa eating worm is in right ? Well then take that rock out , smash it with a hammer , get rid of the worm and use the rest for live rock rubble ( in fuge , mounting frags ect ect . ) Buy a new piece of fully cured live rock to replace the one that the worm was in . In time it will eat way more money in corals than what a new piece of rock would cost you . Problem Solved ! Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.