Crakeur Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 ok, so we have a serious ick situation in the office 180 and after the weekend several fish were missing. No corpse at all. This is strange, especially since these were large fish. So I do an inspection and come across a bristle worm that was at least an inch to 1 1/2 inches wide. the bristles were about 1/2 inch long. Monster, mother of all things bristle. anyway, I am talking to the guy who cleans the tank and I tell him about the worm and he says it has to go. I ask why as I have always seen the bristles as a good thing. He said that, while they can't catch a healthy fish, one that size might trya nd sneak up on one at night. Ok, that makes sense. Then he drops a bomb on me. He says he stopped by a client's house one night very late and flipped on the room lights and spotted a hefty bristle worm chowing on zoanthus. He said he watched for a while to confirm it was actually eating the zoos. He then said he later found out that they have been known to eat the zoos and use the toxins as a form of defense. If this is true it would explain how we have lost every zoo colony every put into the tank. The zoos vanish overnight in a pattern that cuts a path right thru the colony. Anyway, we lost the worm so now we are considering how to catch the worm and the mantis. Loads of fun. Anyone else ever heard of large bristles actually devouring zoos? For the record, this worm could very well be several feet in length when stretched end to end so at that size it might be more resistant to any toxins. Link to comment
caja Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 Please, for the love of all things holy, DO NOT post a pic of that thing when you do catch it. :x Link to comment
katydidit Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 OMFG you are gonna need a freakin underwater bear trap! That is insane, good luck with catching it, that sounds like a bastard of a creature to have.. Link to comment
jdsabin1 Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 Guys - go to reef central and do a search on these two words: 'foot worm' Some guy over there caught a 6 foot worm in his big tank. he has all kinds of pictures of this beast. It wasn't a bristle, in fact it looked a lot more evil but the pictures of it are friggin' wild. Scary, scary stuff but yet cool at the same time. Link to comment
Graywolf57 Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 I's like to see pics of that one as well if you catch it. I smell another Tremors sequel!!!! Link to comment
Crakeur Posted June 25, 2003 Author Share Posted June 25, 2003 ok, so everyone wants to see my snake. great. But I still want to know if anyone has seen or heard of bristle worms eating zoos. answer me dammit Link to comment
FlyGTI Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 Never seen it, but I wouldn't put it past one. Have you posted this in Shimek's forum, or emailed him about it? He'd probably have a better idea than we would. Link to comment
TiGs Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 Shimeks out on vacation. Take a picture when you get the worm Link to comment
chufa Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 I have heard that long skinny bristleworms are not a problem, but fat ones may indeed be. Link to comment
Korbin Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 I think the guy with the 6 footer on RC said that it was chowing on his corals and fish. I don't remember if it was zoos specifically. Link to comment
Crakeur Posted June 25, 2003 Author Share Posted June 25, 2003 well, the worm is in hiding and I emailed a question to shimek so a response will probably come around when he gets back. Link to comment
chufa Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Hi Crak, I took this pic today. This worm is about 10 inches long, but skinny. Had it for a while, and AFAIK, hasn't bothered anything. I can lure it out with a piece of pleco pellet Link to comment
Crakeur Posted June 26, 2003 Author Share Posted June 26, 2003 tiny worm in comparison. I am not kidding when I say this thing is at least an inch thick, probably 1 1/2 inches. I asked Bryan at logical if he had any experience with bristles eating zoos and he said none. I'm stumped and am forced to wait for a response from the esteemed Shimek Link to comment
zizmans Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 hey crak, what if you put a piece of pvc with one end capped. Long like 3'. with food in the end. put it in when lights go out. Maybe watch with moonlight, or red light. Link to comment
Dustin Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Holy crap, can I buy some of those? Link to comment
Crakeur Posted June 26, 2003 Author Share Posted June 26, 2003 that's nasty turtle. ziz, if the worm isn't the zoo eater, I don't want to take it out. if it is, out it goes. Link to comment
Crakeur Posted June 26, 2003 Author Share Posted June 26, 2003 ok, I get to the office this morning and the worm is sitting on the base of a toadstool. The leather is about 8 to 10 inches across the crown and was extremely healthy. This morning the base is breaking loose and I can only assume the worm has something to do with it. No camera (bringing it tomorrow) so no pics. I tried to snag the worm but the grabbers I have couldn't get a firm grip. This thing moves real fast and found it's way into the main cave of the mantis. so now I hear snapping galore coming from the tank. Maybe the shrimp will have a go at it. otherwise, I will bring the camera tomorrow and try and get some pics before I get it out of the tank. It can't be good at that size. Here's a pic of a worm I found that resembles the one I have. Mine is fat as hell. Link to comment
FlyGTI Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 I would expect to see minced worm coming out of the cave soon. If nothing else, it might feed the fishies for the day. Link to comment
Crakeur Posted June 26, 2003 Author Share Posted June 26, 2003 dunno. if it's been feasting on the zoos, that's one toxic fish. the clicking sound subsided and no sign of the beast but my money is on the worm getting away. this thing was extremely fast. Link to comment
FlyGTI Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Maybe the worm ate your mantis! Link to comment
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