Andrew Mac Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Last night I had a healthy colony of Pulsating Xenia, a happy and pretty bunch of little pink and green waving fingers so I switched off the lights and said "goodnight" to them. This morning at 06:45 when I switched the lights back on they still looked fine, but... When I returned from work at 21:00 this evening they were GONE!!! I have no idea which one of my tank residents is to blame. I asked the 2 red hermits and they said it might have been the blue hermit, but when I asked him he said he has been asleep all day. I then asked the snails about it and they said they don't even like the taste of Xenia and suggested that I go and ask the Peppermint shrimp about what he has been up to all day while I have been at work, I told them not to be so stupid, everybody knows shrimp don't speak English. The only other suspects are bristle worms, but the only ones I have spotted so far have been tiny and I wouldn't think they could do that kind of damage in one day and that only leaves one more possibility. Last night, for the first time, I spotted a different kind of worm lurking just beneath a chunk of live rock, it had bristles on it just like my other bristle worms but this one was different, for a start it wasn't flat bodied like the others but fat and round like an earth worm. It also had 4 prominent feelers or antennae coming from its head and is bright red in colour giving it a totally different appearance to the other worms. It's behaviour is different too where as the other worms just seem to sit on a rock for a while then casually glide into some nearby crevice, this other 'thing' sticks only part of it's body out of its hole in the rock, has a look around for a while and then darts back into its hole for no apparent reason. And it's fast, really fast, blink and you will miss it. It is also much bigger than all the other worms, even though I haven't seen all of its body yet, and it's damn ugly. Does anybody know who might be the Xenia eating culprit? And what the hell is that ugly mofo? Link to comment
sublunary Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Worm sounds like a eunicid worm. Not sure if they eat coral, but they can definitely take out fish and inverts. Link to comment
Andrew Mac Posted February 21, 2011 Author Share Posted February 21, 2011 Worm sounds like a eunicid worm. Not sure if they eat coral, but they can definitely take out fish and inverts. Just checked that out on Google and I think you have hit the nail on the head. Thanks Sublunary, they sure are damn ugly, I hope I can get rid of it. Link to comment
GokesReef Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 They're meanies.. some good video on youtube of them feeding. Search also for Bobbit Worm (aka). Not sure if it eats Xenia.. but I'm pretty confident nothing else on your list usually does. Link to comment
Euphyllia Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 I'm afraid to put my hand in my tanks now. Link to comment
Andrew Mac Posted February 21, 2011 Author Share Posted February 21, 2011 I'm afraid to put my hand in my tanks now. I know what you mean, especially after I read they can sometimes grow to 2 or 3 meters long and strike with such lightning speed that they sometimes cut fish completely in half!!! I'm glad they live in water and I live in air, just wish it didn't decide to take up residence in my tank. Link to comment
Euphyllia Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 I know what you mean, especially after I read they can sometimes grow to 2 or 3 meters long and strike with such lightning speed that they sometimes cut fish completely in half!!! I'm glad they live in water and I live in air, just wish it didn't decide to take up residence in my tank. How big is the tank? If it's a nano, you might be able to remove everything and find the... enuicid worm ... then stab his brains out and burn him, and put everything back in the tank. Link to comment
DaneMarx Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Those things are the devil man... > http://www.oregonreef.com/sub_worm.htm Also, be careful you get the whole thing out. There are quite a few polycheates that can regenerate in sections.. Link to comment
malawian Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Those things are the devil man... > http://www.oregonreef.com/sub_worm.htm Also, be careful you get the whole thing out. There are quite a few polycheates that can regenerate in sections.. holy ZOMFGBBQ batman! that thing is horrifying... makes me think my bristleworms are downright cute now... Link to comment
Euphyllia Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Search "giant worm" on google images. All of the fictional pictures are of eunicid worms. Now that I'm thinking about saltwater worms, does anyone remember that worm on one of the Spongebob episode? Eunicid worm. Link to comment
Andrew Mac Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 How big is the tank? If it's a nano, you might be able to remove everything and find the... enuicid worm ... then stab his brains out and burn him, and put everything back in the tank. It's a 20 gallon tank and very new so fortunately I dont yet have any livestock for it to destroy. I have been trying to spot the damn thing again today but no luck yet, hopefully it is in the same rock as I saw it in yesterday, if so I will pull out the rock and do the old soda water trick on it to get rid of it. Link to comment
Euphyllia Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 It's a 20 gallon tank and very new so fortunately I dont yet have any livestock for it to destroy. I have been trying to spot the damn thing again today but no luck yet, hopefully it is in the same rock as I saw it in yesterday, if so I will pull out the rock and do the old soda water trick on it to get rid of it. Bring it to a LFS and ask them for some store credit, but be sure to tell them it's dangerous and should be kept in a tank by itself. Link to comment
Andrew Mac Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 Bring it to a LFS and ask them for some store credit, but be sure to tell them it's dangerous and should be kept in a tank by itself. It's so ugly I don't think they would bother. You can have it if you want Link to comment
Euphyllia Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 It's so ugly I don't think they would bother.You can have it if you want Hey, you'll never know unless you try. I've seen them at my LFS a few times. Link to comment
ecmo92 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Great, looks like what Ive got in my tank also. Its never done anything that Ive seen, tho. How long do they live? Link to comment
Trogdor447 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I have a scutus that killed my Pulsing Xenia .. i seen him next to it.. then a few hours later i seen him nawing on it.. then the next morning it was gone.. Link to comment
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