Lula_Mae Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 Hi all, While doing some tanky things I came across a couple of oddballs and need help to definitively id them. I found a dwarf cerith shell in the sand I was cleaning (just got a batch from Reef Cleaners) but there was a long snoot or worm or something extending and retracting from the opening. It's grayish and sometimes you can see a little white blob or stripe move along the inside to the end, poke out and then retract. Peanut worm maybe? Or something else? You can see the white line near the end in this pic. I also have these worms and can't decide if they are spaghetti worms or hair worms. The dark part is the main body, the yellow orange part is a bunch of tentacle-type things that will come out of the sand and reach for food. The tentacle things are lightly striped/ banded in a darker color. @teenyreef, do these look like your evil hair worms? I have a video too, I'll try to upload. Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted October 22, 2018 Author Share Posted October 22, 2018 Not great quality but hopefully it gives an idea how these critters move. Quote Link to comment
ihglifelol Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 I'm not sure what kind of worm it is, because of the way it is acting in the video looking for food, it looks like a lucky scavenger which found itself a home. Quote Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 Yeah, I dunno. Never seen that before. I'll see if I can dig anything up for you. My guess is not a peanut worm. Moves way too fast. Peanut worms are very cautious, they only retract fast. I'll see if I can find anything for you. 1 Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted October 23, 2018 Author Share Posted October 23, 2018 16 minutes ago, RayWhisperer said: Yeah, I dunno. Never seen that before. I'll see if I can dig anything up for you. My guess is not a peanut worm. Moves way too fast. Peanut worms are very cautious, they only retract fast. I'll see if I can find anything for you. Thanks, I've never had a peanut worm so I wasn't sure if it was that or something like a bobbit or eunice worm, or something else. Quote Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 Well, as I mentioned in John,s tread, I may be wrong. Though it seems too fast for a peanut, there are many species of peanut worm. While I only found a description, it came with q pic. It was id'd as a peanut worm living in a shell. Here's the pic. Look similar? Quote Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 One easy way to tell. Try sacrificing another snail to it. If it takes the bait, then it's obvious you dont want it. If not, it may just be a harmless scavenger that found itself a nice double wide. Quote Link to comment
patback Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 I like oddball things. Good or bad, that thing would stay in the sump for sure. 1 Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted October 23, 2018 Author Share Posted October 23, 2018 11 minutes ago, RayWhisperer said: Well, as I mentioned in John,s tread, I may be wrong. Though it seems too fast for a peanut, there are many species of peanut worm. While I only found a description, it came with q pic. It was id'd as a peanut worm living in a shell. Here's the pic. Look similar? The two I have are gray but yes, it does look kind of like that! And the little white line I described it can push all the way to the end and it comes out like a little crown or something, it was hard to see exactly as it's so small. Quote Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 Crown? Like a flower looking crown? If so. Then it's a peanut worm for sure. Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted October 23, 2018 Author Share Posted October 23, 2018 It was white and seemed even all the way around, no parts were obviously longer. One interesting thing is that each of the shells has a small hole on the back side so if you're looking at the main opening, you can see right through the small hole. Maybe I can get another pic. Quote Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 This is a larger species, but it gives you an idea. Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted October 23, 2018 Author Share Posted October 23, 2018 Just now, RayWhisperer said: This is a larger species, but it gives you an idea. Yes it kind of looked like a tiny version of that crown. Do peanut worms live wherever they can find a good spot? I wonder if they found empty shells and settled there? Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted October 23, 2018 Author Share Posted October 23, 2018 This pic has both shells in it, you can see the small holes. Don't mind the detritus, this is my little frag tank I've been disassembling. Quote Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 Most live in sand, mud, or rock. I imagine they will live wherever they feel safe. If you look at the one in the shell that I posted, there is mud in there with it. I dont imagine it needs mud, though, if it's a type that lives in rock. The only peanut worms I've had were the common ones everybody seems to have. They live in the rock. Like this pic. The crown isn't showing, but it has one. Yours is different in color, but that doesnt mean much. Different species, different color. Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted October 23, 2018 Author Share Posted October 23, 2018 3 minutes ago, RayWhisperer said: Most live in sand, mud, or rock. I imagine they will live wherever they feel safe. If you look at the one in the shell that I posted, there is mud in there with it. I dont imagine it needs mud, though, if it's a type that lives in rock. The only peanut worms I've had were the common ones everybody seems to have. They live in the rock. Like this pic. The crown isn't showing, but it has one. Yours is different in color, but that doesnt mean much. Different species, different color. It did look a lot like that crown. That's kind of cool! Maybe I will put it in the little thing I set up for the hitchhiking hermit I don't want in my tanks lol. That way I can keep a close eye on it. While looking at ribbon worms, I came across this. Naughty jokes aside, it's got some incredible footage of various worms in action, and the Christmas tree worm colonies at the beginning are amazing! Quote Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 Honestly, the holes could have come from something else that killed the snail. Not saying it wasnt the worm, just that I dont know. About the only way to be sure is to smash open a shell and see what the worm looks like. Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted October 23, 2018 Author Share Posted October 23, 2018 21 minutes ago, RayWhisperer said: Honestly, the holes could have come from something else that killed the snail. Not saying it wasnt the worm, just that I dont know. About the only way to be sure is to smash open a shell and see what the worm looks like. Very true. Thanks for your help! Fingers crossed it's a friendly critter lol. Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted October 23, 2018 Author Share Posted October 23, 2018 50 minutes ago, patback said: I like oddball things. Good or bad, that thing would stay in the sump for sure. Yeah it is definitely not going in the displays haha. Quote Link to comment
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