I’m hoping this isn’t a Eunice worm ....

[Cdav929]

After dealing with my crab hitchhiker yesterday I noticed this guy darting  in and out of a rock hole - super super quick! Has 5 of what look like antennae and a few are striped. 
You can see him coming out of the hole beneath the blasto. 

 

 

[WV Reefer]

2 hours ago, Cdav929 said:

After dealing with my crab hitchhiker yesterday I noticed this guy darting  in and out of a rock hole - super super quick! Has 5 of what look like antennae and a few are striped. 
You can see him coming out of the hole beneath the blasto. 

 

 

Definitely a eunicid worm of some type. Most of them aren’t that bad and most reefers never know they are there. I would just keep an eye on him and feed him. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[king aiptasia]

1 hour ago, WV Reefer said:

Definitely a eunicid worm of some type. Most of them aren’t that bad and most reefers never know they are there. I would just keep an eye on him and feed him. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I second this, only a couple eunicids get big and scary. keep feeding him and he may be tame enough to catch him and give him to a fellow reefer named King Aiptasia if he ever gets too big ;) in all reality though dont expect him to get huge

[Nano sapiens]

Yay, a Eunicid!  I have 20+ year old live rock and only noticed mine a few months ago...

 

Most of these live rock associated Eunicid worms are scavengers or detritovores, so no need to be overly concerned.   If your corals start to look munched on then you may have one of the carnivorous species (unlikely, but possible).  Really old lineage going back some 400 million years or more with very little change in appearance, so much respect for the creepy looking (to us) critters

 

Say 'Hi' to my little buddy, Bob:

 

 

 

[king aiptasia]

1 hour ago, Nano sapiens said:

Yay, a Eunicid!  I have 20+ year old live rock and only noticed mine a few months ago...

 

Most of these live rock associated Eunicid worms are scavengers or detritovores, so no need to be overly concerned.   If your corals start to look munched on then you may have one of the carnivorous species (unlikely, but possible).  Really old lineage going back some 400 million years or more with very little change in appearance, so much respect for the creepy looking (to us) critters

 

 

do any eunicidae eat coral?

[Nano sapiens]

4 hours ago, king aiptasia said:

do any eunicidae eat coral?

Oh yes, some species do indeed (from what I've seen/read, usually larger species).

 

Probably the most famous (or is that 'infamous') account:

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3469606/Creature-deep-Giant-bobbit-worm-emerges-rock-hiding-man-s-fish-tank-eating-coral-TWO-YEARS-without-caught.html

[tdannhauser30]

I don't care if its harmless or not, I would want that little ####er out of my tank. That's the kind of creepy worm that will keep me up at night lol. Think it would crawl into a bristle worm trap?

[WV Reefer]

3 minutes ago, tdannhauser30 said:

I don't care if its harmless or not, I would want that little ####er out of my tank. That's the kind of creepy worm that will keep me up at night lol. Think it would crawl into a bristle worm trap?

I doubt it......they rarely leave their home completely. ..... at least mine didn’t anyway. 

5 hours ago, king aiptasia said:

do any eunicidae eat coral?

Mine loved macro algae 

[Tired]

If you want it out, you'll have to go get it. But I agree that it's likely harmless. If you get it out, try to get it alive, and see if anyone wants it. A eunicid that size is a curiosity, so you may be able to find it a home. 

 

[Cdav929]

Thanks everyone for the comments - I’ll go ahead a just leave him in there to now as most people seem to think it will prob end up being a more benign version. I’ll keep an eye on my corals and livestock in the meantime. I still like all the diversity I got on the aquacultured live rock and I don’t regret getting it but it’s been a process dealing with the hitchhikers. Pretty sure I have a pistol shrimp or mantis as I hear snapping sounds that I can’t pinpoint a source for and  Early on I caught this 5” long leapord polyclad flatworm. 
 

[Tired]

Oo, polyclad! Those are neat too. 

 

The snapping is probably a small pistol shrimp, if you haven't found it yet. Nothing to worry about, pistols are largely harmless. You can try a bottle trap (with ventilation holes) to try and get it out. Whatever it is, see if you can rehome it first. If not, crush it quickly, or use clove oil overdose, to humanely kill it. 

 

Also, get some clove oil. It's good for humane euthanasia of pests, and, somewhat more importantly, is important to keep on hand in case a fish winds up seriously sick or injured. Fish that aren't likely to recover should be put out of their misery, and clove oil is a good way to do it. You can look up how to use it online. It's a sedative overdose, slowly added to a container of water with the animal in it. Whatever's in the water falls asleep, then passes out, then dies, without suffering. I'm of the opinion that anyone who's going to keep pets capable of feeling pain should either be able to take them to a vet, or euthanize the animal appropriately themself, if and when something gets to a point where keeping it alive is no longer humane. 

[king aiptasia]

yeah if anyone is around jersey i'll gladly take any sorts of hitchhikers

[Cdav929]

Yep snapping was definitely a pistol shrimp as I just found this claw molt.. unless I’m really off base on id’ing these things. 
Maybe I’ll try and bottle trap it, but no clue where he is. Best guess Is rock holes close to molt, but current could of swept  it there. 
 

[Tired]

Oh, neat find. Definitely a pistol claw. Probably not a threat, so you don't have to take it out. It might be neat to trap it and see what it is, but unless you want to deliberately add a goby-hosting pistol (which might fight this one), it isn't likely to be any kind of a problem. 

[MainelyReefer]

22 hours ago, Cdav929 said:

Yep snapping was definitely a pistol shrimp as I just found this claw molt.. unless I’m really off base on id’ing these things. 
Maybe I’ll try and bottle trap it, but no clue where he is. Best guess Is rock holes close to molt, but current could of swept  it there. 
 

That looks more like a mantis claw to me.....

[Tired]

No, definitely a pistol. Mantis shrimp claws look like either a praying mantis claw, or a praying mantis claw with a club as the end. Pistol claws look like a thick shrimp claw with short pinching bits.

 

[ausram]

It’s always amazed me to think of what’s in our tanks without us knowing. I’ve stared at my tank late and night with barely any light and been spooked by all the scavengers that come out to play!