Eunice worm questions.

[MissA]

So this weekend I decided to look into my tank at night with a flashlight and I had a small hearth attack. I saw what I first thought was a big fireworm but then I saw his face and saw those antenna looking thing and realized that the only thing I was afraid of getting in to my tank is already in my tank. He is about 5-6 inches long and the with of a spaghetti. I panicked a little bit but then decided to research how to get rid of him. And I learned that most eunice worm are actually scavengers and not evil geniuses that kills everything in the tank. So I was wondering just how big the chances are that it is a fish killer and how big it might get. And what would you have done if you saw him in your tank. I can't take a picture of him because my cellphone camera isn't good enough.

[Zer0]

You’re right in that not all Eunice worms are predators, but unless you can positively ID it, you’re taking that risk. So then it basically comes down to risk assessment. Do you wait around to find out if it is indeed predatory, or do you try and catch it and if it turns out to be safe you can put it back in the tank? My general advice is always, if you don’t know what it is, get rid of it, because it’s not worth risking all the time and money you’ve invested in your livestock. 

[jservedio]

The biggest concern is making sure it isn't a Bobbit, which can get almost 10 feet long and readily kill any fish you could put in a nano. They are pretty rare and I've only heard of a handful of Bobbits over the years. You don't need a picture, but you do want to spend some time researching it to get a positive ID or at least a confirmation it isn't a fish eater (there are other predatory eunice worms) if you keep it. With a decent picture, it might make it easier. Use your flash.

 

Good luck with it. If it is actually a Bobbit, there is a ton of interest in them and the silver lining is you can probably sell it.

[WV Reefer]

1 hour ago, MissA said:

So this weekend I decided to look into my tank at night with a flashlight and I had a small hearth attack. I saw what I first thought was a big fireworm but then I saw his face and saw those antenna looking thing and realized that the only thing I was afraid of getting in to my tank is already in my tank. He is about 5-6 inches long and the with of a spaghetti. I panicked a little bit but then decided to research how to get rid of him. And I learned that most eunice worm are actually scavengers and not evil geniuses that kills everything in the tank. So I was wondering just how big the chances are that it is a fish killer and how big it might get. And what would you have done if you saw him in your tank. I can't take a picture of him because my cellphone camera isn't good enough.

Here’s a thread from my personal experience:

 

 

[Zer0]

Dude that thread is awesome! 

[MissA]

Thanks for all the answers. His coming out so I can have a better look at him. But after reading Christy's thread about "the creep" I might need to give him a home of his own. I didn't think I could actualy think a eunice worm would be cute but you conviced me. I have a smal cube that is about 2,5 gallons/10l. He should be comfy there atleast for a while. Just need to buy a pump and a light. In the meantime he gets to stay where he is. I hardly have anything in that tank yet and his not that big at the moment so it shouldn´t be a problem. 

[WV Reefer]

8 minutes ago, MissA said:

Thanks for all the answers. His coming out so I can have a better look at him. But after reading Christy's thread about "the creep" I might need to give him a home of his own. I didn't think I could actualy think a eunice worm would be cute but you conviced me. I have a smal cube that is about 2,5 gallons/10l. He should be comfy there atleast for a while. Just need to buy a pump and a light. In the meantime he gets to stay where he is. I hardly have anything in that tank yet and his not that big at the moment so it shouldn´t be a problem. 

That’s awesome. 😊

[MissA]

So a few days have past since i wrote. I been lurking around my poor tanks with a flashlight every night. I kinda feel like the world´s worst stalker.  But I found that in my smaller tank there is 2 peanut worms and I thought that maybe I can move the eunice worm there if it turns out that he´s not the giant scary one. But I have a problem. I can´t really find him and I don´t know how to catch him alive. I´ve only seen him twice, that first time and then I saw a tail disappering into the rockwork 2 nights ago. He really doesn´t like the flashlight i guess. I think I know which rocks his hiding in. Can I freshwater dip the rock and fish him out if he falls out of the rock or is there a worm trap that works. After looking both here and on other forums it seems like a trap doesn´t work. I don´t wanna try to catch him with tongs unless I have to because I don´t wanna risk cutting him in half and end up with 2 worms I can´t get out of the tank.

[WV Reefer]

2 hours ago, MissA said:

So a few days have past since i wrote. I been lurking around my poor tanks with a flashlight every night. I kinda feel like the world´s worst stalker.  But I found that in my smaller tank there is 2 peanut worms and I thought that maybe I can move the eunice worm there if it turns out that he´s not the giant scary one. But I have a problem. I can´t really find him and I don´t know how to catch him alive. I´ve only seen him twice, that first time and then I saw a tail disappering into the rockwork 2 nights ago. He really doesn´t like the flashlight i guess. I think I know which rocks his hiding in. Can I freshwater dip the rock and fish him out if he falls out of the rock or is there a worm trap that works. After looking both here and on other forums it seems like a trap doesn´t work. I don´t wanna try to catch him with tongs unless I have to because I don´t wanna risk cutting him in half and end up with 2 worms I can´t get out of the tank.

They tend to keep most of their body in their “home base”. Take tongs and try to feed it near the last place you saw it. Once you spot it just pull the entire rock and put in the new tank. 

[MissA]

On 6/18/2021 at 4:40 PM, WV Reefer said:

They tend to keep most of their body in their “home base”. Take tongs and try to feed it near the last place you saw it. Once you spot it just pull the entire rock and put in the new tank. 

Thanks for the tip. I´ll try it this weekend.