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Eunice Worm! - How do I get rid of this?!


Tigahboy

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I think I finally got this sucker out of my tank. Unfortunately, I do not have a cool picture to show you, however.

 

But basically I didnt see the worm again since the pictures I posted...then I rearranged the rocks a little last night and saw him poking his nasty little head out of a hole as he spit out large amounts of rock from his mouth. I'm assuming he was in the process of burrowing deeper into the rock.

 

But yeah, I quickly grabbed the rock and put it in freshwater. I'm sure he couldn't survive the freshwater dip for the 15 minutes I had him in there.

 

But just to be safe, I put the rock (and hopefully his lifeless dead body in it) into my quarantine/hospital tank. I'll let it re-cure in there for a couple weeks before reintroducing the rock OR I may just get rid of the rock completely just to be safe.

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I found a Eunice worm in my 12 gallon recently. Is there any successful way of getting him out without removing or destroying the live rock? I have a bunch of mini brittles, fan worms, small snails, peanut worms, and GSP that also call the rock home that I don't wish to harm. I noticed the worm since I bought the rock, but never thought much about him, besides his ugly menacing hooked jaws. He was smaller, but I just saw him the other day broadcast spawning while I was feeding my tank and it looked significantly larger. I believe it has been eating my purple mushrooms and possibly even some hermits and a small peppermint shrimp. Now that I have my first fish a YWG I want him gone. I'm hoping that someone has came up with a solution since 2004 when this thread was originally authored. Any tips? Thanks

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Count me in. I saw a small whitish-colored one for the first time in my tank a few days ago. I haven't seen him since I tried to remove the rock he was under, thinking that's where he was living. I've seen pics and accounts of these bobbit worms and what they can do. I haven't seen any damage though. There are zoas and yuma rics near where I saw him and they're still intact. I still have my 2 small hermits and nassarius snails (though I forgot how many I had started with). He's too small as yet to harm my clowns and dottyback. But yeah, I think it's just a matter of time. :scarry:

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I see mine right now. :/. Only his head and antenna though. I've tried tweezers for a few weeks, but this worm has a sixth sense. I might have more than one too, because this guy looks smaller than what I saw the other day. Can't see by the picture, but he's laying low right there in the dark. I would try to lure him out with meaty food, but everyone in the tank comes running. This rock has been one of my best and housed a whole diversity of life in it. I just don't want to level a whole neighborhood to catch a killer lest I become the killer myself. There has to be a smarter or more well thought out approach than full out war scorched earth style.

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Yeah, I think it's going to be hard to get him like that, unless you are either the Flash or can stop time and get him out. I think mine saw me move through the glass and wooshed back into hiding. I had to stay still before he came out again. It was then I decided to lift the rock. I may have made it worse because he may have moved house and now I don't know where he is.

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I hope so. I too don't want to wreck my tank. I don't know if those traps meant for other worms can work with them. But even if they did, I haven't seen any available around here. Maybe I can make one out of some small used syringes or something.

 

Good luck to both of us.

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My peppermint shrimp liked running all over my tank at night sticking his whole arm inside rocks grooming my tank and looking for food. He was really fun to watch and an active little guy. I can just picture this ugly worm laying in wait inside his cave and my shrimp doing what he does best looking for dinner. My shrimp unknowingly sticks his arm inside this monsters lair looking for food only to have the monster grab him back alas becoming dinner himself.

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I hope so. I too don't want to wreck my tank. I don't know if those traps meant for other worms can work with them. But even if they did, I haven't seen any available around here. Maybe I can make one out of some small used syringes or something.

 

Good luck to both of us.

I've never seen the worm come out much past his head besides to stick his bum out and broadcast the tank with his seed. I've read that they don't ever completely detach from their lair so as to make a quick getaway if needed. I've thought about chipping off a piece of highly porous live rock to set bait in the middle. The thought is he will leave the safety of his lair and completely switch rocks entirely for easy extraction. The only problem being is that 1. they are long so it might take a longer or bigger piece than I can accommodate in my JBJ 12, 2. they are mostly ambush predators so I'm not sure they would take off and hunt rather than lying in wait, and 3. I've read they actually burrow inside the rock constructing and maintaining a very intricate system of tunnels. I'm not sure after all that work the worm has done I could get him to switch homes so easily. These worms seem very cautious and hell bent on survival and making you come to them thus waging war on a very familiar, well thought out, prepared, and complex battlefield. They without a doubt have their home field advantages. If I lose my Goby all options will be on the table. Including the nuclear option. One bunker buster coming up. Negotiations will have to be conducted within the next 4 to 7 days before tighter sanctions are enforced.

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Here the little monster is. One of them at least and hopefully the only. I think this is the baby though. The one that was broadcasting the other night had a big old fanny. Sorry about the audio. My Jack Russell was getting nervous I guess since I was concentrating so hard or something. I'm pretty sure he couldn't have seen the worm. He's my second in command.

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Ugh, it does look like a bobbit worm. How big is that rock? Can you take it out? Maybe you can somehow break it into 2 pieces and somehow glue it back together after you get it out. But the rock looks like it has a lot of holes and he could be anywhere in there. Not to mention the other innocent critters living on and in the rock. Covering up that hole would also be useless.

 

Maybe you could get a bigger diameter rigid plastic tube, put some food on a stick, put it inside the tube and place the tube's end near the worm. Hopefully he'll smell it and try to reach it by entering the tube. When he's far enough along you can grab his body with the tweezers. But you'll need two hands and you'd get weary waiting for him to enter the tube, you move a bit and he's gone. Just an idea. You're lucky he's in a more accessible spot. I saw mine under a rock that's almost touching the tank wall so I don't have any room to work with.

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http://youtu.be/V3X8fEe-9_M'>http://youtu.be/V3X8fEe-9_M

Here the little monster is. One of them at least and hopefully the only. I think this is the baby though. The one that was broadcasting the other night had a big old fanny. Sorry about the audio. My Jack Russell was getting nervous I guess since I was concentrating so hard or something. I'm pretty sure he couldn't have seen the worm. He's my second in command.

awwwww it's kinda cute ;)
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could you siphon him out when he comes out like in the video
oh god...u know how sometimes when u start a siphon and u don't take ur mouth off in time and U get a mouthful of saltwater? Imagine if that happened when u were doing this...
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oh ***...u know how sometimes when u start a siphon and u don't take ur mouth off in time and U get a mouthful of saltwater? Imagine if that happened when u were doing this...

Laugh out loud, there goes my sleep for the night.

 

I tried cutting the tip off a long plastic dropper on the fly, reversing, and then reinserting to make a DIY worm trap with Mysis shrimp as bait at the bulb in with little luck. He will chase that seaweed all over, but doesn't seem interested in Mysis so much. Maybe he just wasn't getting a good wiff. I had gotten him pretty use to me messing with him at that point. For the first 20 minutes (Yeah) he was very cautious. By the end he was pretty much letting me pet him with the tube and poke at him. Whenever I went to retrieve him he would shoot back into the rock. Petty smart this worm. He was biting the tip of the tube also. It made a pretty loud crunching noise. Bad thing is I'm pretty sure this is only the baby.

 

 

He would be fine if he wasn't so destructive. I was actually getting to like him, but then I look at my mushrooms and wonder about my late Peppermint Shrimp. Got to get my game face on.

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Laugh out loud, there goes my sleep for the night.

I tried cutting the tip off a long plastic dropper, reversing, and then reinserting to make a DIY worm trap with Mysis shrimp as bait at the bulb in with little luck. He will chase that seaweed all over, but doesn't seem interested in Mysis so much. Maybe he just wasn't getting a good wiff. I had gotten him pretty use to me messing with him at that point. For the first 20 minutes (Yeah) he was very cautious. By the end he was pretty much letting me pet him with the tube and poke at him. Whenever I went to retrieve him he would shoot back into the rock. Petty smart this worm. He was biting the tip of the tube also. It made a pretty loud crunching noise. Bad thing is I'm pretty sure this is only the baby.

He would be fine if he wasn't so destructive. I was actually getting to like him, but then I look at my mushrooms and wonder about my late Peppermint Shrimp. Got to get my game face on.

do u have a sump or fuge? U could put him in there. If not I'm sure there's someone with a pest tank who would love to have him :)
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Negative, I don't run a sump or a fuge currently. Maybe someone might like him. After I capture him I'll swing by the LFS and see what they think. If nothing else their Mantis Shrimp might need a new buddy. At any rate I need a handful of new droppers at least. Between me cutting them up and my kids running off with them I can't seem to hardly keep them around.

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Ugh, it does look like a bobbit worm. How big is that rock? Can you take it out? Maybe you can somehow break it into 2 pieces and somehow glue it back together after you get it out. But the rock looks like it has a lot of holes and he could be anywhere in there. Not to mention the other innocent critters living on and in the rock. Covering up that hole would also be useless.

 

Maybe you could get a bigger diameter rigid plastic tube, put some food on a stick, put it inside the tube and place the tube's end near the worm. Hopefully he'll smell it and try to reach it by entering the tube. When he's far enough along you can grab his body with the tweezers. But you'll need two hands and you'd get weary waiting for him to enter the tube, you move a bit and he's gone. Just an idea. You're lucky he's in a more accessible spot. I saw mine under a rock that's almost touching the tank wall so I don't have any room to work with.

 

Yes, I can take the rock out pretty easy. So many little guys call it home I don't know how I feel about busting it open yet though. I'm currently working on building a coalition. I'm thinking of using a JBJ Pico as a tiny Gitmo where I will be able to cut off food supply, begin to tighten the screws, and enact tougher sanctions that will hopefully bring the enemy to their knees and flush them out of hiding with minimal civilian casualties. Preparations are underway as we speak and supplies are en route for what I feel is building up to be a long war of attrition.

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BojanMilenkovic

I read that some tipes of eunice worms(palolo worm) can grow up to 50 meters.

Wouldn't want that in a reef aquarium.

But i kinda like the smaller tipes theyre cool.When i set up my tank if i see one ill put it in a seperate tank for it too live alone.

I found this video of a guy found an eunice worm in his tank while breaking it down.

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That is what the bigger one in my tank looked like for sure. Same color and everything. I'd say right now he is maybe 2-3 inches judging by his butt he shoved out of the rock the other night. Other than that I have never seen him out of the rock. If it comes to busting open the rock I will be sure to do it outside so when I jump I don't hit anything like the ceiling.

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You could always squirt muratic acid down his hole. Some of the local reefers use that stuff to get rid of aiptasia and well, any other pest, really. I wouldn't use the stuff in my pico or my 10 gallon, but for a lager tank, I guess it's pretty safe.

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