oh no- what is this

[Auryn]

this is one of those other critters i was talking about thats in my tank

i finally gota picture of it today

and was appaled at what i discovered

 

everything ive read about bristle worms says they are slow

this thing is lighting fast and lives in a cave/hole in one of my pieces of rock

its bloody long- at least 4" or so from what i saw tonight- maybe more

 

it doesnt really come out of the rock except when i feed the fish and theres little pieces of food floating around and it tries to catch them with the 4 little spokes/tentacles at the front of its head

then it whips lighting fast back in the rock

today was the first time i saw it extended out more than a few millimeters

 

anyone know what it is and what i should do with/ to it ?

 

 

 

 

 

[yoshiod9]

looks like a eunicid worm. very bad news for any softies in your tank. check out this link for more info on how large this guys can get. http://www.oregonreef.com/sub_worm.htm

[fishybusiness]

I'm glad you have more controll then me. That thing I think is one of the eunice worm family. I would get that thing out a.s.a.p. I always freek out when seeing any bristle worm in my tank.

[Auryn]

ironically i read that article earlier today

 

i had hoped it wasnt the same thing

 

how do i go about getting it out?

if it breaks (if i pull it) will the leftovers become a new worm?

 

maybe i could crack the rock in half- just hope not to hurt the clam living on the rock

any suggestions

[gpjoe]

I suggest if you know what rock it's living in, take it out and give it a freshwater dip. That would be the easiest and most painless solution.

[Auryn]

think the fw dip will flush it out w/o hurting my tube polyps and clam?

[gpjoe]

You might want to remove the clam..? I don't know..

[formerly icyuodd/icyoud2]

what about a shallow bucket of salt water, just enough to keep the clam wet. it might venture into the bucket if you keep it dark.

[lgreen]

ah! those are scary!

 

could you just take a hammer and screw drive and knock of that side of the rock right about where those three holes are?

[Auryn]

thats what i was thinking too

problem im having now is figuring out if this guy is a scavenger or a gsp and softies murderer

 

all ive seen him do so far is grab pieces of floating fish food and crawl around and take away leftovers from the rock around him

 

the tube polyps next to the holes dont seem to be suffering ( they are actually growing back from their original die off)

 

so im kind of torn

cause if hes not a killer i dont want to kill him or go through the hassle of getting him out

 

anyone know how i figure out if hes a softies killer?? besides baiting him with a mushroom?

[lgreen]

i wouldn't risk it. get rid of it.

[timsit]

Sounds most certainly like a eunicid. I have one in my nano - probably 4-5" but I've never seen him completely out of his hole either... I've noticed him in my tank for 6 months now and have had no problems/deaths/issues. I have many sps's, even growing next to his hole and they aren't affected at all. I agree with you Auryn - keep him in there unless he does become a problem. Eunicids are actually quite interesting to watch (if you can get a look - they're fast!) I've done a lot of research but the info is scarce as to what they eat, what they're function is, how to care for them, etc. All I really know is that they are responsible for moving lots of coral bits around.

[USFnano]

I have one in my tank that's been the same diameter(~2-3mm)for a little over a year now. Not sure about the length, havn't seen the whole worm before, but it's probably around 6". I havn't had any problems with it and any corals that have been in the tank(a few softies at first, sps, and a clam)

[Auryn]

the guy has started moving bits of rock around now

i think he didnt do it before cause he couldnt reach them

i will try putting some bits of rock near his hold and putting a green star polyp next to his hole and see what happens

 

I know that I have at least 2 of these things living in the same rock

I hope they dont start reproducing

[supernova]

i have two in a nano cube that have never caused me any issues they are exactly like the ine in the pics on this thread and hav enot gotten any larger than they were when i first noticed them some times i feed them they have never bothered any of my corals

[mrabolli]

When you catch it hang it from a nuece and a homemade wooden hanging platform right next to the tank so the others can see what happens to their kind.

[Caesar777]

The one in the pic IS a Eunice worm. Everyone who says they have the "same thing" actually has bristleworms, most likely, OR has a nasty predatory worm they need to get rid of.

[lgreen]

Originally posted by Caesar777

The one in the pic IS a Eunice worm. Everyone who says they have the "same thing" actually has bristleworms, most likely, OR has a nasty predatory worm they need to get rid of.

 

that's a huge-amous assumption.

[Caesar777]

I meant most-everyone in this thread...Since they saw the photo and still think they have "several" of those, it's obvious that they're beginners that can't tell the difference. And Eunice worms are somewhat rare in our tanks.