Another nightmare in the reef

dough

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I knew from the shadows and fleeting glimpses in the dead of night that a terrible creature inhabited my tank. So yesterday as I was frantically searching for my missing plate coral and tearing the LR apart I found a hole in the sand bed under a piece of rock, that had bits and pieces of shells, frags and small rubble stuck together, and then I knew I was at the doorstep of a great beast. In a flash it emerged and headed for cover. Just then the door bell rang and there stood a door to door salesman as I politely told him I was busy as he eyed my long 12” tweezers and me dripping with water with a panic look on my face.

The chase was on and the struggle ensued. Tweezers or wrenches could not grasp this struggling beast. Time after time pieces broke off as the fight for survival continued. A frantic call to our beloved ARC president for advice and backup was met with a lonely voicemail.

Ah heck…..With just about everything taken out I finally got the rest of this eunicid worm.

Never found my plate. :mad2:

It is possible that this is worm is a reason for a loose of zoas in my tank?
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What a gripping tale. :eek:I was on the edge of my seat. ha. glad you got it out, sorry about your plate...
 
Ack Doug! What an epic tale. I'm glad you got it out successfully. Most of these guys are just very scary scavengers and wouldn't be the cause of your zoa problem. :(
 
Loose zoanthids, and I stress this, COULD be a sign of strontium deficiency. Sr is the stronger part of the skeleton and also acts like a 'glue' for soft corals. Without it, the moorings the coral creates are not as strong and are more likely to give.

Seachem makes a rather expensive and extensive Sr test. I've used it once. It comes with gloves and glasses because of how caustic the acids are used to percipitate out the Ca and Mg to get a test of the Sr, which should only be present at 8ppm.

You can also pick up a bottle of Sr- Seachem makes a great gluconate bound one- and start with a low dose regimen and see how your zoas react.
 
That is a eunicid worm. They WILL eat softies. Good catch. Give hime to Jin, he'll probably eat it.
 
LOL. Oddly enough... I've eaten things that look similar. Sea cucumbers and nudibranchs come to mind. This thing though doesn't look appetizing. :) Who knows though... eunicid worms might be tasty.
 
Doug! That is scary! Glad you were able to remove it.

Did the plate re-appear?
 
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