Please Identify...... I was sitting down watching my tank at the end of the day with the actinic on when this worm like creature comes slowly creeping out to about three and a half inches then crept back into the rock. I included three photos on this link,two are with a flash. thanks
What was that?????
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brissle worm
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Ya, Like the creature from the depths of the ocean was invading your tank! I remember when I saw my first. "Bubba" is his name and he was about 3" long. He is about 13" now and lives in my fuge!
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There is a fine line between a bristleworm and a fireworm. I am in no way an expert on these things, but I thought the fire worms had a more silverish sheen to them than the bristles (in addition to differnt head structures). At any rate, fire worms are bad- they will eats inverts, whereas bristles are more or less harmless. You may want to look into this more, to be sure you aren't harboring a trouble maker.
I agree. The harmeless bristleworms are usually small (2" or less, I believe) but fire worms can grow quite large. I have always gone by the clumping of the bristles. If they're even over the body and it's small, I leave it. If they have distinct clumps and it's large, it goes.
Given the size you quote, I'd say trap it and remove. Better safe than sorry.
Given the size you quote, I'd say trap it and remove. Better safe than sorry.
Hmmm, what to do ? If i do decide to go hunting , what would be the best way to catch a worm this size and would it hang out in the same area , it looked like it came out between the rock and sand so my thought is to move the rocks to one side except the one that might be its home and put that in a separate container( high salinity to flush him out?) and take a pair of forceps and poke around the sand or just wait and leave him be?
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How about leave him alone and let him clean up your tank like he is...
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Sorry if that came off as rude. My theory is that if it is not hurting anything and is more then likely helping stuff, why kill it? It might not be pretty to look at but it is part of the ocean so it should be part of our tanks. They look kind of cool if you ask me!
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YA when they get HUGE, they can cause some problems... Bubba lives in my fuge now because he is too big for the 55G tank with all the other creatures.
