What's this little worm?

[sharktopus_prime]

I saw a few of these start to swim toward the top of the tank after the tanks lights were off, but I opened the canopy to clean up a little alkalinity solution that dripped on the edge. They were seemingly swimming to the top of the tank (5 or 6 of them).

Any ideas? It's translucent with funny looking innards... Check out the larger one I caught in a net.

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[bhodges82]

Looks like a bristle worm

 

[sharktopus_prime]

Hmmm, I've never seen them swim around and it doesn't have the tiny bristles on the sides either. Well, it looked like a reef thug, so I booted it from my reef.

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[sharktopus_prime]

Here's a better mugshot of the little guy.

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[bhodges82]

Not a bristle worm.

 

[ricky5415]

Agree with Bobby, not a bristle worm

 

[urbanknight]

Hmm! Don't think it's a bristle worm either. But... I think you did right in evicting him!:angery:

 

[ichthyoid]

Polychaete worms, which include bristle & fire worms, consist of over 10,000 other species of marine worms. Trying to identify this one without a textbook on them would be next to impossible.

My main concern would be whether they are reef & fish friendly.

 

[ichthyoid]

“Notably most Syllidae, Nereididae, and some Eunicidae (Palolo worms) metamorphose to become night-time swimmers to meet their mates, with timing of swarmings synchronised with the phases of the moon”

See here for more-

http://www.marinespecies.org/polychaeta/

 

[ichthyoid]

The reproductive segment of Palolo worms detach and float to the surface during waning moons, to release eggs & sperm. These are also used as a food source by Polynesian cultures. This may be possibly what you’ve got.

Palola viridis - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Eric_n_Ga]

Funny how concerned we are over things we find in our tanks .... imagine what we don't find .

 

[sharktopus_prime]

The reproductive segment of Palolo worms detach and float to the surface during waning moons, to release eggs & sperm. These are also used as a food source by Polynesian cultures. This may be possibly what you’ve got.

Palola viridis - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Thanks for taking the time to help me figure out what that work was. I really appreciate the help. I think I will want to find books that help with this sort of thing, going forward.

It's crazy how many critters end up in our reefs unnoticed for so long. I like to use a small flashlight to look at my tank at night and see all sorts of things you never see during the day in there. I have tons of pods, lots of bristle worms, baby snails, berghia and all kinds of stuff that comes out at night only.



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[Eric_n_Ga]

Wait till you see a 6 or 8in bristle worm ...not cute