bristleworm?? good or bad? (pic id)

D

djwurm

I could only get one good pic of this worm I saw. It crawled out of the rock then started to attack a snail but the crabs came out of nowhere and started to attack it... it is pale white colored with red and clear bristles around him.

my camera sucks at taking macro, sorry! can you tell me if this is a good or bad worm?

worm001.jpg
alt="">
 
Wow..
hate to say it, but I think you got a real bad worm in there. I have NEVER seen/heard a bristtle attacking a snail. They are good as they eat the dead stuff, but to attack a live snail, unaceptable. I would be pulling him asap. Also, you have a crab in there that attacked it? That spells a little trouble to me too. You know what type of crab it is? Have you been losing any livestock?
 
i have noticed a few dead snails and crabs lately, more than normal, other than that I still have my watchman goby, shrimps, and clownfish so it hasnt attacked them..

So whats the best way to catch it? some sort of trap?? where he is I cant get anything behind those rocks as it is in the back corner of the Biocube... and I cant even get a small net sideways in that corner...
 
If you've got a problem bristle worm, one way to get 'em out is to get some CLEAN panty hose, cut off the foot, put some meaty bait inside the foot, tie it closed, and lower it down to near the worm...

The worm will try to get the food, and it's bristles tend to get tangled up in the nylon of the hose. Once this happens, just lift the panty hose out and dispose...
 
Brand new, I'd rinse it in clear water first though...

Washed COULD be used, but I'd rinse the heck outta it to make SURE no detergent residue was left in there...
 
actually it is not so stretched out right know and according to my back issue of reefkeeper magazine it looks like one of the pictures I see in it. according to reefkeeper mag it is a fireworm and is beneficial.

The coloration when it is not stretched out is brown that fades to light colored around its head and the bristles are mostly clear with some red on them..
 
Yeah, I wasn't gonna get into that, but IMHO the VAST majority of bristle worms are good, and will only "attack" a living animal if that animal is almost dead on it's own...
 
hmm..
fireworms are a bad type of bristtle's ( i believe only due to the sting), but the head on that worm has predator written all over it to me, or at least from what i can tell.
 
hehe yea I understand! This is just the first time I had ever seen a worm in my tank or any tank I have had in the last few years. Even my 55 I had I never saw one.

So I kinda freaked when I first saw it as it was stretched out super long (approx 2" or more) and it was near my fire shrimp and watchman goby. then it moved over to a snail than was semi on its side and started to investigate it and looked like it tried to take a nip out of it then the crabs came crawling out of know where to investigate and the worm kinda decided it wasnt worth it and made himself smaller and decided to hide in the cheato stuff I have in the back of the tank..
 
Can't tell for sure, but it really looks like a "harmless" bristle worm to me (Sorry Steve, not trying to be argumentative... :wink: ) I've got some in the 6" range...

Different topic, but is this your display??? If so, I'd get that Caulerpa Racemosa (Grape algae) outta there ASAP! It's a highly invasive species... GREAT in a refuguim, but you probably don't want it in your display...
 
yea its in my main display, I went to fish gallery and asked them if I could put cheato in my main display to help cut down on nitrates and they told me yes. He sold me a handful of this stuff for 4 bucks and so far it has grown alot and attached itself to some rock. I dont have a refuge, only my BC 14G

I can see where it can be very invasive as it grows fast and sticks to rock and its hard to get off and trim back..

Ill take it out asap!

Thanks
 
Cheato (The thin spaghetti like stuff) isn't invasive, and doesn't attach to the rocks like Caulerpa does... While I'd prefer to see it in a refuguim, the cheato should be fine in your display, but that Caulerpa Racemosa (Grape looking stuff) will be TOUGH to get out once it's established...
 
@Serk wrote:
Can't tell for sure said:
Sorry Serk, not trying to be argumentative...but :)wink: )
Ive never heard of a bristle downright attacking a healthy snail/animal. Bristles dont look as fine and the head (from what i can see), looks differernt to me. Ive had some large ones too...but I admit, its been a while since Ive seen them.

I do respecfully defer to your judgment :wink: :p

I do agree about that grape. I got some in my main and I HATE IT with a passion. It will get into EVERYTHING! I got some growing up/in one of my largest sps (milli) and I have to tweaz it out every week.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top