Cirratulids "hair worms" Help

TL360

Premium Member
Hello all, I need help on getting rid of these "hair worms"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfbsDfiVUsc
I have been told that they are good for the tank, but they are moving out of the sand bed and now into the rocks and touching my Zoa colony. My Zoa are being killed or too agitated to open up and eventually die :( Please help!!
 
These are Spaghetti worms and are totally safe. There is no need to worry about them. They eat what they can find within reach, and your zoas will tolerate them. They don't kill zoas, as they have no stinging quality.

I removed your duplicate threads.
 
Thanks for fast respond Marc. I understand they are harmless and good for the tank. I have seen them gather food and it was really cool watching them. However, I have a full colony of Zoas on a live rock. I started my tank about 5months ago and the zoas colony comes from 4p to a 5" colony. but ever since the spaghetti worms landed on the rock it stared to agitate the colony and now about half of the colony are dying off :(
 
Are they just making mounds of sand close by the colony? I have never seen these guys reach their tentacles into other corals or near zoas to search for food or detritus. They do pose an aesthetic issue sometimes and I have just grabbed them with tongs under the sand surface and thrown them away. I believe copper-band butterflies will devour these guys as well.
 
Yea, I have been searching around and every sites I got to everyone said they are beneficial for the tank. So for the past month I left them alone thinking they would move on and leave my Zoas alone but day after days coming home from work seeing more and more polyps just dying off one at a time. Kinda sad. These guy landed right on the colony, and the colony is about 7" above the sand bed. Moving their tentacle around gathering food. Im thinking these tentacles tickle the Zoas causing them to close up, eventually die off. Now you mentioned CBB, I also have read suggestions on other site and did search on this fish. Correct me if im wrong, but dose the CBB will also pick on all my other coral? Thank you
 
Always a possibility but I would bet that with spaghetti worms in the tank, he would have no reason to go after anything else. At least until they are gone. Even then I believe it is only certain feeding polyps on certain corals that may be in danger... Or aiptasia and possible majanos.
 
You say the zoanthids are dying off. This is very unlikely to be related to the spaghetti worm. Even if it was vermetids or a different type of worm, that's still not a predator to a zoanthid.

Be that as it may, you can take the rock out of your tank and inspect it for the worm in question and using dental tools extract it from the colony. Put the rock back in your tank and observe.
 
Yup, I did just that about 2hrs ago. Those sucker are fast lol. Hopefully it work. But really like to have a natural predator to keep the worms population control. Lol I was sucking them up from the sandbed using my blinds stick, fed them to my Green Zoanthid Polyps and Duncan. Lol they eats them fast =) thanks for your response
 
Now I see what you are talking about. It's like the tentacles are holding them in a death grip, choking them out one by one. So strange, never seen anything like it. Thank you for the pictures.

The spot where the worm lives, the core beast. You can cover that area up with super glue gel to seal it in there. I would definitely try to clean up the zoanthids with some flow and maybe a very very soft toothbrush to make sure the tissue is clean.
 
Yup, it sad to se a striving colony comes to a halt :( . Lol can I say "I told yal so" lol no so harmless and beneficial now ehh =)
 
Have you dipped the colony? I still don't believe the worms are the true problem. I would put money on another pest doing damage and the worms just taking advantage of a sloppy mess to clean up. Would love to do a coral Rx dip on them.
 
@reefremedies wrote:
Have you dipped the colony? I still don't believe the worms are the true problem. I would put money on another pest doing damage and the worms just taking advantage of a sloppy mess to clean up. Would love to do a coral Rx dip on them. said:
 
I would love to take your money =) lol JK. But im for sure that is them. I watch them in action everyday for hours. Besides I have no other pest. I got these worms from a corals that was on a rock which I bought from a member on this forum. I first want to remove them, but did some reading and questioning. Everyone seem to believe that they are good and beneficial, which they are. Yet, in some rare cases, like mine. They make their ways to a rock and make a mess of things. Sorry to say but I hate worms. Thats is my biggest regrets not getting them out when they are only a fews.
 
@tl360 these same exact worms are killing my zoas ! So you aren’t crazy.  And it’s only my zoas! I see them coming out of them
 
 
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