Need help with unknown worm

H

housecao

tonight I saw something crawling in my tank that I've never seen before. It's a worm of some sort, with a pink front part of the body, and purple back part with clear or white looking spikes or fur. I fear that this is bad for my tank and was wondering how to get rid of it.

Thanks in advance,
House
 
House,

As CW said...sounds like a bristleworm. There are a couple of species that get huge (i.e >12" long) and could be a problem, but as a general rule most of the bristleworms that may seem to come out of nowhere in our tanks are awesome scavengers and really help keep detritus/uneaten food, etc. under control.

I wouldn't worry about it...it's a natural thing. It's completely understandable to "freak out" a bit when you see it the first time, but these guys are very helpful. You may start seeing more. If you really feel the need to remove it, use some tongs or tweezers or something so you don't handle it with your hands. I would just enjoy it and watch it do it's thing!

Matt
 
yeah I am a little freaked because a hermit crab that was near it has either vacated it's shell or has been attacked. The crab had been hanging out in a hole for a day or two so I was looking at it when I saw the worm about half an inch away.

House
 
ok...so I removed the hermit crab and it was hiding so I'm ok there. the rock from which the worm was found on has now been removed. I want to hear what others say before adding it back in. I don't want to have a crazy outbreak to happen and will make it difficult for me to fix later. if they won't kill my livestock then I'll reintroduce them. My first thought was cool something new until I realized that it could be a brittle worm and posted on here.

house
 
Most reef keepers are proud to have bristle worms in there tanks. Truth be told IDing your new reef friend works best with a photo.

For all we know you have loc-ness in your SW tank. :wink:
 
Bristle worms are an important but often unseen part of a good clean up crew. In the ocean there are as many as 100 per square meter. They pose no danger to your livestock, even when large. You can get a sting from them if you happen to brush up against one while you're moving rocks around, but it's more like getting fiberglass in your hand.

There are a few predatory species of worms, but they are so rarely seen in aquariums that they're not worth mentioning.
 
Bristleworm are good scavengers. They actually clean out all the pourous places and rock crevices, which are worth more than you think. I had one about 6 inches one time, I will only take em out once they get that big cus its an eye sore.
 
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