another worm ID (sory)

[MHannon]

I am not sure what I have, but the other night when the lights were off, I was using a flashlight and watching the pods scurry around. On one of my larger rocks there is a deep but narrow crevice. I noticed what I would call a worm sticking out. The next night I saw two more. I have never had bristle worms in my tank so I usualy skip over those threads here on RC. So I do not know what bristle worms look like. Now that I have these guys, I wish I had read these threads.

I can not get a good look at them because they are always in a hole and only have about a 1/4 inch sticking out. And as soon as I shine the light on them, they start to pull themselves into the holes only leaving time for less than a two second glimpse. This also makes it imposible to take a picture.

I will try my best to describe them. They are kind of flattened, they are a beige color on the sides and a redish on top. They have spikes or ridges on their sides. And they are small (for now atleast)

I dont know if you guys can make an ID off of my lame discription, so if you know of a web site that has pictures, I could try to make a match.

 

[Sk8r]

That may not be as beneficial as bristleworms, since it is lurking and refusing to come out. What is significant in bad-worm id is the jaws. You can't see bristleworm jaws, really: they can grab a food pellet and you don't really see how they're carrying it: it just looks attached to their head. If it's a Eunicid worm, the jaws are apparent, sideways pincers. A Eunicid is not a good citizen: it resembles a bristleworm in many respects, but the jaws are distinctive: concentrate your next glimpse on that aspect. They're much shyer than bristleworms: your description makes me suspicious.

 

[MHannon]

Thanks, I did not notice large jaws, but I will look tonight.

 

[MHannon]

I found these pictures on google. I do not think these are what I have.

Although, the spikes on the side resemble what I saw.

 

[MHannon]

This picture I found on google is pretty close.

If the pictures dont work, let me know and I will try to fix it.

 

[MHannon]

anyone know what kind of worm is in the picture above?
Or a site that is good for IDing worms?

 

[venwu225]

google bristle worms please

 

[LeslieH]

That's an amphinomid polychaete, possibly a juvenile Eurythoe complanata or one of the smaller species. A detritivore & scavenger, beneficial for the tank according to what most people say about them.

For some general id pics try these:
http://home2.pacific.net.ph/~sweetyummy42/hitchworms.html
http://melevsreef.com/id/
http://www.nhm.org/guana/bvi-invt/bvi-surv/worm-tit.htm

For more specific information go here:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-03/rs/index.php
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-04/rs/index.php
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-05/rs/index.php

 

[MHannon]

Wow! thanks LeslieH, thats just what I was looking for.