Bristleworm ID - Good or bad?

Go to nano-reef and put this after it.

/forums/index.php?showtopic=144468&st=0&gopid=1467801&#entry1467801
 
just to answer your question: if it has stubby tentacles on its head it's not good. If it has bristles down its sides and no tentacles on its head it's fine, ordinary bristleworm. Almost all worms are good. Eunicids, tentacled ones, are ok in the sump, not in tank.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11699047#post11699047 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sk8r
just to answer your question: if it has stubby tentacles on its head it's not good. If it has bristles down its sides and no tentacles on its head it's fine, ordinary bristleworm. Almost all worms are good. Eunicids, tentacled ones, are ok in the sump, not in tank.
Click to expand...

I kept a large Eunicid (I actually never found out how large he really was because I never actually saw his entire body. He was the thickness of my finger) in my display tank for about 4 years before I sold the tank.

He was 100% vegetarian. Actually quite helpful. So it is an oversimplification to say that all Eunicids are bad. It probably also depends on what else one is trying to keep in the tank.

Certainly though....some Eunicids can be problematic, and large.

Like many things, there are probably thousands of types and they aren't all the same. Here's Max...you have to admit he was a really good looking worm!
100_0865.jpg
 
Wow that's awesome! I want one now. I have never seen one that cool looking. All the ones I have seen are black or brown and just downright scary looking. I really wouldn't mind keeping one of those though. Do you have an ID for it?
 
I checked your photo over on nano-reef. As the people over there suggested it's an ordinary fireworm, Eurythoe complanata, and a beneficial cleaner.
 
After I put it back in on sunday, I have come in on random nights with a red light and havent seen any worm activity. Is this normal for a worm that size? I would have thought that I would see it out every night.
 
They're pretty good at hiding. It's funny how many people never know they have polychaetes - even huge polychaetes - until they break down their tanks. If you want to see it again try luring it out with some dead fish or shrimp.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11718033#post11718033 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Untamed12
Here's Max...you have to admit he was a really good looking worm!
Click to expand...

there is no doubt that is the most handsome eunicid I have ever seen.

Nice shot :)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11752397#post11752397 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by flyyyguy
there is no doubt that is the most handsome eunicid I have ever seen.

Nice shot :)
Click to expand...

I never really attempted to figure out what type of Eunicid worm he was. Eunicids also have an impressive set of jaws. I was never able to get a photograph of the jaws since they extend them extremely quickly in a rapid "grab and withdraw" movement.

They are pretty cool animals, and a large one can be quite entertaining. You just have to observe carefully to figure out what they eat to determine if you want to keep one or not.

In my current tank, I've probably got hundreds...but I've yet to see one larger than maybe 1" long.
 
here is one I found a few weeks ago...just a baby...but check out the eggs......she dropped them when i was taking pics of her.....funny thing is i didnt notice you could see the eggs in the blue part until leslie pointed it out....

your pic is much better than any of mine IMO....considering i had mine trapped.....lol.......not to mention much better looking ;)

DSC_8215.jpg


DSC_8208.jpg


DSC_8222.jpg



eun3.jpg


eun1.jpg
 
Nice shots of the jaws. (That particular worm does look a lot like Max...but Max came from Florida)

In the photos with the egg-bound Eunicid....that Eunicid looks like one that I've seen many many times in different aquariums. It is basically brown, with a white ring just behind the head.

I had one of these "white ringed" worms grow to be nearly 2 feet long. I used to feed him by hand and it would eat pretty much whatever I gave it. He had built a tunnel in the sand that ran nearly the full circumference (yes... circumference!) of my 25 gallon hex tank.

On day, something bit him in half...I never did figure out what got him.

Finally...in my years running that tank I kept clams, some LPS, SPS and zoas. About the only thing I could NOT keep was Xenia. I always suspected a Eunicid worm was eating it, but I could never catch one in the act. It may also have been that my tank setup just wasn't healthy for Xenia.....so who knows...
 
i have Oenone Fulgida worms, super pain in the neck since they eat all my snails other then the two turbos. but if i put in cerith or netrit snails they start getting picked off with in a day.. i think they might also be the reason i cant seem to keep a shrimp for more then a week.
 
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