Eunice/Bobbitt worm?

[Engloid]

I'm reading up on them now, but do any of you have experience with them? I believe I have one in a piece of rock. It extends out of its hole, but I have never seen it come out all the way. A few times I saw it out about 2.5in, and straight as an arrow. Seldom, I see it bent, coming out a little as if eating something off the rock. It goes back into the hole pretty quickly, but not as fast as a feather duster.

I have read that some species will attack fish or snails...and maybe it's a coincidence, but today I noticed a snail upside down, without his trap door shut, in the vicinity. I rolled him over and he did move, but has still not gotten on his foot. He's a live, but appears to have something wrong with him based on his behavior.

I think I may pull this piece of rock out of the tank and "treat" it to make sure anything in it dies. If I do, maybe some freshwater will draw him out where I can see him and maybe take pics.

 

[Engloid]

Better safe than sorry. I have had a few things disappear lately, including a royal gramma, and two shrimp, and I suspected the red coris, since they all disappeared after I got him. I'm not all that sure now, but this worm isn't anything pretty and I don't NEED him in the tank, so while I knew where he was, I pulled the entire piece of rock and put it in a bowl of RO water. Within seconds, the copepods were dropping out of it. I poured them back into the tank and filled the bowl again. I will see if the worm comes out. If he doesn't, I will just dry the rock for about a week and put it back in. Luckily, this piece was easy to pull out, and isn't big.



I'd still be interested in hearing any eunice worm stories you all have had.

 

[gflat65]

My first experience was about 13 years ago, helping a friend in college move his tank. He, too, had several small fish go missing in the previous couple of months. When we got to removal of the last rock and we found two Eunicids. They were only about two foot long, so not big boys. They went into a jar.

Since, I've learned to appreciate the odd and unwanted (we stick together). A friend from Chattanooga just happened to have one he'd captured from his tank at a frag swap last year, so I took it home and set up a little tank for it. Pretty cool worm. He'd lost a number of pricy acan frags before he got the worm out. I fed it zoa frags and dropped it some krill when I fed the other tanks. Fun to show off. Just an air stone and ambient light. I killed it off over the winter, though. The long anticipated tank room was still dragging on and I never got a heater in the tank. Too many episodes into the mid sixties, apparently...

I've cut acans and found baby Eunicids (3-4" long) on a number of times. They used to go into the misfit tank, but it no longer exists...

 

[Engloid]

I did finally get this guy. It took him about 12hrs in RO water, and I found him sticking about 1" out of a rock. I'll try and post up a picture later. I'm still not sure what it was because he didn't have a head. It looked as if he had just been cut off, with a flat end on him. I tried to pull him out, but he broke, so I don't know how long he was. Being a little more than 1/16" in diameter, I'd have to think he wasn't too long.

The snail that I suspected may have gotten bitten, stung, or whatever, has died. He's not moved in a day. His trap door is slightly open and he doesn't respond when I push on it or anything.

I put the rock back in the tank, but rolled it where I can watch the hole that the remainder of the worm is in. I don't think he will cause any ammonia spike or anything, being as small as he is. I didn't see any spike when my royal gramma disappeared, the kole tang died, or the shrimp disappeared, so I don't expect any problems with this either.

 

[Runner]

Yes. Over 2 feet long. Evil thing that ate softies and snails for a few months in my tank.

You can find an old post about my eunicid worm here in this forum somehwere.