Eunicid worm predatory capabilities?

[techreef]

So I have visually spotted at least three eunicids living in my 90G display tank. They build their tubes out of snail shells that they collect from around the tank, regardless of whether the shell is being used by a hermit crab or snail. That is a minor-ish bother to me, but now I'm suspecting them of perhaps moving up to preying on fish.

My 4-5" long ruby head wrasse disappeared yesterday. I'm wondering if a eunicid could have taken him out? The largest eunicid I've spotted in the tank is about 1/3" in diameter, and of an unknown length (I saw a good 10"). It was burrowing through my sandbed, and I caught a glimpse of him when his burrow ran up against the front glass of the tank. Over the years, I've had a yellow watchman goby, two hector's gobies, and a carpenter's flasher wrasse disappear. The wrasse looked to be from an internal parasite, as he got really skinny despite eating well every day, but the gobies are small enough that I thought perhaps the worms in the tank could nab them at night while they're tucked into the rockwork or down on the sandbed.

I've put up with a pistol shrimp eliminating my dwarf blue-leg hermits. I'm not real excited about the possibility that my euni's have moved on to bigger and more expensive prey in the form of my tank's fish! Can I get some opinions from everyone?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[mscarpena]

Definitely could be the Eunicid worm. I would get them out ASAP. I have a worm issue myself. I am trying to irradicate some oenone worms that eat clams and snails. Eunicid are really good predators and will eat just about anything. They also get very large. Did it eat your wrasse I doubt it, but anything is possible. If there is not enough food my worms will eat each other.

 

[techreef]

Well, cancel the red-light hysterics. My ruby head wrasse was out when I got home from work last night, so that's a relief. There still is no doubt that my hermits and snails have been decimated by the eunicids and pistol shrimp, but that I knew about already.

re: "get them out ASAP" mscarpena, (much) easier said than done. Eunicid's retract at 20 feet/second, so catching them extended from their home is near impossible. They've got the same maddeningly incredible ability to detect motion as oenone worms, and mine are all at the extreme bottom of my tank, so getting to them in and of itself requires some gymnastics. If I have the time (minimum of 30 minutes to set up and hunt) I usually will try to catch one when I spot a tunnel in the sand or a new tube being constructed on the rockwork. but it is a slow process. I've had my tank for nearly 3 years now, and i've only caught one so far. (that was a celebration!)

 

[mscarpena]

I know all of that, but its something that has to be done in my opion. If you want to live with them that is up to you. It will end up costing you a lot of money in the end. Try to make a trap out of pvc piping, some food you know they eat, and have them go in it so they can not see you coming. I tried something similar with my oenones and I had minimal success, but still some. I think it would work better with Eunicids because they seem to travel more and will remove their entire bodies out of their rocks for food(I think). Well anyway good luck.

 

[techreef]

Oh, I'm in agreement with you mscarpena. I want them out of my tank. I just can't catch them as of yet.

And two nights ago, I spotted a 1/4" diameter oenone worm. Lucky me. I have the LR from hell. Seriously, if you name a bad hitchhiker, I've experienced it. Pistol shrimps, mantis shrimps, cirolanids, gorilla crabs, stone crab, eunicid worms, predatory flatworm, whelks, and now an oenone worm. I won't be buying "Live" LR ever again.

 

[snorvich]

Divers also call them "Bobbit Worms"

 

[mscarpena]

Man that sucks. I have thought about buying some new line rock(20LBS) and placing the live rock(30-40 LBS) I have in my tank in fresh water for a few days then returning it to my sump to monitor the worm situation for a week or two. Then just slowly doing this with all the live rock I have until I am sure all the worms are dead. Sounds like you should just nuke your live rock and start over. Good luck and if you need any advice let me know. I would be happy to help. I have caught 6 oenone worms to date. So I guess I'm pretty good. I just wish I was good a benificial things. How much coral do you have in your tank?? I am full as full gets. I have been able to keep my one large clam alive, but every now and again he gets a bite taken out of him. It's about a 5" acrossed Maxima.

 

[mscarpena]

Oh yeah Iodine dips do not make the oenones uncomfortable or kill them. I would assume that to be the case with Eunicids as well. Also Oenones when they have no other food they will eat each other so I would assume they will eat corals.