fire worm?

[mystery_reef]

hi, i believe i have a large fireworm in my tank that has been eating some of my corals for a while now. i couldnt get a picture but im pretty sure that is what it is. any reccomendations on how to get it out without using another creature because this thing is big?thanks

 

[tkeracer619]

How big is big?

They are on record of 5ft+ Is it that big?

Use a large glass and put some meaty food into it neer the worms home. Tilt the glass so its easy to get into but hard to get out of. Won't work on the 5 footers......

Be prepared, you might catch more than you were asking for. Lots of stuff in a reef tank.

 

[boxfishpooalot]

Try and use a cup with some food inside it. Place it by its burrow as close as possible. It will smell the food and come out to eat. When you see it go inside take the cup out. Hopfully the fish dont eat the food before it gets to it.

Got a pic of what it looks like?

 

[asfullax]

Here is a question, I believe we have a fireworm, and we have been living with him for over a year. Basically, the coarals SEEM to be ox with only minor unknown damage every once in a while, BUT every Snail, Clam, and Anemone are almost instantly attacked by a couple dark worms regardless how long I quarantine them. If I suspend whatever it is, they are fine, but as soon as it touches the rocks / sand it becomes worm food.

My issue is that the cup idea will not work, at LEAST one worm can be seen stretching across the tank (129 gallon) BUT he is not fat, he looks to be about 1/8" in thickness but he is just really, really long. He is a really dark red / black color.

He is also VERY fast, just one slight movement and he is gone. Is there any way to catch something like this other then tearing the tank apart? Also, if I manage to grab him, and he rips apart, will I then have two worms or do they die if the head section is removed?

Sorry for the thread jack.

 

[mystery_reef]

i managed to lure him out with some shrimp and grab his head with plyers. i felt him starting to tear but tweeked him just right to where i think i got his brain or nerves, etc in his head and the rest of his body followed. he turned out to be about 15in. darkish brown with spikes coming out the sides and a ton of little feathery things. he is now dead. i believe he has been feasting on my tank for quit some time now because suddenly some of my softies just dissapear and there are little remnent of them and they grow back and then vanish again but i have several acros, lps, and a clam that are doing great, hopefully this has solved the problem. i should be putting some pics in my gallery soon. thanks for the replies.

 

[rustybucket145]

any pics?

 

[mystery_reef]

pics in gallery

 

[asfullax]

That one looks identical to the body style / color of the one I saw attacking my clam last night. anybody have any type of ID on this guy?

 

[rstark33]

Here you go, copied links from your gallery.

 

[masterfish35]

The tilting cup trick has never worked for me. But, if you add some panty hose over the top with a cut in the top. Then rubberband it to the cup. When the worm goes in, or even tries to go in, the worm's spicules get caught in the panty hose, and he can't break away.

 

[Joshua1023]

That's nasty.

 

[TomToro]

Here's the idea I'm going to try tomorrow that I got from another forum.

2" pvc pipe about 4" long with end caps. Drill 1/4" holes all around this thing so it looks like swiss cheeses. Then put some cut nylon material from panty hose in the trap with some squid or shrimp. Close the endcap and check the next morning. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[greenbean36191]

That one looks identical to the body style / color of the one I saw attacking my clam last night. anybody have any type of ID on this guy?

It's not a fireworm. It appears to be a eunicid of some sort, and a fairly small one at that. It also looks like it might have been ready to reproduce.

Traps won't work since they hardly ever leave their holes completely and they don't have stiff spines to tangle in pantyhose. There also isn't anything in the hobby that will eat them. You have to get them by hand.

 

[asfullax]

do you know if they will survive if the head portion is removed? Like you said, it twists around the tank and I assume some of it remains in its hole, so I don't know if I can just pull it out.

 

[greenbean36191]

Usually they wouldn't grow a new head, but there's a small possibility.