Help ID work that may be eating my stonies

[scubasteve2580]

I've got a couple coral that aren't looking so hot. Something is slowly munching on them. Don't see any red bugs, flatworms, and don't think there is a predatory crab in there. When flipping the frag plugs over, these half inch worms were underneath. Are they the problem?


You can even see the missing tissue where they've eaten it away.

 

[tektite]

Can you get a pic with one in focus to help with ID?

 

[scubasteve2580]

I've tried. It's black and orange. Black in front orange in back. These are a half inch long. I've been killing em when I find them. So ill have to try to get a better pic when I see one. They don't move like a bristow fm or anything. They draw up and get fat and move forward. Like a maggot or something.

 

[Daimyo68]

Fireworm, a type of bristleworm.

Never had them myself. Google them

 

[tektite]

Just move the frag further away from the camera, the worm is too close for the camera to focus. Notice your fingers in the pics are sharp, that's how far away the worm needs to be for a good pic.

 

[dunc101]

Are you sure that is from pests? To me the tissue loss on the frag above looks like RTN/STN and not bite marks. Can you get another pic of the frag as well? The worm you show does look like a classic bristleworm. I have a decent amount of those in my tank (well mostly refugium as my wrasses tend to eat them out of the DT) and they haven't cause me any issues.

 

[scubasteve2580]

They are definitely not bristle worms. Look more like leaches. I would think if it were necrosis there would be skin peeling off but it just seems like it's very slow. Maybe stn.. I dunno but never see pests.

 

[franklypre]

this is in a ramiken

 

[scubasteve2580]

 

[scubasteve2580]

Bump

 

[tektite]

Still can't tell from the pic, check this link out, maybe it'll help you:

http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchworms.html