Hitch hiker increasing in numbers

[chjy69]

I bought a live rock and there was a worm or snail- like creature like what's in the following picture.
It's only 1/4" long and looks like snail with many legs(?) without shell.
It doesn't seem harmful to my livestock so I left it alone.

Now it's been almost 3 weeks since I bought that rock and I just found THREE of them crawling on the glass!!!

THREE of them!!!

Do any of you know what it is and what to do about this?
Please help... it is not in the list of creatures in my book so I cannot get any helpful information about this.

 

[rharr21]

It is hard to tell from the picture, but it looks like the zoanthid eating nudibranch. Go to the zoa forum and look at the threads on them.

 

[rharr21]

I found some in my tank. Here is a link to my post that has a picture. If this is what you have and you have zoas, you need to get rid of them.

 

[chjy69]

Did it do any harm in your tank? What's your experiences with them?

 

[3mm3]

Do you have any zoanthids or montipora? Its a nudi. I will try to find you a good link for info. Definitely get those out of the tank.

 

[rharr21]

To be honest, I couldn't tell if they were doing damage. I have too many zoas and did not give it time to find out. I've had Montipora nudis and flat worms in the past that did a lot of damage so I didn't want to take any chances this time around. Read all you can and use your best judgement.

 

[3mm3]

Here is one link for you. I'll get some more later.

http://melevsreef.com/id/dc_nudibranch.html

http://melevsreef.com/id/monti_nudi.html

 

[chjy69]

Yes, I have some in my tank. (but not that expensive ones... take a look at my gallery)
it looks like just what you guys mentioned.
I'll do my best to pick them up.

 

[rharr21]

I took the zoas that I could get out of my tank and gave them a quick dip & shake in a bowl of RO. I got several of the nudis that way and picked some off the LR and glass.

 

[rharr21]

Missing link from earlier post: www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1190931

 

[chjy69]

Gotcha!!!

Gotcha!!!

I killed two last night and got the last (hopefully...) one plus extra.
What is this worm like creature? (something on the left in the following pic)
Is it harmful? (to be removed)? or to be left in my tank?

 

[shrinky]

Looks like a common bristleworm, leave them in the tank.

 

[chjy69]

Is harmful to any livestock in my tank including clams and polyps?

 

[J. Montgomery]

Thats definitely a nudibranch, probably a zoa-eating nudi. I would be very worried.

 

[Moonstream]

the bristle worm is a good clean up crew critter. they eat dead animals, but they can have a nasty sting. be careful if you keep it (I would), always wear gloves when handling rock. they wont harm any critter unless they are dead or dieing. they might sting you though.

 

[chjy69]

That is very small (1/4" long)...
I release it back into my tank, and terminated the nudi - what a contrast!!! (one is killed and the other is released)
Thanks!