Hitchhiker worm ID help please

MarkW64

Member
I caught an almost 2 inch "worm" yesterday morning while trying to trap a gorilla crab. I posted over 24 hours ago on the "ID my critter" thread and have gotten no responses. I believe it is a polychaete, but I don't know whether to assume its just a bristleworm of some sort -- a beneficial scavenger -- or could it be some sort of predator I don't want to put back in my tank?

Anyone? Any reason to put it in the "bad hitchhiker" category?
Thanks

 
I don't know, but it's cool. Looks harmless, but who knows. Post it in the basic forum for better exposure.
 
I don't know, but it's cool. Looks harmless, but who knows. Post it in the basic forum for better exposure.

Thanks, basically my sentiments: interesting, and probably harmless. I know a lot of people out there would say if you aren't sure, get rid of it. But as you may guess, as a huge TBS fan I'm more the opposite: if you aren't sure, keep it! I'll try a different post if I don't get anymore response from this or my first post this evening.
 
Definitely a bristle worm. They eat food and crap that doesn't get eaten as it falls to the bottom of the tank. Of course they can grow much larger than what you see here.
 
All I can say is...

Most people who experience bad critters get them ID right away, this meaning this one is probably not a threat.

Most problematic critters can be very quickly identified.

I wouldn't add it back for two reasons.

1: you are unsure, never a good idea to add a critter you're unsure about.

2: you didn't add it intentionally, meaning there are certainly more. There wasn't just one egg, or one single hitchhiker you managed to catch. So if it is good, there are more to replace it.

Keep an eye on your livestock, and watch tank at night with a red gel filter over a flashlight to see if you can spot more, and what they do at night. Afterall, that's when the boogeyman comes out.

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It's a bristle worm


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Fireworms, and Eunicid worms are also bristle worms.


Saying "it's a bristle worm" is like saying, "it's a mamal".

When if fact a mamal could be a field mouse or a Siberian tiger.

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