Horrifying discovery (big ol' worm)

[Ben_Im]

I got a huge showpiece live rock that I decided to "cook" before putting in my tank. Normally I welcome any biodiversity, but for some reason I felt compelled to quarantine this rock before putting it in my tank.

I had it in a bucket of old saltwater from a water change and left a small powerhead inside. I left it in the dark for about 2 months and went out today to check out the rock, only to find this horrifying worm at the bottom of the bucket, decomposed and being consumed by a bunch of brittle stars.

This was only about 3/4 of the actual size. The other part of the body was so rotten that it was more gelatinous.

Needless to say, I was extremely disgusted. I kind of wish I found him alive, I find these guys really fascinating despite their disgusting appearance.

Anyway, just thought I would share.

 

[humuhumupukapuka]

what is it?

 

[CheckRAZR]

Holy smokes - Was that a bristle worm? Just missed Halloween - that'd be perfect for a trick or treat scare. Have the candy in another container inside a bowl with the worm in it. Cool stuff!

 

[gerbilbox]

Wow, I would love to know what that is. Was there any segmentation in the body at all, or was it too gooey to really tell?

 

[Ben_Im]

Everything was really gooey, but it resembled many of the bad coral-eating worms I had read about. The top of the body sort of resembled that of a millipede. And by that I mean it was black, and appeared to have a smooth exoskeleton.

I'm just glad I didn't put the rock into my tank. *phew*.

Note: I went back and inspected the rock carefully and noticed a lot of holes around the bottom that were very consistent in size and shape. I'm guessing these were holes that the worm "burrowed" to crawl around the rock. It wouldn't be a bad idea to look for these holes next time you buy a nice huge piece of live rock.

I'll post of photos of what I mean by the holes later.

 

[EvMiBo]

I know what you're talking about when you say horrifying. I was adjusting a pump in my sump (was doing it blindly because it's in an awkward spot), took my hand out to visually check it and noticed a HUGE black worm. Finally caught it (luckily it was in my sump with no sand, otherwise he would have burrowed quickly, these guys can move). It was 14" long and about close to the diameter of a dime. :eek1: keep in mind this tank had only been setup for about 9-10 months at the time, they grow fast.

It scared the **** out of me. So, it turns out I had the opportunity to take an invertebrate zoology course this semester (required for my major). We went over annelids about a month ago. One of the first specimens in lecture + lab was "sandworms," family: nereidae. Among other things I learned that nereidae has some gnarly raptorial fangs. I'm not positive it was nereidae, but it looked close enough through memory and the pictures.

Needless to say I now visually check areas before putting my hands into the tank or sump.

Here's a couple pictures (he lost 1/2 inch or so due to decapitation).

 

[Tylt33]

Eunicid worm?

 

[isseym328]

Yup. Hate these worms.

 

[Ben_Im]

I can't believe I missed your post. That is ridiculously gross.

Good find though