Nightmare in my tank!!!
- Thread starter 55semireef
- Start date
55semireef
Moved On
Well I do have to refer to it personally.:lol:
I am getting all paranoid about this thing being in my tank now.
I am getting all paranoid about this thing being in my tank now.
55semireef
Moved On
This worm is coming out Friday. Its attacking my xenia and killing it. I am going to have to remove the liverock on the left side. UGGGHHH.
LeslieH
Premium Member
What a pain! I'm sorry to hear that. Do you know what general area your rocks & the Oenone came from? Some colleagues might be interested in using it for DNA analysis. As long as you're going to kill the worm would you mind tossing it in alcohol (rubbing alcohol or Everclear would be fine) and sending it to me?
55semireef
Moved On
I would be happy to donate this worm to you guys as long as I can catch it. I better be able to catch it! If you don't mind me asking, what's the purpose of looking at it for DNA anaylysis? Are you looking at it's chromosomes?
The liverock I got came form a couple of places. I ordered some from California that was fiji while I bought some from my lfs which I think is Hawiian.
Salamander
Active member
Randy1 -- Not all worms are bristle worms. While this may look somewhat similar to one, it is not. I know from experience. While I'm not a worm wrangler as LeslieH may be, I do know this is different. IME this worm will attack and eat live molluscs, i.e. all your snails that you pay for. Bristle worms are typically harmless and actually beneficial detrivours and eat dead or dying organisms or other material, not usually attacking and killing healthy creatures.
Salamander
Active member
Oh...and 55semireef. I could not take out my liverock so I caught mine when they cam out to feed at night. They are extremely sensitive to sound, light and vibration and very fast. I'd scope out my tank at night to locate them. Usually when I found a snail covered in mucus I'd stake it out witha dim light and a pair of long 9" tweezers to grab 'em. Usually I'd keep my hand in the tank and wait for them to come out to snack on their kill and slowly move over to grab them. It was quite hard but I got about 4 in as many months. Not sure yet if I got em all.
Good luck!
Good luck!
danch
New member
Randy, there are many many many species of worm that have bristles. In all liklihood, the ones you have are harmless. The one in question on this thread has been identified (to the species level!) by a marine biologist who studies worms as a molusc eater. You really can't generalize 'all bristleworms are bad' OR 'all bristleworms are harmless' The best that can be said is 'MOST bristleworms aquarists encounter are harmless.' I encourage you to go back and read Leslie's posts on this thread.
LeslieH
Premium Member
Parts of this discussion are a good example of why common names are not useful. I know lots of people dislike using scientific names because they're too long or hard to remember. The good thing about them is that each name very clearly refers to only one species. Common names - like bristle worm or fire worm - are very confusing because they can refer to a lot of different species.
All polychaetes are bristle worms. Polychaete is a latin word that means "many bristles" (poly = many, chaete - bristle). There are thousands of species. To most reefers bristle worm means the species of Eurythoe, Hermodice, and Pherecardia that are abundant in tanks but I've seen it used for a lot of different species including the Oenone 55semireef has. Another problem is that to most reefers the different types all look alike. So when I see a post complaining about bristle worms I'm never sure what kind of worm it is unless there's a picture. Unless I know what kind it is I can't say if it's harmless or a dangerous predator. That's why pictures are so important. LFS often have incorrect identifications on their worms (and that goes for a lot of other non-coral inverts as well).
55- A lot of researchers are interested in the species that seem to have wide spread distributions. What they usually find is that there are different species in each area which are nearly identical in external characters. The easiest way to confirm this is by comparing the DNA/genetic make up of animals from various areas.
All polychaetes are bristle worms. Polychaete is a latin word that means "many bristles" (poly = many, chaete - bristle). There are thousands of species. To most reefers bristle worm means the species of Eurythoe, Hermodice, and Pherecardia that are abundant in tanks but I've seen it used for a lot of different species including the Oenone 55semireef has. Another problem is that to most reefers the different types all look alike. So when I see a post complaining about bristle worms I'm never sure what kind of worm it is unless there's a picture. Unless I know what kind it is I can't say if it's harmless or a dangerous predator. That's why pictures are so important. LFS often have incorrect identifications on their worms (and that goes for a lot of other non-coral inverts as well).
55- A lot of researchers are interested in the species that seem to have wide spread distributions. What they usually find is that there are different species in each area which are nearly identical in external characters. The easiest way to confirm this is by comparing the DNA/genetic make up of animals from various areas.
LOL, I've learned to love mine. I just buy lot's of snails. I have at least 3 in my 75 and one in my 10. I don't have clams, but they've never bothered my corals. Kind of cool to watch at night.
Mine can go all the way across my tank within the rocks, so trapping them would be difficult.
Mine can go all the way across my tank within the rocks, so trapping them would be difficult.
55semireef
Moved On
Thats disgusting DC. 
LeslieH, I will try my best tomorrow to catch this worm. Its going to freak me out but it has to get done. In fact, I am going to see if I can catch the worm right now because my lights have been off for about an hour and a half.
LeslieH, I will try my best tomorrow to catch this worm. Its going to freak me out but it has to get done. In fact, I am going to see if I can catch the worm right now because my lights have been off for about an hour and a half.
