Just got back from the LFS.
While floating a bag of GSP I noticed a different sort of worm running around on it.
I don't have my camera at home, or I'd take a pic.
It looks like a centepede, but it's not a bristle worm. It may be a relative, but not too close of one.
It's a tanish white, about 3", maybe 4" long (hard to tell as it's twined around).
it has a row of single legs on each side of it's body. They are fleshy , but flexible legs, not hairlike bristles.
each leg is around 1cm long and when it's moving and needs to go through a narrow opening, it can curl each leg into a tight curlicue (curls up, not down).
It's REALLY cool when doing this, never saw anything like it. Most animals the legs would joint or roll down. This is definitely curling up, towards the top of it's body.
It's head is not like a eunice worm or bristle worm with insect like jaws. It looks like it has a small flexible proboscus instead. It has two longer antenae on top/front, and a few smaller ones around them (kind of like it's legs).
It moves FAST, like a centipede.
Never seen anything like this on a hitchhiker thread/website before.
My gut says it's harmless, based on the shape of it's mouth/proboscus.
However, my head says, if it goes in the tank...I'll never get it out.
My head is winning out, unless anyone can tell me not to worry about it.
Would like to keep him, if he's harmless.
I'll try to get some pics tomorrow.
Any ideas?
While floating a bag of GSP I noticed a different sort of worm running around on it.
I don't have my camera at home, or I'd take a pic.
It looks like a centepede, but it's not a bristle worm. It may be a relative, but not too close of one.
It's a tanish white, about 3", maybe 4" long (hard to tell as it's twined around).
it has a row of single legs on each side of it's body. They are fleshy , but flexible legs, not hairlike bristles.
each leg is around 1cm long and when it's moving and needs to go through a narrow opening, it can curl each leg into a tight curlicue (curls up, not down).
It's REALLY cool when doing this, never saw anything like it. Most animals the legs would joint or roll down. This is definitely curling up, towards the top of it's body.
It's head is not like a eunice worm or bristle worm with insect like jaws. It looks like it has a small flexible proboscus instead. It has two longer antenae on top/front, and a few smaller ones around them (kind of like it's legs).
It moves FAST, like a centipede.
Never seen anything like this on a hitchhiker thread/website before.
My gut says it's harmless, based on the shape of it's mouth/proboscus.
However, my head says, if it goes in the tank...I'll never get it out.
My head is winning out, unless anyone can tell me not to worry about it.
Would like to keep him, if he's harmless.
I'll try to get some pics tomorrow.
Any ideas?
It is indeed in the family Syllidae and appears to be Syllis onkylochaeta. The species name refers to the type of bristles (= setae) it has which are big curved hooks. Polychaetes with this type of hooked setae are usually commensals which live on other animals. It was found on a Xenia in an aquarium in Germany and it was feeding on the Xenia as well. The Xenia was thought to come from Bali.
