Please help Tube worm killing my ricordia

[TOURKID]

This has been happening for 4 days now. the first three days I woke up and found a tube worm totally crowding my green ric.

I took a toothpick and tore away its tube. well the ric is looking worse now. And today it seems like the tube has actually eatten a part of it, or.... somthings going on. I dident move the tube today.

Any advice would be much appreciated

Thanks,
Maggie

 

[Nano Nana]

My Ric's have looked like that when they are splitting. The rest of the ric looks healthy. As far as I know tube worms don't eat them. Just keep an eye on it, I think it is splitting.

 

[TOURKID]

it would be splitting from stress then. it wasent at all until the worm started hassling it. theres actually a section missing.

 

[DonavonsReef]

That ricordia is not splitting it is being eaten. When the light go out tonight break out the flash light about an hour after you have a worm in your tank & it's not the tube worm. I have had this happen to me before & had to break down the tank to get the worm out that was living under the sand bed.

 

[TOURKID]

what other worms make these tubes??? I know where the worm is at. its a small rock. Its been there since i started the tank. usually makes tubes on its own rock. should i kill the rock? (boil it or toss it?
I just moved the rock, and the tube went from its own rock, under the sand to the ric rock.

 

[DonavonsReef]

The worm is not any kind of feather duster...right??

 

[TOURKID]

no, never saw a duster. Ive had it 10 months. its always been a very active worm. its connected tubes near a bunch of button polyps b4 but never harmed them like this.

Ive already removed the rock its in. but dont want to kill it unless I need to. it seems strange to me that after all this time its killing

the ric was definatly healthy as it could be before the worm attack
(sounds weird) lol

 

[DonavonsReef]

That worm is eating your ric. Wait till tonight & catch it in the act.

 

[TOURKID]

oh. when i first got the worm rock, it had a clear jelly like substance all over it. it turned into a weird brown with cracks all thru it eventually. I was just looking at the rock and there is clear goo all thru the bottom of the rock. (hoping it helps with identity.)

I often spy on my tank and have never seen it show itself tho.

 

[TOURKID]

no more watching it kill my ric. Ive removed it. but im more courious than ever to know what the hecks been lurking in my tank this whole time

 

[DonavonsReef]

Post a pic of the worm.

 

[TOURKID]

? ive never SEEN the worm. you mean after i boil the rock?

will fresh water drive it out?

Im going to play with it now.... feel bad killing it. I dont understand why its being evil now after all this time.

Ill take a few pics of the cool clear goo on the underside before the dip.

 

[DonavonsReef]

You don't need to boil the rock. You can fresh water dip it or just leave it in the open air the worm will crawl out.

 

[TOURKID]

Its in fresh water right now.. bunch of pods flew out.....

No worm. couple more minutes Ill try open air

 

[DonavonsReef]

I told you the worm could be in your sand bed that's where I found mine 6in long.

 

[TOURKID]

yaya... yelling at my bf for saying the same thing. *pouting*

 

[TOURKID]

found an older pic of the rock. spooky hu.

ric looks bad today. but no new tubes!

 

[Jeffrey Porter]

there must be some worm in my tank making long mucousy tubes all over the rocks. it has never bothered anything except twice it has eaten most of a gorgonian. but at least it has grown back both times. i just siphon out the tube if i find it near the gorgonian. no chance of catching it cause i'm not tearing apart my tank unless i'm upgrading. any ideas as to what it could be.

 

[TOURKID]

nope. I started multiple threads and got no answers

the worm rock was close to the rocordia it was eating, so i took out the rock, threw it in the trash, and there was no tubes this morning.

I suppose if theres a rock the tubes all come out of, then id assume thats the rock you need to dip or toss...

never even heard of a flesh eatting worm like this. sux! I always liked the neat tubes. but wont lose another coral to it.

 

[ek9vboi]

i think it might be a bristol worm, from what a LFS employee (friend) told me someone cought a worm about 6ft long and it ate a **** load of rics that had grown over a period of years.