possible Bobbit worm found

[jkdavids121507]

I found what appears to be a Bobbit worm in my tank last night. I was unable to get a good picture but all details I could see point to that.

My question (or questions) are below.

Has anybody had one of these in their aquariums? If so, did you remove it?

How did you remove it? I would prefer to not remove the rock by will do whatever I have to.

I am sure I will have more questions. Thanks for your help.

 

[jessica1]

Remove it!!!! It will destroy first your clean up crew then your corals and when it gets big enough all your fish. Make sure you wear gloves and remove the rock it is in. That is the only way to get them . After you remove the rock I would break the rock with a hammer just to make sure you got it. Make sure you do not touch the worm with your skin they have a toxin that can hurt humans. Good luck. I had one living inside my torch coral.

 

[Calappidae]

Eunice worms aren't that extreme^

The hitchhiking species we get is somewhat problematic, but nothing to the cabliber of hydroids or nuisance algae.

but for starters.. eunicids are not venomous, (neither are fire worms).

Secondly you don't have to bust all your rock work to get it out... if you have one, chances are you have a hundred or more. They rapidly reproduce in the rockwork and go all over the place. I know the location of 5 in my one setup.

They usually don't pose that much of a threat, they may harm sessile inverts and sometimes a coral but that's about it. When they get much larger (which is uncommon they do) they can attack and threaten small shrimp.

But otherwise it isn't that big of an issue.

 

[acrohead500ppm]

Eunice worms aren't that extreme^

The hitchhiking species we get is somewhat problematic, but nothing to the cabliber of hydroids or nuisance algae.

but for starters.. eunicids are not venomous, (neither are fire worms).

Secondly you don't have to bust all your rock work to get it out... if you have one, chances are you have a hundred or more. They rapidly reproduce in the rockwork and go all over the place. I know the location of 5 in my one setup.

They usually don't pose that much of a threat, they may harm sessile inverts and sometimes a coral but that's about it. When they get much larger (which is uncommon they do) they can attack and threaten small shrimp.

But otherwise it isn't that big of an issue.

You have a source stating Eunice worms DO NOT inject venom into larger prey items??? Because, most articles I have read state they do. Also, fireworms' bristles are hollow and filled with an irritating chemical that most people would refer to as a venom

 

[hotelbravo]

Try removing with the pvc pipe method.
Take a 6inch long pvc pipe drill small holes on one side of it place some meaty foods in it put pvc caps on both ends to ensure the only way in is threw the holes and place it next to the rock you have seen him near. Make sure the holes are pointed up and leave it there overnight. Remove in the morning and see what you caught

 

[Calappidae]

You have a source stating Eunice worms DO NOT inject venom into larger prey items??? Because, most articles I have read state they do. Also, fireworms' bristles are hollow and filled with an irritating chemical that most people would refer to as a venom

Bill here on RC stated awhile back that fire worms is infact nonvenomous. They did studies on them, with no results of venom. Any irritation you receive is the result of mostly just being in saltwater and the increase in number of "bristles" present on the worm. I'm not spending hours searching through threads to find the quotes, though I'll let him chime in on that there.

As far as Eunice goes, I'm not sure how many articles you've seen, but the only source I can come up with that states that they are venomous is wikipedia.. which states the two researchers who also pointed out that fireworms are venomous when clearly they're not according to recent research. Plus you know, wikipedia..... anybody can edit it. Anything else is usually just a short essay of an unoffical researcher, which like most usual cases, is misinformed.

 

[acrohead500ppm]

Bill here on RC stated awhile back that fire worms is infact nonvenomous. They did studies on them, with no results of venom. Any irritation you receive is the result of mostly just being in saltwater and the increase in number of "bristles" present on the worm. I'm not spending hours searching through threads to find the quotes, though I'll let him chime in on that there.

As far as Eunice goes, I'm not sure how many articles you've seen, but the only source I can come up with that states that they are venomous is wikipedia.. which states the two researchers who also pointed out that fireworms are venomous when clearly they're not according to recent research. Plus you know, wikipedia..... anybody can edit it. Anything else is usually just a short essay of an unoffical researcher, which like most usual cases, is misinformed.

I was referring to The Lewis dictionary of toxicology, not wiki

 

[acrohead500ppm]

here you go, https://books.google.com/books?id=caTqdbD7j4AC&pg=PA171&lpg=PA171&dq=eunice+aphroditois+venomous+lewis&source=bl&ots=uL1vC8VKug&sig=KXp-XcJdhp0isjLhG9YsGGpVvy4&hl=en&sa=X&ei=IwQnVaySBMe9sAW6woDwBw&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=eunice%20aphroditois%20venomous%20lewis&f=false

 

[Calappidae]

Only the worm's name shows up, there isn't much information on it, just the name is present in the book. I'll assume it is but I still am somewhat skeptical. There is a few outdated things present as well when the studies I was refering to were more recent, I dunno.

 

[acrohead500ppm]

Only the worm's name shows up, there isn't much information on it, just the name is present in the book. I'll assume it is but I still am somewhat skeptical. There is a few outdated things present as well when the studies I was refering to were more recent, I dunno.

You left out the part that states eunice worms are regarded as a venomous genus, which is why they are mentioned in the Lewis dictionary of toxicology.

Oh the outdated remark? go feed your hand to a real bobbit worm, see what happens?

 

[Calappidae]

If they actually did bite humans, then we'd have an answer a long time ago.

No need to get hostile, I've already stated that I'm only repeating information stated by somebody billsreef knows and repeated to me, the mod of the invert forums, and a highly respectable source of info.

If you want to prove me wrong, go argue with the source, which hasn't chimed in yet.

If the book wasn't published in 1996 I'd take it's word on anything, however we're in a modern age where we have proven several things wrong with enhancements in technology and better understanding of research procedures.

If you want the conversation, here:

I'm just curious, is there any sources or documents online of the research?

There are a lot of sources claiming Hermodice has venomous spines. However, when you look at those sources, none actually specify any particular toxin or cite papers that do. That's the reason my old professor wanted to look at them to find a toxin, if one existed. What he found was a total lack of any toxins. Not much of a paper to get from that, so as far as I know he never wrote and published a paper on that subject, preferring to spend the time on marine critters that he did find toxins in. While I was never a chemist, I did spend time collecting cowfish, firesponges (no toxin there either), and fireworms for him back in my student days

IIRC there is no difference between fireworm and bristle except that a couple known species of the fireworms are declared venomous.

IMO, the "sting" from Hermodice is on par with getting a finger full of fine fiberglass while submerged in seawater. Also right up there with getting bunch of firesponge spicules in your fingers. I've experienced all of those for myself :eek1:

This is partically irrelevent considering this is regarding the fireworm genus, not the eucinids, however the same researcher who claimed that hermodice is venomous, is the same guy who claimed eucinice as venomous. Likewise you do not see any documents or evidence backing up the claims sources make. You can take that information with a grain of salt whether or not eunice is a venomous species.

 

[acrohead500ppm]

meh i m right, you are wrong.

 

[rssjsb]

meh i m right, you are wrong.

settle down, bevis.

 

[dgphelps]

settle down, bevis.

Lol - appropriate!

I have a small Eunice worm in my pest tank. It takes target fed meaty food easily and the only annoyance it causes it sometimes pulling a loose piece of coral into the hole it lives it like a door. When that happens I just glue it down. I have many corals and a small gorilla crab who sometimes hangs out in the same hole with no problems. I'll video it next target feed to share. When I found it I was worried it would kill the crab and start eating everything, that was a few months ago and it was there months earlier before I even knew it.