The big worm, what is he? (Giant Fireworm?)

[fantastic4]

Heres a picture of the "Big" one

He's made a den in the sand. Some sort of spider web stuff near the opening. In the picture he is lying against the back wall of the tank in the sand. You can see the burrow.

This guy may be a foot, maybe more. He makes this wave movement with his body, like a crowd doing the "wave" very strange. I'm scared of this sucker, I'm not sure what to do with him. I have a very mature tank. This guy may have been growing for 6 years or more?

I think I can catch him by making a huge tong and grabbing him, but I think he may bite me or sting me with those britsles.

His body glows a sort of greenish blue as he makes the wave.

Any ideas what he is?

 

[Ochi]

Eh may want to resize pics since they're so huge, but looks like a fireworm to me

 

[blface]

Ouch!!! Those pics are way to big. My eyes hurt. Please resize them.:eek1:

 

[technoshaman]

Hard to say without looking at the head - based on the coloration and the description of the web like / mucus near the cave I would say maybe Oenone fulgida ? (probably spelled wrong) - a.k.a. dreamweaver worm. They can and will consume fishes - they anesthetize then consume them. Might be a eunicid also - if he has 5 tentacles at his head good chance it's a eunicid sp.

Dr. Ron had a good write up on some aquarium worms in reefkeeping mag - let me find the link.

EDIT - found the link - take a look here. Whatever it is probably not the best reef tank candidate I'd remove it. I kept a large Eunicid worm in a tank by itself for a few years and they make interesting specimens.

 

[heuerfan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7389877#post7389877 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by technoshaman
Oenone fulgida

This is exactly what it is, very, very bad worm. Will kill all your snails and clams, but will leave your fish alone

Only way i caught them was to remove rock it was in, or wait after lights are out and catch it with a long pair of tweezers when it was extending from a rock. Get it now before it multiplies!

Good luck, i had to break down an entire tank because of these worms. Killed my crocea, derasa, snails, etc...

 

[technoshaman]

Link didn't post - here it is:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-04/rs/index.php

 

[fantastic4]

Thank you!

Babies? oh my!! Now that would be a disaster!!! This guy leaves skeletons in his corner now, I can't imagine babies.

I know what I'm doing tonight, this guy has got to go.

I may have to break down my entire tank, but I will get him.

 

[J4Life]

fantastic4,

That worm is nothing more than what some refer to as a common bristle worm and is completely harmless. I have many in my tank and they bother nothing. The only time I seem this at night and if something has died.

Please read through the link posted by technoshaman and it will explain their behavior in much greater detail. If it where me I would leave it alone as it will become a beneficial part of your clean up crew.

Hope that helps,
Bill

 

[heuerfan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7390519#post7390519 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by J4Life
fantastic4,

That worm is nothing more than what some refer to as a common bristle worm and is completely harmless. I have many in my tank and they bother nothing. The only time I seem this at night and if something has died.

Hope that helps,
Bill

Bill, you are 100% wrong. Take a good look at that worm pictured, that does not look like your typical bristle worm. Most common bristle worms have tons of sharp fibers all around it. The worm picture does not have tons of sharp fibers, what those are around its body are tiny legs like a millepede. If he had a better picture of the worm you could even see the two evil eyes on its head. I personally have tons of pictures of this exact worm in action hunting and killing snails and clams.

I've even posted a thread all about it.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=753088


Fantastic: once you catch that worm send it to Bill

 

[J4Life]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7390604#post7390604 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by heuerfan
Bill, you are 100% wrong. Take a good look at that worm pictured, that does not look like your typical bristle worm. Most common bristle worms have tons of sharp fibers all around it. The worm picture does not have tons of sharp fibers, what those are around its body are tiny legs like a millepede. If he had a better picture of the worm you could even see the two evil eyes on its head. I personally have tons of pictures of this exact worm in action hunting and killing snails and clams.

I've even posted a thread all about it.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=753088


Fantastic: once you catch that worm send it to Bill

I am not so certain you're correct in your explanation. After further examination of the picture that was posted it appears to me to have two rows of white tuffs/bristles which is common on larger bristle worms. Also your pictures located on your thread are broken so I can't do any comparison.

The best advice anyone should be giving to fantastic4 is to first trim the pictures down to a smaller size so that we can look at them better. Next post them into Dr. Ron's forum so that he can take a look at it and let the expert decided whether it is friendly or not. Since I am not an expert and neither is heuerfan your reaction as to whether you should remove the worm is going to be strictly based on one persons experience and the opinions of others.

For what its worth both of those wouldn't be enough for me, but then again I have never been one to over react based off of the first couple of impressions I receive from someone or something.

Thanks,
Bill

P.S. When Dr. Ron does give you a positive ID on the worm please by all means send it to me. I have a 6 line wrasse that would love a nice treat.

 

[heuerfan]

Bill, i spent 3 years battling this worm. I've tons of these worms ranging from all sizes. I've posted pics for Dr.Ron and he was the one that told me that they are "Oenone Fulgida". Can't find the original thread where Dr.Ron confirmed the ID because that was 3 years ago. Because i like Clams and Snails i was forced to take down the tank and got rid of the rocks and started new.

I am not an expert but after 3 years of dealing with these worms i should be. Believe me your Sixline would not be able to catch this worm, i had a sixline as well.

Here is fantastics picture he posted, i reduced it so you can see it better. When i get home tonight i will post all the pics that were removed from my original thread. As you can tell from the picture, this does not look like your typical bristle worm. Noticed the round head and the tiny legs. If this picture was clearer, you would see the two black eyes i mentioned before.

Believe me, if you are a fan of clams and snails, you do not want this worm in your tank. If you don't care for clams or snails then leave it be.

 

[J4Life]

heuerfan,

Fare enough. I am not trying to midigate your personal experience by any means. Maybe I should take a picture of the one I have in my sump and we can compare. I have plenty of snails in my tank and a turbo that is absolutely huge. I have noticed mucus blobs over snails when they have died but have never witnessed any worm intentionally killing them.

I just assumed the bristle/fireworms were doing their jobs.

Thanks,
Bill

 

[heuerfan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7391723#post7391723 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by J4Life
heuerfan,

Fare enough. I am not trying to midigate your personal experience by any means. Maybe I should take a picture of the one I have in my sump and we can compare. I have plenty of snails in my tank and a turbo that is absolutely huge. I have noticed mucus blobs over snails when they have died but have never witnessed any worm intentionally killing them.

I just assumed the bristle/fireworms were doing their jobs.

Thanks,
Bill

No problem Bill, these worms are incredible hunters, and i really hate them with a passion. If you noticed mucus blobs all over your dead snails, that is usually a sign of them. If you can, two hours after the lights are out and make sure it is completely dark in the room. Use a small flashlight and see if you can see any worms extending from rocks. They may look like peanut worms, but you will be able to tell the difference because when you shine the light at them they will be gone in a blink of the eye. Post a pic if you can.

-Steven

 

[heuerfan]

Look closely, you can see two killers attacking the dead scutus.

12 inches long.

Deadly mucus glob.

Close up.

 

[poedag]

I'd say that last pict is fairly perfect for comparison, just my .02

 

[diddye]

I just caught one tonight. It was about 10 inches. At first I thought it was a bristle, but it looked different and after a search, I discovered it was this worm. It dug tunnels right under the sand and had a mucus tunnel. Instead of tweezers, I found it was easier to use a turkey baster. I stuck it near its head and sucked full blast. Very easy. It killed my deresa clam a couple weeks ago. Funny thing is that it never attacked my crocea yet. Hope I dont have more.