tubeworms on glass?

[drshdow]

ok, been searching for 2 hours and cannot find anyone who has this problem except me and 2 local fish stores in nj. both stores said they didn't know what they are either.

small-the size of tip of ballpoint pen
white to greenish in color
spiral shape
hard
featherduster like head

have them by the hundreds in my 90gal- on glass, LR, hermits and snail shells.

only way to get them off glass is with a razor

are they good or bad and what are they- would take a pic but they are so small i don't know if the pic would be worth it.

if someone who thinks they know could post a pic or link so i can definately confirm

thanks

 

[greenbean36191]

They're spirorbid worms. A quick search on google should turn up pics for you. They aren't really good or bad, they're just another bit of diversity.

 

[drshdow]

thanks, i didn't realize thats what they were. close up pics online make them look a little different.

i guess my next question is "is there any fish or other invert that will feed on these. sorta wanna balance out the population instead of just scraping them every week. i also read that they can be harmful to crustaceans, primarily snails and hermits because they eat through the shell. any more advice would be great.

p.s.
couldn't find anything on natural predators, maybe i didn't look hard enough

 

[LeslieH]

Spirorbids are strictly external. If they're found inside a burrow in a shell that's because the burrow was already there & they just happened to settle in it. They're filter feeders helping clean up the water but populations can grow to nuisance proportions without predators. Some fish & crabs will eat them tube & all; some nemerteans, flatworms, & opisthobranchs eat the worms but leave the tube in place. Sorry, I don't know which fish & crabs and the other ones can't be purchased. I doubt any lfs would be able to identify them anyway.

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

darn i have thousands of these little fellows too, and would like to get rid of them...they are begining to cover most everyting...