Ugh please ID this ugly looking worm

[jimrawr]

Saw this guy while doing a water change. He was burried in the sand with tenticles raised above the water. I thought it was a patch of hair algae or something so I yanked it out and saw it was a nasty looking worm. Is this some sort of bristleworm?

I've recently lost two diamond gobys in a perfectly healthy tank, so I was suspicious of this thing..

 

[joshky]

spaghetti worm, beneficial to your system for sure.

 

[jimrawr]

Not beneficial to my sleep patterns, sitting here trying to keep my feet off the ground right now in my computer chair. So creepy!

 

[Ron Reefman]

Not beneficial to my sleep patterns, sitting here trying to keep my feet off the ground right now in my computer chair. So creepy!

Ha! I've tried to collect one of those when snorkeling in the Florida Keys to take home and raise in my 75g Gorgonian tank.

The worm will either bury itself in the sand or build a 'parchment' tube to live in and all you'll see are the tentacles that collect bacteria and MAYBE small copepods... maybe. There are both smaller and bigger species of spaghetti worms as well.

 

[JWClark]

Not beneficial to my sleep patterns, sitting here trying to keep my feet off the ground right now in my computer chair. So creepy!

If you only knew what probably lives in your hair follicles....

 

[jayball]

I've recently lost two diamond gobys in a perfectly healthy tank, so I was suspicious of this thing..

The goby's eat stuff like that (or at least the offspring) in the sand. That is not your problem. A population of worms and other fauna help keep your sand healthy, the same way an earthworm keeps a garden bed healthy.