worm identification

[schmuttis]

I'm finding various worms in my tank and have not found a good site to help me with identification as to whether they are good or bad. If you know of a good site I would be most appreciative if you would share the link.

I've been reading a lot about bristle worms - mainly that they are good BUT I've also read that the fireworms should be removed. Is this correct? If so, what makes this type of bristle worm bad?

 

[scrmbld33]

click on worms here
http://home2.pacific.net.ph/~sweetyummy42/hitchhikers.html

 

[schmuttis]

Many thanks scrmbld33 - this is just what I was looking for. Too bad this page doesn't have a higher google rating - it really deserves it.

 

[LeslieH]

Reefers generally use the term bristle worm to refer to amphinomid polychaetes without noting the differences between the various genera in the family. Unfortunately, it also gets used for worms in other families as well which adds a certain amount of confusion to posts without pictures.

Few worms out of the thousands that occur on reefs show up as hitchhikers in tanks. the most visible ones are amphinomids, oenonids, & eunicids. Nearly all tank amphinomids are detritivores & scavengers, occasionally eating algae. One species - Hermodice carunculata - is known to eat soft corals. In general small eunicids are also scavengers, herbivores & detritivores but the larger they are the more likely they are to become coral eaters.

I have a page of poly pics at http://www.nhm.org/guana/bvi-invt/bvi-surv/worm-tit.htm
If you can't figure out what you've got take some pictures & post them here. I'm sure someone will be able to figure them out.

 

[Lion_Babe]

I can't stand bristle worms/fire worms. I hope you don't have these.

 

[schmuttis]

Lion_Babe: I know I have some kind of bristle worm. I was working with my bare hands in my fuge (mud & algae) and ended up with a VERY sore thumb. What was even worse is that I must have rubbed the thumb across my waist. I've had three very sore bumps that have been swollen and inflamed for quite a while. I just read last night about using vinegar on them. Now I smell like a salad.

LeslieH: another great site - thanks for sharing. My rock is Tampa Bay rock so would it be carrying more hitchhiking worm types then normal live rock? Thanks for giving me the names of worms to start checking out. It really helps to zero my education in on a few species to start with. Although we don't have fish yet, I am concerned about worms that might be harmful to them too.

I've seen two worms so far. One has been a long thin white worm swimming at the top of the tank after the lights were off. The second one was a fast moving red worm in the fuge. It was crawling up the sides of the fuge as well as around the mud. I'll keep the camera handy for future reference. I'm sure my discription could refer to many different types of worms.

 

[Lion_Babe]

Whenever I see a worm and it disapears into my LR, i take that piece out and literally take a screwdriver and hammer until I find it and kill it. We once had a huge problem with them in one tank...they came in on one piece of LR. Never again will I go through the headache. lol I am also highly allergic to many things so I don't want any in my tank. It is bad enough I have Lionfish and my hands are in that tank a lot. lol
Good luck.

 

[LeslieH]

I don't think it makes a difference as to where the rock comes from but how it was processed does. Your swollen thumb & waist may not be caused by bristle worms. There are a lot of marine animals that are small or inconspicuous yet pack a big punch. Micro sponges, hydroids, & attached jellies in particular can be very bad. I've had my hands swollen like baseball mitts after sorting through freshly collected rock covered with micro sponges. There's only worm type that's know to catch fish . Do a search for "bobbitt worm" if you want to see pics. It's a giant eunicid that grows to 15' long. since it builds burrows in soft sediment you're not going to find it in live rock. You definitely need to provide pictures for an id.

Generally if there's a huge worm buildup in a tank it's because there's a lot of food available for them to scavenge. Carefully matching food to tank inhabitant's needs & not overfeeding should keep the population down.

 

[alexb518]

Personally, I like the worms in my tanks. They're beneficial (at least the ones i have) and some are colorful. When i first started in this hobby i used to get grossed out by the worms so what i would do is put the live rock in a tub of fresh water for a week to kill them all. but, i soon realized that they are actually beneficial and so i've grown to like them. but like leslie said, there are a few worms that you want to remove, but they are rare.

 

[schmuttis]

We have only finished cycling the first 1/2 of our rock and haven't even started to feed anything yet. We were told to hold off the feeding until we were cycled. And so far we don't have any buildup of worms. I just want to make sure what I see now are OK worms.

 

[schmuttis]

I'm not worried about worms in my sand or fuge - I just don't want anything there that will eventually be harmful to coral or fish.