ElDiabloPollo
New member
Unless the rock came from the Gulf of Mexico, it is not a "Fireworm", it is more likely a common bristle worm. According to Anthony Calfo "Fireworms" only come from the Gulf.
J
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Worm Photos...
- Thread starter DaveJ
- Start date
fantastic4
New member
it looks like Oenone fulgida
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-04/rs/index.php
Does it excrete a mucus all over it's food prior to eating?
Make a wave like motion when feeding and excreting the mucus?
Have a reddish,purplish hue on its body?
Centipede like legs along this sides?
Small head and mouth?
Move really fast when provoked?
and tend to make sand burros when travelling through the live sand?
Then you have one.
Some worm experts in the other invertabrae area collect them, you should post a picture on that forum.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-04/rs/index.php
Does it excrete a mucus all over it's food prior to eating?
Make a wave like motion when feeding and excreting the mucus?
Have a reddish,purplish hue on its body?
Centipede like legs along this sides?
Small head and mouth?
Move really fast when provoked?
and tend to make sand burros when travelling through the live sand?
Then you have one.
Some worm experts in the other invertabrae area collect them, you should post a picture on that forum.
Guys, keep in mind this thread is almost 5 years old 
That worm was in my tank in another state and is long dead.
That said.. it was just a common fireworm, I never got an exact species name for it, but it was not a predator, wasn't one of the other 'dangerous' varieties for the tank. It was simply a very large scavenger, a very large and cool critter.
I never noticed any of that behavior at all. It simply came out when I fed the tank or picked over the remains of a dead fish when that happened. It co-existed a couple of years with small and large fish alike, along with a number of other animals.
FWIW.. fireworms are found all over the world, not just the Gulf. They have them in Hawaii, in the western Atlantic and various other places as well. Specific species are regional, but the family itself is not. This came in on Fiji rock originally, though its possible it was transplanted from some other rock since the supplier I purchased from also had Marshall Island and various Tongan varieties that they sold.
Here is a Haiwiian variation
Hawaii Fire Worm
Here is an Atlantic variety... Homodice which IS a predator.. the colors are similar but the body is distinctly different.
Atlantic Variety
That worm was in my tank in another state and is long dead.That said.. it was just a common fireworm, I never got an exact species name for it, but it was not a predator, wasn't one of the other 'dangerous' varieties for the tank. It was simply a very large scavenger, a very large and cool critter.
I never noticed any of that behavior at all. It simply came out when I fed the tank or picked over the remains of a dead fish when that happened. It co-existed a couple of years with small and large fish alike, along with a number of other animals.
FWIW.. fireworms are found all over the world, not just the Gulf. They have them in Hawaii, in the western Atlantic and various other places as well. Specific species are regional, but the family itself is not. This came in on Fiji rock originally, though its possible it was transplanted from some other rock since the supplier I purchased from also had Marshall Island and various Tongan varieties that they sold.
Here is a Haiwiian variation
Hawaii Fire Worm
Here is an Atlantic variety... Homodice which IS a predator.. the colors are similar but the body is distinctly different.
Atlantic Variety
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