Worm Question

[Anemone]

Dr. Ron,

After reading your article in this month's Reefkeeping magazine, I'm left with an identification quandry. My 6 gallon nano has many (probably upward of 20) "spaghetti" worms that don't fit neatly into the genera you discussed in your article. My worms live both in the sand, as well as in the rocks. The sand dwelling worms construct a tube of cemented substrate (like terebellids), but only have two white feeding palps (like Cirratulids). I have not seen any gill structures (but I haven't dug out any of the worms, either).

Any idea as to possible identification?

Thanks,

Kevin

 

[rshimek]

Hi Kevin,

There are a whole array of worms that build tubes and feed by the use of 2 palps.

Probably the most likely suspect is a worm in the family Spionidae (and there are a LOT of species of them). I have attached a picture of one.

However, without having the worm to examine, I can't be sure what it is.

Most of the critical identification figures are head appendages, thoracic modifications (mostly gill positions) and bristle morphology (when looked at at 1000x magnification).

If you want to send me a couple, I could get an identification for you.