Worms

Just pulled this worm out of the tank. I have what seems to be hundreds.

 

Looks like a bristle Worm. And are generally thought of as good things. 6 Inches is huge but not the biggest I've heard of. They have been known to grow to several feet.
Did you touch it with your bare hands?

 

Hell no I didn't touch it
I moved some LR once and came back with some wounds :-X
I have several and some times they disturb the polyps.
Some day I will get a photo at feeding time so you can see the population. :-X

 

FYI:

Worms in Aquarium (how to build trap)

http://www.algone.com/worms.htm

Don't think I have any...but will be ready if they do show up and become a nuisance.

Rgds,

Omard

 

Thanks OmarD.
from your link=
How to build a worm trap
Next to commercially available worm traps, it is fairly easy to make one at home. All that is needed is a plastic container or jar with a lid.
Using a razor blade or sharp knife, the lid is cut in X shape. The corners are then pushed slightly inward to form an opening in the lid. The size of the opening varies, depending on the size of the creatures to be trapped.

For the trap to work properly it is important that the worms do not see the "bait" but rather smell it. The container should therefore not be transparent.

For bait, clam and shrimp meat can be used as well as any fish meat available. The bait should be prepared in a way that is small enough for the worms but just short of being mashed up totally.

The container is then placed in the area where the worms are suspected and kept there over night. Adjustments to the size of the lid opening and the bait source can be made for optimum results.

 

A trap that I use for most inverts or bristlewormis is a bottle that is cu and the top reversed.instructions are:
Clean bottle removing label.
cut bottle at line (see Pic)
Reverse top so lid points in wedge together.
Use a hole punch near edge and tie fishing line through hole (long enough to reach bottom of tank and hang out)
Bait trap-- frozen food,shrimp krill etc...
sink trap near culprit
Wait over night
remove trap cut string and collect catch.
I usually drop trap at night just before lights out and it must lay on its side!

 

by the way bristleworms used to have a bad rap about eating corals and fish but more times then not the are more like vultures arriving post death and catching blame (like second guy in a hockey/football fight) not saying they won't eat live stuff but the beliefs are changing. also have seen pics of monster worms wouldnt want to takle these!

 

here is something from another site that i remebered and thought interesting:
srfmon


Joined: Oct 10, 2003
Posts: 50
Location: California
Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2003 1:47 pm

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True that bristle worms get a bad rap because when there is something dead they are usually caught at the scene of the crime. And as others have already stated they are just doing the janitorial work.
But I have read where if they get too big they can & will eat corals. I'm going to attach a photo from (I might have the name wrong) Steve's tank this BW is huge it was eating zoos & other things in his tank. This worm was living in the PVC tubing that was built to hold the reef structure together. The tank had to be pulled apart to get the worm out & it even broke inside the PVC because it refused to be evicted.
I prefer to take the larger ones out (over 8&quot because anything that big has to eat more than detritus to survive.
Oh BTW - enjoy the pictures they are truly disgusting I just had dinner & I'm getting sick now.

 

I have way to many in my tank now and some live inside of my corals which disturbs them and have noticed some groth decline on them.

 

Speaking of worms.....I found a weird one in my fuge earlier this evening...kind of a rusty color with a ton of little hairy things coming from it's body...it definately did not look like a bristle worm...a friend said maybe a fireworm..but from the pics I've seen of them..nope....who knows, another mystery