HELP~ Sand Worms or Aliens are in my Tank!

I have these things in my tank and they are multipliing. I just got my tank but these things are coming from the sand, making tunnels, hanging out on the coral. What are these worm looking centipedes?

 

looks like bristle worms.
you can check them out here.
http://www.pirx.com/gallery/worms

 

Ahh Yes, thats it! Now I also have these flea looking things that come out mostly at night, They have a curled tail and jump from around and run around the sand and coral. They are tiny, about the size of the head of the bristle worm, Any idea what the tiny shrimp like, flea looking things are?

 

sounds like you got some good guys you got copapods those are what u see at night there good they eat all the left overs and detritus and the bristle worms are cool if you dont have a to many

 

Those flea looking things are Copepods. They are beneficial to your tank.

As far as the bristle worms, some people think they are ok but i remove them every chance i get. The way i see it is, i probably have way more in my tank than i can see. They also reproduce quite fast.

At night make sure your fish tank is in a completely dark place and after an hour comeback with a led flash light, you will see tiny bristle worms flipping and floppin in the water.

Be careful when you handle them, they can sting.

 

And never touch a bristle worm .. A bigger one can really hurt.. Infamous, you and must have been typeing at the same time.. lol
I also remove all I see from my tank.. A turkey baster will suck up the slow ones really good..

Good Luck. Larry

 

The term "bristleworm" covers a great many species but thankfully the vast majority of them are beneficial members of any clean up crew. For photos of the various species most commonly found in our aquariums, please see the relevant sections of my hitch hiker pages.

A Hitch Hikers Guide to the Reefs

Chuck

 

Here is a picture of the shrimp things, Copepods?

I finally got he lense to focus on the tiny Copepods, If thats what they are.... Here is a good picture of the shrimp thing, Took me about 100 shots to get one good one. Is he a Copepod?

Any suggestions on how to remove some alge from the tank using a cleaning crew? These bristle worms and copepods arent eating the big alge. I have all sorts of alge all over the tank, take a loook at the pictures.

 

The shrimp thing is an Amphipod and per your "hair" algae, A brown scopas tang will help out with keeping it in check as will many of the turbo snails.
Just as a suggestion, but have you thought about putting that algae to work for your tank? A simple modification to your sump or a dedicated algae turf scrubber does many good things, as will the addition of a macro algae refugium.



Chuck

 

Thanks for the clarification Chuck, I can now rest eassy knowing my tank is not overun by a bunch of alien species.
Steve