ID THIS PLEASE...6 to 9 INCH or longer...WORM?

ID THIS PLEASE...6 to 9 INCH or longer...WORM? (photos added)

This morning, before coming to work, I looked at my tank and noticed what I thought was a string hanging from the side of the tank. It is a 6 to 9 inch worm of some sort. The head (about a 1 inch section at the tip) appeared to "vibrate" or shimmy side to side and flatten out wider than the rest of the body. It is white or beige in color and it has a symmetrical, segmented (not sure if I am describing this right) pattern for the entire length of its body. I have pics and a video of it and will post later when I get home. Need to know if it is harmless or not. I do not have any animals in my tank yet. The tank has been set up since the first week of April.

 

wow that is a long worm, not sure what it is though but I will bump the thread and see if someone else knows.

 

i'm not sure what type it is but it's probably not safe

 

The first picture looked like a bristleworm....some say they are safe others say they are not coral safe....an arrow crab will eat him if thats what he is or you might get lucky and get him with a turkey baster....I cant believe I put up a thread on worms and am setting here answering my own questions....I just forgot about the arrow crab....good luck....if it is a fireworm do not pet him.....
Danny

 

There are tons of different worms, thousands of species so it's impossible to tell exactly without closely looking at one. Most are harmless and just eat detritus and leftover food, some can be bad though.

Here are some links if you want more info.

Worm Hitch Hikers
Polychaete Annelid Identification, or “You Can Always Tell A Bristle Worm… by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com
Polychaete Title

 

looks like a chaetopterid worm. and i stole that from amcarrig's site that was just posted. even tho i plagarized, i still feel a bit smart. lol

 

He came out and was swimming toward the top of the water 2 days after the post, I plucked him chucked him with some tweezers.

 

Looks like a tube worm to me? kind of thin for a bristleworm. May just be the pics though.
I have about a 9 inch bristleworm. Haven't seen him in a while though.

 

after pulling the worm out and putting it in some freshwater, it died and seemed to look alot like an oenonid pictured on this website Worm Hitch Hikers