Pseudochromis

Okay...back to the worms....

Below is the info on the bristle worms I was referring to earlier. This is actually cut from a thread here on 3reef. My live rock is from the same place mentioned below www.liverocks.com. Anyway the below info also has the comment on the little bristle worms occasionally nipping at soft corals (which mine definately was before it met with an untimely demise)....

Hi Michael
In response to your question....

The term "cure" really only applies to live rock imported from the Indo Pacific such as Fiji rock, Tonga rock, etc... Imported rock is shipped dry in waxed cardboard boxes to LA. and then on to distributors in New York, Chicago and Miami. From there it goes to dealers and trans-shippers. All this dry transporting means a lot of die off and thus, the need to "cure" the rock.
Conversely,we handle our rock very differently and make every effort to deliver to your door fresh and most importantly ALIVE.
The whole idea of live rock for a reef tank is the bio filtration the rock provides. If you cure our live rock the incredibly diverse biology living in and on the rock will die. We do not recommend doing this in any form, even to remove the hitch hikers.
We get two hitch hikers on our rock that have a bad reputation. Bristle worms and mantis shrimp.
Bristle worms are common to all reef systems and can be expected in any live rock. Like many reef creatures there are all different types of bristle worms from all over the world's reef systems. The "fire worm" from the Pacific ocean is probably the worst due to it's ability to sting any thing it touches including soft and stony coral. The ones we get here in the south Atlantic do not burn us when we touch them and I have never seen them damage anything from contact. They do work as sand stirs and will eat any waste decay or detritus they come across. Unfortunately they will also eat some types of soft coral polyps. The best way to remove them from the reef is with a siphon hose at night as you see them on the rocks. Most of the larger species we get never leave the sand and cause no trouble so leave them to their work. The small pink ones you find on the rock can be removed with the hose to a bucket. Do not get the worm in your mouth! Start the siphon, then put your finger over the bucket end. Move the other end of the hose over the worm and take your finger off the hose at the bucket end. Goodbye worm!
The second type of hitch hiker we get is the mantis shrimp.Like the worms, mantis come in many shapes and sizes. Ours fall in the category of south Atlantic rock mantis. We get a lot of request for them with rock shipments due to their color and intelligence. They can not break your aquarium glass! We isolate them for shipping in 10 gallon cheap aquarium and have never had one even scratch the glass. The boat crew and I have to pick them up off the deck and have never had a "thumb busted" either. They do, like most shrimp have very sharp points on their body armor and if they catch you just right can puncture the flesh like any of the armored inverts. They will scavenge dead fish and get blamed for doing the killing when they are caught eating a dead fish. What they will kill is mollusk, including turbo snails if they get real hungry. Unable to break the snails shell or door these smart little clowns will tumble the snail into the open sand near it's home hole. Turning the snail upside down they wait for the snail to extend the foot to right itself. Thats when they attack and sever the door from the flesh. Then they will pull the shell close to the hole and eat what meat they can reach through the now open door.
We feed the two that live in our shop display tank. Small pieces of raw shrimp or squid 2-3 times a week and they leave everybody alone. Unfortunately the siphon hose will not work on these guys. I see traps for sale but have never tried one and am a little suspicious how well they work on such a smart and fast creature. If you use the carbonated water trick do not dip the hole rock in it. Instead, try to find the hole the shrimp lives in and remove that rock. Pour a small amount of carbonated water in the hole only. I understand this works well and does not destroy the biology of the live rock.

Sorry for the long email but these questions need a proper and thorough answer so our customers get real information from our observations and not rumors passed on as truth. I even saw a show on the discovery channel where they were video taping a small rock mantis and the announcer said it had the power of a 22 caliber bullet in the claws! Please, It is only a shrimp! We have handled hundreds of them and no broken glass, ripped off fingers, stitches or even a bandaid due to one.
I hope this helps and if there is anything else, just let me know.
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Thank you for your interest in aquacultured live rock! www.liverocks.com

Michael S. Nichols
President, Triton Marine Inc.
EMail:liverocks727@aol.com

 

One more thing on the fire worms...

According to this link http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=292 the fire worm is found mostly in the western atlantic, in which case I do not "think" I have a fire worm as my rock is FL Keys (Eastern Atlantic) aquacultured (BTW..Have I told you all how happy I am with the rock from liverocks.com?? It is awesome). Also, I picked the worm up with my hands and it stuck me but did not sting me which apparently the fire worm does (Lets not go off on a tangent and talk about how stupid it is to pick up a worm I know nothing about with my bare hands..we can save that for later )

 

Ummm, the Keys ARE the Western Atlantic. The Eastern Atlantic is the European and African coast. (Florida is the Eastern US, but that's not the same! )

 

good point...see what happens when you travel all day for work and then try to think logically at night.