BOBBIT worm !!

[reefer702]

So I've been seeing this thick dark worm at night come out in my tank, there used to be 3-4 large bristle worms as well that came out but have not seen them in months(I assume they got eaten) only the dark scary one , finally did some research on it and I believe it is a bobbit worm...
not sure if I should leave it or try to remove it. Removing would be pretty difficult to say the least, please any advice would help I've had many tanks before but have never had one of these.
Also it's a 100 gallon Reef tank have not had any fish missing yet I've had inverts disappear here and there though

I have a video and photos but for some reason this sight is no t letting me them upload it just keeps loading ? Any tricks

 

[reefer702]

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[reefer702]

Couldn't load the video for some reason but I got a couple screen shots, any advice would help everything I read is some people keep them some people remove them

 

[2quills]

I'd remove it before it gets big.

I had a neighbor at one time that had one living in his tank for 2 years before he noticed it. Sucker was almost 2 feet long. Never could figure out why some of his fish would disappear from time to time until he saw it in the middle of the night one evening.

Took him forever to catch it.

 

[florida joe]

This is just me, I am in no way suggesting you do this. If I had to get it out and if I had one I would. Flash light with red cellophane over the lens. Attach a safety razor blade to a long dowel. Use a piece of shrimp attached to another dowel and bait the worm out of its burrow. Keep the bait far enough away so you can do the old slice and dice

 

[reefer702]

This is just me, I am in no way suggesting you do this. If I had to get it out and if I had one I would. Flash light with red cellophane over the lens. Attach a safety razor blade to a long dowel. Use a piece of shrimp attached to another dowel and bait the worm out of its burrow. Keep the bait far enough away so you can do the old slice and dice

Ya I got a flashlight hooked up with a red lense but from what I've found online if the worm splits or is cut it creates a new one! so I got to try and get it out hole!

 

[2quills]

I use one of these for maintenance. Dunno if something like this would help or not.

 

[Salt Lifer]

Ya I got a flashlight hooked up with a red lense but from what I've found online if the worm splits or is cut it creates a new one! so I got to try and get it out hole!

If you get all the peices out you should be fine. I think they mean that if you cut it in half and leave it, both halves with regrow into whole worms. I've actually done that experiment with flatworms. Sliced its head in half,... had 2 heads in a week.