Help Id'ing little worms on LR. (FOWLR)

1968oldsma

Member
I have a 30g with a cleaner crew and a shrimp, (no fish yet) and all of a sudden our live rock is starting to show these little tiny red worms with really tiny brissles) i guess is best to describe they are very small as you can see from the pics of the three of them in the bottom of a small beer mug. We weren't sure so we decided just to pull them anyways as they pulled off very easily. Any idea on (should we find more) if these are bad or ok to leave? Eventually this tank will house corals and if possible i'd like to nip these things in the but early if we have to. Thanks!!

 

btldreef

Moderator
Bristle worms. Extremely common hitchhiker and they're beneficial. They eat left over waste.
Be careful
Not to touch them barehanded as the bristles can sting.
 

gobygal

Member
Yup...Bristleworms!! I put sinking pellets in the tank one night for the Nassi Snails and then I saw worms coming out of, what seemed like, everywhere!! I was a little taken aback and rushed to the internet to find out what they were. I don't ever see them unless there is food dropped at night. That same night I found two other species that hitchhiked into my tank.....a Stomatella Snail ( an all black snail that I thought at first was a slug...then I noticed it had a black sheild-like shell with a pin-size white dot on the swirl) and Collonista snails which are the size of BB's!!
My bristleworms are kinda redish-orange with a black middle. I hear they are good for eating detritus but may sting if touched with bare hands. They cause no harm so far and I rarely see them....but they are there!!! Lots of them!!
 
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