Help! Varieties of bristle/fire worms??

sunburnt

Member
I hope this is the place to post these...
This guy is in my tank, looking around with little eyes. He acts completely different than my other bristle worms (first noticed him 2 days ago, and today he came out when the lights were on and was bravely checking me out!), and has that very defined head. He's at least 8 inches long, uniform in diameter. His spikey "legs" are also more defined than my other bristle worms. Is he another variety, or something altogether different??? He actually has a personality, so I hope he's not harmful... :notsure:

 
T

tizzo

Guest
One of the signs that it is an unpleasant one is the fact that it cruises in the light. The good news is that due to their braveness, they can easily be removed using tweezers. If he runs and hides when you put your hands in the tank then he may be a common bristle with nothing to worry about. But if he acts like he doesn't even see you then remove him, just to be on the safe side...
 

sunburnt

Member
Yikes. He was definitely curious about me when the lights were on. Brave little $&-#. I spied on him last night, and he was even more active. He's at least 10 inches long when he stretches. His hind end never left the hole in the LR. He didn't seem to mind the flashlight. He cruises around the tank with his head up like that, like a snake will do. Forgive the 3rd grade-ish ps doodle, but that's how his body looks, each segment rounded and a double pair of whatevers in each crevice. There are none of the fanned-out bristles like the normal bristle worms. They're more like legs, and they aren't lighter in color, they are the exact shade of his body. I don't see him actually kill it, but he was carrying around a stomatella snail in his mouth that was half-eaten, and this particular one was very alive when I turned out the tank lights. Distinctive shell. Kinda freaked out now. You couldn't make me stick my hand in there with short little tweezers!
:scared: :scared: :scared: :scared:
Glad that's the LR/Pod tank, and no little fishies!
 
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