I have worms...

Hey guys.
Have been noticing these 1.5" worms crawling around the tank..obviously they have come in with the live sand..
They are about 1.5", red and dark/navy blue in different places of the body. They have a definate head and..well not tail, but a definate head and an "ending"...
Any ideas?
James:)
 

clarkiiboi

Active Member
If it kinda looks like a centipede (meaning has alot of small legs coming out of the body), then my guess would be brissle (bristle) worms. Mixed opinions about these critters. HTH
 
Hey guys, i found a pic of what the worm in my tank looks like...

Thats them..there are quite a few of them...
Do these bristleworms cause a problem?
Thanks,
James:)
 

iechy

Member
From what I have read there are plenty opinions on the matter but the current theory around this board is that they are good for your tank. I would tend to think anything that isn't killing your inhabitants is probably a good thing in the tank because it must be surviving off of something--- presumably things you don't want to build up in the tank.
 

fshhub

Active Member
thats definityl a bristle worm. they are good for a tank some people remove the big ones though. some people like them enough to keep them also
 
"big ones"
Just how big do these things get?
They are all about 1" right now..probably 2" stretched out all the way..
James:)
 

fshhub

Active Member
the biggest i have seen(which is an exception) was nearly 2 feet long(i think 21 or 22 inches), the owner of my one lfs has it and it is posted on the web, but unfortunately she runs a bb on her site too, so i cannot put a link there
 

clarkiiboi

Active Member
by mixed opinions I meant some here say ok, some say ok if not too big, and others say no way do they want them in the tank. I found some and freaked thinking they were bad, but by the looks of it nothing bad has happened with them in there. I do have an arrow crab to keep the population down, but that is just me

[hr]
with my "mixed opinion". I am really not sure, only had my tank up for the last 7 months.
And fshhub---now thats at big worm LOL.
 

blutang

Member
I wouldn't worry until you see small signs of visible damage.....but a crab to keep they at bay would be a wise decision.
 

b volitans

Member
I don't think they are bad in FOWLR. I think they are just a nuissance to reefers. The bristle worms sometimes eat coral poylps. But if you plan on keeping a FOWLR, I don't see the problem. They help stir up your send bed. AND the way I see it...your fish will tag them as food items and will give your fish a little variety in diet:D
 
2 feet long?!:eek:
I will be getting a few hermits for the tank, maybe they'll take care of them..
Would these worms be any threat to be very much loved tube anenome?
Thanks,
James:)
 
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