ID my hitchhiker

[michael_t]

I found this little guy one night when I was spying on my fish.
It only comes out at night. It's about 2" long when full extended. Otherwise it retracts to less than a 1". When light hits him he retracts and hides under the LR.

 

[tx reef]

Bristleworm.

 

[michael_t]

I gonna want to get rid of him, huh?

 

[tx reef]

Some people will say to get rid of them, but they are an excellent addition to a clean up crew if their numbers are controlled.

 

[michael_t]

Thanks Tx Reef. Guess I will keep him around a while longer.

 

[misfit]

They are awesome clean up crew wise but when they get real big ,they can be a predator. I take them out if they get over 12 inches long but under that they stay :joy:

 

[dogstar]

Carefull not to touch it....some of those guys can hurt. aka fire worms.

 

[spike_501]

kill kill kill

 

[n_sarno]

Like the others said.. def a bristle/fireworm...

 

[blessedyo]

THANK YOU!!!
I was wondering

why everyone I talked to told me to kill all of my bristle worms. But I thought that they would be an asset to the aquarium because they ate any excess fool or even other matter that would make my levels spike. I figured if the miniature starfish were ok, then why not these guys?
But hey, I have NEVER seen a bittle worm that big!!!
Good luck! :cheer:

 

[blessedyo]

I think I just did now in my own tank!
While perusing through my tank with the aid of a pin light, I say a Brittle Worm about that size or bigger. It was more pink with purpleish dots on the outside edge than gray/brown (the one above). However, I may be wrong, it may be some other kind of worm! It moved when the light hit it. I couldn't believe my eyes, it moved slowly and slithered back in the rock. This is why they are called "live rocks". Lol
(sorry for the lousy description, if I can take a pic...I will be sure to post it).

 

[sasquach]

we have tons of these little worms burried in our sand. As posted above, ours are a little more pinkish and much smaller (1-2 inches). We bought a couple 6 line wrasses to control the population, but they seem to have enemies in our tank, cause someone like to attack these guys (wrasses were very small when we obtained them). From my research these worms are very beneficial in small numbers and size. So maybe think about investing in a bistleworm/fireworm predator. I've read purple nudbranches feed on em too. Also some people say if you have many, and they grow large... that's an indication you're feeding your tank too much.