more ID's please :)

peckhead

peckhead

Active Member
all 3 pictures are what i believe to be common worms for some of you pros. i have no idea what type they are or if they are good or bad.
the first 2 pictures are of a worm that i am sure i have many of because i always see them. is this a bristle worm?
the second i believe is a worm but i am not sure. lately i have been seeing alot of tube worms and tiny feather dusters popping up. there are alot of little tiny stick like things on some of my rocks. i was never sure if tehy were some kinda worm or just something on the lr. today after scraping off alot of algae of the back wall of my tank...i saw balls of algae on top of ever single one of these 'sticks' that i now realize are some type of worm...its a terrible picture but maybe someone can figure it out by the picture or discription. i no it was doing something(eating??) with the algae.
anyway.............thanks in advance ;)


 
shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
bristle/fire worm.
It eats detritus and is generally beneficial to your tank.
Dont touch it. It stings like crap!
 
peckhead

peckhead

Active Member
so its good to have them? they are kinda red so i thought they were maybe fire worms. but then they have bristles so i wasnt sure...
what about the second thing? with the ball of algae
 
robdog696

robdog696

Member
The first picture is a bristleworm, yes. A fireworm is a type of bristleworm. This, however, does not look like a fire worm. No worries. The second is also a worm. I forget the specific type. They are very common, and also detritus eaters. I rid my tank of these pests, but most people consider them a sign of a healthy tank.
 
shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
kinda confused on the ball of algae thing. Do you mean you have bubble algae?

bristle worms and fire worms are the same thing (I think?lol) they are crud eaters and they sting. thats all that matters.
 
peckhead

peckhead

Active Member
no i dont have bubble algae. i just scraped off algae from the glass and i guess it made little balls of algae and now the tube are sucking the algae down.
rob dog... why do you get rid of them?
 
m0nk

m0nk

Active Member
I personally got rid of one recently because it had reached 4 inches and nearly half an inch thick. I've seen others that are tiny and happily leave them but once they start getting really big, if you can get them, go for it. Otherwise they could get huge. The small ones are like pods in a way, some fish eat them and in the meantime they're good detritus cleaners. It's the whole "circle of life" thing.
 
m0nk

m0nk

Active Member
By the way, next time I tell that story it'll be 5 inches....someday it might even reach a foot...haha. Seriously, it was probably only 3. Was just sorta disheartening finding this long fat worm hanging out in the middle of the sand bed when I was looking at the tank. I'm sure if you saw one that size you'd probably want to rid yourself of it too. They're not really bad though.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by Shrimpi
kinda confused on the ball of algae thing. Do you mean you have bubble algae?
bristle worms and fire worms are the same thing (I think?lol) they are crud eaters and they sting. thats all that matters.
Fire Worms are a type of Bristleworm. Fireworms have rows of venomous or irritating bristles along the length of their body (like the one pictured). Bristleworms include Fireworms, Spaghetti Worms, Hair Worms, Feather Dusters, etc.
 
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