Fire Worm, I think...

[corrado007]

I was splitting apart some LR from my QT tank and found a few red and black bristle worms inside. I've never had any that look like this, the ones in my main display tank are kind of grey/silver/tan and seem entirely beneficial, they've never hurt anything in there. Are the red/black ones safe as well? Am I right in identifying them as fireworms?

Here's a pic of the red ones from the QT tank rock:
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb92/corrado007/FireWorm.jpg

Here's a pic of the ones I have a bunch of in my main display tank:
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb92/corrado007/bristleworm.jpg

I started a poll and thread some time back about whether bristle worms are safe/beneficial and because of the positive outcome of that thread I ended up putting the few I removed back into the tank. They've been model citizens and when the lights turn out they come out and clean like crazy. So what do you all think of these red ones? Thumbs up/Thumbs down? Are they safe also? Thanks for your opinions/experience in advance.

 

[michael_cb_125]

I have somw very small black and red ones like that in my tank. They have never bathered anything, but mine are much smaller. As long as they dont get real big I think they just scavenge.

 

[reefjitsu]

You are good, they are ok.

 

[lcstorc]

Just be careful not to touch them with bare hands. Even though they are not fire worms (which are the worst) they can still pack a wallop.

 

[corrado007]

So, they're ok? Throw 'em in the tank? I'm definitely not going to touch the things, I had a friend brush up against one once and I've never seen such a big guy make such a stink about a little poke. Anyway, I've got a reef invertibrate handbook that suggests that one type, the red ones are good to have and the other type is a coral eating punk. Since I have one type and it seems friendly I just have some reservations. Hmmm.

 

[Warnberg]

No worries, I have both of those types in my tank and no issues. They do get everywhere and they do a nice job of cleaning up.

 

[BoomerD]

Looks just like the kind I had in my tanks for years with no problems...but as mentioned, DON'T touch them with your skin, or you'll quickly understand why they can be mistaken for fireworms...even though their bristles aren't anywhere near as bad as true fireworms...it'll irritate the heck out of you...

 

[corrado007]

Great, thanks everyone for your input. I guess they are safe as long as you don't try to play with, eat, or otherwise touch them.