fireworm? Bristle worm?

[amc78cj7]

2 nights ago this little fellow came out and was slowly inching along a piece of my life rock. He came out only in the moon light and quickly slid behind a rock when I turned on the lights. I have done image searches but haven't found a match yet. He was small enough that I couldn't get a good pic, but I'll give you a description.

About 1" long. Head and upper 1/3 of body is pink. Lower 2/3 of body is purple (about the color of coraline algae). White spikes on both sides from head to toe evenly spaced about 1mm apart. They look like white triangles.

I'm assuming this is just a bristle worm of some sort. Any advice appreciated. I assume he can be saved for clean-up crew and doesn't need to be destroyed?

[Tru2nr]

does it look like this?

if so then itsa bristle worm
fire worms if i remember correctly are completely red

[amc78cj7]

Originally Posted by Tru2nr

does it look like this?

if so then itsa bristle worm
fire worms if i remember correctly are completely red

It does not look like that, however I did see your post when I was searching. This guy is actually very brightly colored and pretty with the dark purple, bright pink and white all contrasting one another.

[Tru2nr]

hrmmmm im not sure then i think your safe as long as it is multi-colored but don't quote me

[Sig]

Not sure but is it possible that it looked like the picture just under the moonlights it looked different. I notice under my blue light my colors change drastically!

I don't know just my 2 pennies!

[amc78cj7]

Originally Posted by Sig

Not sure but is it possible that it looked like the picture just under the moonlights it looked different. I notice under my blue light my colors change drastically!

I don't know just my 2 pennies!

No, I turned the lights on too and was able to see him as he crawled away and under a rock. He was bright purple, pink with white spurs. Not transparent.

[Sig]

Im just so excited with my blue lights just had to mention it.

[amc78cj7]

Here is the best pic I could get of the (bristle?)worm. I know it sucks, but I can't get close-ups very well within the aquarium. It is dead-center in the pic facing upward.



I have also included a pic of some funky algae I have on a piece of liverock. It is dark green and dark scarlet red and velvet in texture. I assume it is a good algae? It is in the lower center part of the pic on a piece of tonga branch near the sand.



And here's my newest addition helping to clean things up. Coral banded shrimp.

[framerguy]

Of course the pic is fuzzy, but that really looks like a bristle worm to me.

[amc78cj7]

It's a fire worm. Talked to the guys at my reef shop tonight and that was their guess, then I found this pic on google which is almost an exact match. I'm not going to try to kill him unless he starts causing problems. They are supposed to be good scavengers and so long as I don't touch him (hmm, he is inside the live rock when the lights are on) then I won't get poked. He won't hurt any of my inverts, right?

Google pic:



My pic:

[bruce campbell]

fireworms are a type of bristle worm. depending on where the worm is from, they can eat invertbrates. Some are known to eat starfish, destroy coral, and thier bristles can harm rock dwelling fish. research the type of worm you have. if it replicates enough, you may have trouble

[bruce campbell]

fire worms are a type of bristle worm. depending on where the worm is from, they can eat invertebrates. Some are known to eat starfish, destroy coral, and their bristles can harm rock dwelling fish. research the type of worm you have. if it replicates enough, you may have trouble.

[charlesr1958]

I have quite a few photos of worms within my hitch hiker pages that may (or may not) be of help.

A Hitch Hikers Guide to the Reefs

Chuck

[LeslieH]

If your worm is really the same as the one in the picture then it's Hermodice carunculata which feeds on soft corals. Not a good inhabitant if you prefer corals to worms.