Zebra striped worm with teeth!

nikkipigtails · 04-09-2008, 05:48 PM

I noticed this worm a long time ago but this is the first picture I've been able to get. It's very unusual...it is black and white, has a round mouth with what look like teeth. The mouth is on the end of the body, not on the side like Ancylostoma or Ascaris. It's always been in the same place in the same rock. When we changed everything from one tank to another, I tried to get it out but it disappeared and I just saw it again today. It has very strange "fishing" behavior. When this rock was more out in the open, it would extend the front half of its body in the water to catch food. It's never attacked any of my fish - I'm not sure about CUC though. I'll keep my eye open to see if I can catch it "fishing".

I'm also attaching a picture of a Nematode mouth. I tried to figure out what this thing is and this is the only mouth I've found that's representative of what my worm's mouth looks like...I'm not very good at describing things.

taklein65 · 04-09-2008, 06:17 PM

Looks like the peanut worms i have in my tank. I am told they are harmless

charlesr1958 · 04-10-2008, 04:34 AM

With such a distant shot of the worm I could only take wild guesses as to what it is. Might the relevent section of my hitch hiker pages be of use?

A Hitch Hikers Guide to the Reefs

Chuck

nikkipigtails · 04-10-2008, 10:45 AM

Thanks taklein65. I think it might be a peanut worm because of the feeding tentacles. It doesn't really look like any pictures I could find, but I'm confident that's waht it is. Any other takers?

Dentoid · 04-10-2008, 10:21 PM

Nikki did you look at Chuck's site above? You may just find your worm there!

returnofsid · 04-18-2008, 05:15 AM

Peanut Worm, they're actually pretty cool to watch. Most of the body is buried inside live rock. It stretches out to eat. It basically eats rock...lol. They're totally harmless and don't usually survive long in our tanks...although I've got a few that I didn't notice until my tank was about 2 years old.

04-09-2008, 05:48 PM	#1 (permalink)
nikkipigtails Golden Moray Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Hillbilly Hell, AL Posts: 2,819 View Gallery Karma Komment	Zebra striped worm with teeth! I noticed this worm a long time ago but this is the first picture I've been able to get. It's very unusual...it is black and white, has a round mouth with what look like teeth. The mouth is on the end of the body, not on the side like Ancylostoma or Ascaris. It's always been in the same place in the same rock. When we changed everything from one tank to another, I tried to get it out but it disappeared and I just saw it again today. It has very strange "fishing" behavior. When this rock was more out in the open, it would extend the front half of its body in the water to catch food. It's never attacked any of my fish - I'm not sure about CUC though. I'll keep my eye open to see if I can catch it "fishing". I'm also attaching a picture of a Nematode mouth. I tried to figure out what this thing is and this is the only mouth I've found that's representative of what my worm's mouth looks like...I'm not very good at describing things. __________________ No man ever reached excellence in any one art or profession without having passed through the slow and painful process of study and preparation. - Horace

04-09-2008, 06:17 PM	#2 (permalink)
taklein65 Tunicate Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 22 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Zebra striped worm with teeth! Looks like the peanut worms i have in my tank. I am told they are harmless

04-10-2008, 04:34 AM	#3 (permalink)
charlesr1958 Sea Pen Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Mactan Island, The Philippines Posts: 329 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Zebra striped worm with teeth! With such a distant shot of the worm I could only take wild guesses as to what it is. Might the relevent section of my hitch hiker pages be of use? A Hitch Hikers Guide to the Reefs Chuck __________________ __________________________________________ Chuck's Addiction Reef & Reef Aquarium Articles and Links

04-10-2008, 10:45 AM	#4 (permalink)
nikkipigtails Golden Moray Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Hillbilly Hell, AL Posts: 2,819 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Zebra striped worm with teeth! Thanks taklein65. I think it might be a peanut worm because of the feeding tentacles. It doesn't really look like any pictures I could find, but I'm confident that's waht it is. Any other takers? __________________ No man ever reached excellence in any one art or profession without having passed through the slow and painful process of study and preparation. - Horace

04-10-2008, 10:21 PM	#5 (permalink)
Dentoid Over Achiever Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Virginia Posts: 10,289 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Zebra striped worm with teeth! Nikki did you look at Chuck's site above? You may just find your worm there! __________________ Scott Dentoid's Reeforama

04-18-2008, 05:15 AM	#6 (permalink)
returnofsid Tunicate Join Date: May 2006 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 24 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Zebra striped worm with teeth! Peanut Worm, they're actually pretty cool to watch. Most of the body is buried inside live rock. It stretches out to eat. It basically eats rock...lol. They're totally harmless and don't usually survive long in our tanks...although I've got a few that I didn't notice until my tank was about 2 years old.

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