How big can a bristle worm get?

[thearnley]

Just happened to be up way too early to get a head start on the slick roads this morning and peeked into the tank and there was just enough light that I could see something that FREAKED me out! At first I thought it was a mantis shrimp but after chasing it around a bit with a flashlight before it hid too well, it didn't resemble any mantis I've seen. Looked a lot like a centipede. It was huge! Had to be at least 3-4 inches and thick. The only bristle worms I've seen are quite tiny - only maybe an inch or 2 and very skinny. Just how big can they get? Could this be one? :verymad:

 

[BigAl07]

Hold your right arm out as FARRRR as you can.....

now hold your left arm out as FARRRR as you can.....

THAT'S how big they can get LOL!!

Well not really.. well maybe but not likely.....


There was an article floating around on another forum where one got a few FEET long but that's not the norm in our tanks. It would have to have plenty of food and a VERY good safe hiding place.

 

[thearnley]

Ok, I think I just peed my pants a bit. :laughroll Yipes! Well, I would have to say he gets plenty of food (though I'm trying to rehab myself from overfeeding) and there is more than enough places to hide. Can't believe I hadn't seen him sooner considering how big he is. Now that I know he's there I'm going to try to catch him and/or take pics.

 

[framerguy]

The biggest one I actually ever saw with my own eyes was about 20". The article that Al is referring to had one that was about eight feet long and it was living in the PVC rock hanging system in the guys tank and went all through it. The ones I mostly see are two to three inches long.

 

[Stacef]

I think this is what Greg is referring to if you were curious.

Oregonreef.com

 

[framerguy]

That's it...it was six feet! Jeez, that's a biggun.

 

[thearnley]

Thanks! Yep, I've got a monster bristle worm! Guess I'm going hunting tonight! :verymad: :verymad: :verymad: :verymad: :verymad: :verymad: :verymad:

 

[Stacef]

How big are your 'monsters?'

 

[thearnley]

This guy this morning had to be 4" - and THICK! Gave me chills when I saw it. By the time I get up in the morning, the actinics are usually already on but since I got up earlier today, I peeked into the tank. Fortunately I had a flashlight next to the tank so I could further investigate what I saw picking on my long tent nem

 

[Stacef]

Oh jeez, that will be fun to try and find today! Good luck, take pics

 

[thearnley]

Thanks. I need to invent a mini harpoon gun! :grr:

 

[lcstorc]

Not that it makes much difference but I am pretty sure the 6ft one wasn't a bristle.
Generally they say to get rid of them when they get big and I think this qualifies.

 

[ReefLady]

They do get pretty big, but I don't think it's very common that you'd find excessively large ones in reef tanks. Just be careful handling stuff in the tank - you don't want to touch one. I've got pics somewhere of bristle worm bristles sticking out of my skin. It hurts.

FWIW, although I think that in general, they are beneficial, I would probably attempt to remove something this big. I think that the bigger they are, the "hungrier" (and more predatory) they can potentially become.

 

[joephys]

Those six foot monsters are eunicid worms. They have some nasty jaws.

Maybe you had some type cucumber that hitchhiked. The bigger tube worms have fairly thick bodys and kind of look like centipedes, but you would probably see the tail sticking out of a tube.

 

[Jeremy0322]

When i got al the stuff for my tank the process got postponed and all the rock ended up sitting in a big rubbermaid bin for a long time is freshwater, i figured that would kill any hitchhikers that i didnt want. Anyways, as i was cleaning it off to put it in my tank i almost crapped my pants when i saw a 19 inch worm fall out of one of the rocks, it was HUGE and orange and looked like a bristle worm. So i can tell you bristle worms can hit at least a foot and a half, i have seen it, and it was HORRIBLE haha

 

[blue_eyes53813]

I have a bristle worm in my tank that is about as big around as a finger. I dont know how long it is because it never comes all the way out... I dont know if I want to know.. But it never falls for the trap trick..

 

[Jeremy0322]

If i wouldnt have gotten lucky with keeping the rock in cold fresh water i dont know if i would have ever found him, which i am sure would have sucked eventually.

 

[thearnley]

OK, now I now how big a bristle worm can get in my 90 gallon tank! What I thought was about 4 inches turned out to be just a tad larger. Here's what I saw later that evening. And what I ended up removing! Almost 32 inches!!! Tried to remove him alive but he was less than cooperative. He was burrowed into the largest rock in the tank - ended up having to chisel into it to find the pocket he was in.

 

[goldenmacman]

id wet myself if i saw that thing in my tank!

 

[Jeremy0322]

ummm....whoa! That thing is icky haha