worm eating a snail...

[Tuna]

i dont think its a peanut worm,it is a bit spikey and the head wasnt quite peanut wormish, check it out













also when i stuck m tongs in to snatch him him up, it bolted faster than lighting and when i picked up the snail shell it had a big clear geletin blob on it...yuk whats that about, i ve seen it before on snail shells and my cleaner shrimps sheddings

 

[boozeman]

pic?

 

[BoomerD]

Looks like a bristleworm (big sucker!) doing his job of cleaning up something that died...

 

[lcstorc]

I second the bristleworm. Man they are fast suckers. Good luck removing it. It is big enough I probably would. The small ones I leave alone. Above all do not tough it. They can have a bad sting where the bristles get stuck in your skin. Use a trap, tongs or gloves if you try to remove it

 

[Tuna]

omg no way... i rearranged the whole tank a week ago and swear i got bit by something, i just figured nah,sharp rock. maybe i got bit! so how would i trap such a worm? my cleaner shrimp didnt attack it nor did my coral banded shrimp. i have a 2 spot candy hog i just added saturday - would he eat it? man i bugging out if theres one that big there ten, and now all i can think of is that guys 6ft worm in the pvc pipe...ill never have my perfect peaceful little tank

:apint:

 

[boozeman]

steve weasts worm incident gives us all nightmares
if you do attempt to remove it please use forceps one of our members recently got stung by a bristtle and his hand got swollen from the alergic reaction

 

[lcstorc]

You can buy special traps just for bristle worms. I have one and it works pretty well but all of mine are much smaller.

 

[reefjitsu]

I believe that particular type of polychaete (bristleworm) lives in a small home as opposed to being mobile. They construct a tube out of available material, much like a caddis fly larvae; though you may not be able to see the tube. They have a long body that can stretch out to reach far and wide, but when disturbed, they can retract alarmingly fast. I had some in a refugium some time back, I was never able to identify the species, but I watched them so much I became quite familiar with their habits.

 

[Tuna]

ok so how can i get it out? and is it important to remove it?

 

[lcstorc]

I would try the trap if I wanted to remove it. We have had success with ours in the past and it was pretty easy to use.

 

[Paintbug]

while its impossible to positively ID the worm from those pics, the behavor, size and size of the segments look like an eunicid worm. they will scavenge for meals most the time, but some (inclunding me) will call them preditors. they have been said to attack fish, and inverts in the tank. they also are called Rock Worms. they sometimes burrow into the rock. they also will get HUGE. i have seem some pulled from tanks in the 5-6' (yes foot) range. theres several species of them however. some stay small, but should still be removed. if you get a chance to see its mouth up close you should see some tenticles around the mouth. most the time its four of them. heres some up close pics of them.
http://www.nhm.org/guana/bvi-invt/bvi-surv/worm-g04.htm

heres a little info on bristle worms in general, and how to tell them apart, the good and the bad.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-04/rs/index.php

 

[reefjitsu]

I agree that it is likely a eunicid, but disagree that you should remove it. The predatory ones, at least the ones you need to worry about are very large. Verrrry large. 20+ ft. And more than an inch in diameter. They also live in sediment, not on LR, making it highly unlikely to be encountered in the aquarium.