Tubeworm eats torch head

[austintylerl]

Cleaning my tank and noticed this tube worm was connected to the center of my toch coral head. It has consumed most of the head sadly. I googled around but couldnt find anything as to what it is. I have moved the torch skeleton so the worm no longer connected to the coral. Attatched is a crappy pic showing the worm now far from the coral.



Anyone seen this?

 

[madlos123]

hard to tell but is the tube hard and stationary? if it is its probably the larger vermited snail.

 

[El_Guapo13]

Never heard of a tube worm eating a coral. Most are filter feeders. And even if it was a vermited, they don't eat corals, just aggrevate them with their mucus nets. You sure there isn't anything else that could be either harming or eating your torch? There isn't like some murderous chalice or something nearby it?

#reefsquad

 

[austintylerl]

No nothing else. It was really attached to the skeleton

 

[reef lover]

I dont think the worm is the culprit.

 

[El_Guapo13]

I dont think the worm is the culprit.

Glad I am not the only one who thinks this. @KJ What do you think of this one?

 

[kireek]

How long have you owned the torch coral? It is possible that it has a parasite inside of it.

 

[ca1ore]

Tube worms, if that’s what it is, are ALL filter feeders and not predators of coral. I do not see from the pictures that the the white tube thing is attached to the center of the coral head. My guess is that something else (like a fish) ate it or the coral polyp just died.

 

[austintylerl]

How long have you owned the torch coral? It is possible that it has a parasite inside of it.

I have owned it for 18 months

 

[austintylerl]

Tube worms, if that’s what it is, are ALL filter feeders and not predators of coral. I do not see from the pictures that the the white tube thing is attached to the center of the coral head. My guess is that something else (like a fish) ate it or the coral polyp just died.

The picture was taken after i moved the coral away

 

[austintylerl]

UPDATE. IT GREW BACK

 

[sixty_reefer]

That looks to be a spionid worm, just because it’s the most nearest from it, he’s definitely not guilty

 

[austintylerl]

You cant see it ON THE CORAL?

 

[Tahoe61]

The feather duster is not responsible it's that black and white. Look elsewhere like shrimp or crabs, chemistry, flow.

 

[Fishko]

Tube worms, if that’s what it is, are ALL filter feeders and not predators of coral. I do not see from the pictures that the the white tube thing is attached to the center of the coral head. My guess is that something else (like a fish) ate it or the coral polyp just died.

Just curious there is a little worm that constructedalmost a tube from sand and i can see it extended moving at night in my zoas. Should i be concerned. I think i superglued it but then i just now saw it.

 

[AquaBiomics]

Folks, I think there is some misunderstanding. I dont think he's pointing to a feather duster (which are harmless). I think he has a worm that builds a temporary, soft, tube and eats various soft corals. The tube appears to extend onto the skeleton of the coral.

I have one too. Terrible thing, and I've never managed to catch mine. It periodically eats a few zoas or a hammer, then goes back into hiding for weeks to months.

If he has the same thing as me, the key identifying feature is that the tube grows overnight, and is very soft, and if you remove the tube the worm makes it again. Overnight.

I've never even seen my worm, just the tube.

 

[austintylerl]

Folks, I think there is some misunderstanding. I dont think he's pointing to a feather duster (which are harmless). I think he has a worm that builds a temporary, soft, tube and eats various soft corals. The tube appears to extend onto the skeleton of the coral.

I have one too. Terrible thing, and I've never managed to catch mine. It periodically eats a few zoas or a hammer, then goes back into hiding for weeks to months.

If he has the same thing as me, the key identifying feature is that the tube grows overnight, and is very soft, and if you remove the tube the worm makes it again. Overnight.

I've never even seen my worm, just the tube.

Omg thank you!!! Everyone is so dismissive on the web. Have you tried killing it?

 

[Fishko]

Folks, I think there is some misunderstanding. I dont think he's pointing to a feather duster (which are harmless). I think he has a worm that builds a temporary, soft, tube and eats various soft corals. The tube appears to extend onto the skeleton of the coral.

I have one too. Terrible thing, and I've never managed to catch mine. It periodically eats a few zoas or a hammer, then goes back into hiding for weeks to months.

If he has the same thing as me, the key identifying feature is that the tube grows overnight, and is very soft, and if you remove the tube the worm makes it again. Overnight.

I've never even seen my worm, just the tube.

I think mine is in my zoas thats on a dead sps frag should i just dip the colony in coral rx?

 

[AquaBiomics]

Omg thank you!!! Everyone is so dismissive on the web. Have you tried killing it?

I tried removing his tube, he'd build it right back by the next morning. I tried removing various rocks and soaking them in FW, but never found the rock he lives in. After struggling with him for a long time, I've given in. The worm won. He is still there, occasionally munching on a soft coral. I know its him, because I'll suddenly find that tube extending from the rocks to where a coral used to be.

Now I just don't put zoas or Euphyllia in that tank.

 

[beestie]

I know this is an old thread, but I just want to add that I also have one of these in my tank. It's been slowly killing a blasto colony that we've had in the tank - healthy - for over 4 years. Every time I aggressively vaccuum it out/scrub it off, it comes back within a day. I collected a glob of the soft "tube" and put it under my scope - it just looks like a pile of sand. Since it's near the top of the tank, not anywhere near sand, I've come to the conclusion that it's burrowing into the coral and that the sand in its tube is actually crushed coral skeleton. Since manually removing it has failed numerous times, my next approach is to super glue the whole area and hope to smother it. Ofcourse if it burrows, there's a chance it will just burrow a new opening next to the super glue section, but I've got no other ideas left. Crazy to me how dismissive the forums are - everyone is convinced this doesn't really exist. But if you've got it, you know.