Bad Worm?

Patrick58

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I've discovered several worms in my aquarium. They're mostly visible at night and can retreat very quickly. One of the worms likes to crawl onto my Axifuga coral, right up to the polyp. They probably aren't normal bristle worms. I've also seen one during the day, eating flake food after feeding. I fear it could be oenone fulgida.
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I had a bunch of these. Not sure exactly what they were but were harmless.

I was under the impression they are different types of bristleworms.

They are at least beneficial annelids
 

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I've discovered several worms in my aquarium. They're mostly visible at night and can retreat very quickly. One of the worms likes to crawl onto my Axifuga coral, right up to the polyp. They probably aren't normal bristle worms. I've also seen one during the day, eating flake food after feeding. I fear it could be oenone fulgida.
20250726_235530.jpg
20250726_234549.jpg
Might be a

Dorvilleidae

If you wanted a name
 
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Patrick58

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I had a bunch of these. Not sure exactly what they were but were harmless.

I was under the impression they are different types of bristleworms.

They are at least beneficial annelids
Have you ever seen them crawling in the polyp of a lps coral? One of them was crawling in my axifuga coral after I fed it. Furthermore, they are very fast when I touch them.
 

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Have you ever seen them crawling in the polyp of a lps coral? One of them was crawling in my axifuga coral after I fed it. Furthermore, they are very fast when I touch them.
Some worms will go into the polyps to grab the food you fed it. Were you feeding it at night? Usually worms aren’t that bold unless you have not much fish in the tank
 
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Patrick58

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Some worms will go into the polyps to grab the food you fed it. Were you feeding it at night? Usually worms aren’t that bold unless you have not much fish in the tank
I fed it two hours before light shuts off. I only have two clowns in my Red Sea Max nano peninsula.
 

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Some worms will go into the polyps to grab the food you fed it. Were you feeding it at night? Usually worms aren’t that bold unless you have not much fish in the tank
I fed it two hours before light shuts off. I only have two clowns in my Red Sea Max nano peninsula.
Yea with only two clowns, the worms will get bolder.

If you have something like a wrasse to not eat the worms but at least to scare them into hiding while lights are on, they won’t even PEEK until lights are off
 
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Patrick58

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Yea with only two clowns, the worms will get bolder.

If you have something like a wrasse to not eat the worms but at least to scare them into hiding while lights are on, they won’t even PEEK until lights are off
I still fear it could be Oenone Fulgida after reading some threads. The head of the worm looks different than that of the species Dorvilleidae. The head does not have two antennae. In addition, the worm isn't completely visible. The tail of the worm is always in the sand or the rocks.
 

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Yea with only two clowns, the worms will get bolder.

If you have something like a wrasse to not eat the worms but at least to scare them into hiding while lights are on, they won’t even PEEK until lights are off
I still fear it could be Oenone Fulgida after reading some threads. The head of the worm looks different than that of the species Dorvilleidae. The head does not have two antennae. In addition, the worm isn't completely visible. The end of the worm is always in the sand or the rocks.
I personally don’t think so, as no worm will ever exit the burrow 100% with their tails out. They always stay anchored to a cave or hole, especially during the day.

It doesn’t look like one either.

If you are worried you can Look into a worm trap, but I’ve had the exact same worms in my tanks with no issues. Just a different flavor of a worm CUC
 
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Patrick58

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I personally don’t think so, as no worm will ever exit the burrow 100% with their tails out. They always stay anchored to a cave or hole, especially during the day.

It doesn’t look like one either.

If you are worried you can Look into a worm trap, but I’ve had the exact same worms in my tanks with no issues. Just a different flavor of a worm CUC
I already thought about getting a worm trap. I'm not sure how effective a worm trap would be if the worm doesn't crawl in completely.
 

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