Bristle worm? Please help ID

[choss]

This just came in with Gulf Live Rock - please let me know if this is a good or bad hitch hiker

 

[reef lover]

Looks more fire wormish than bristle...but I'm no expert...he wouldn't go in my tank...

 

[choss]

Reeflover thanks for the insight. Most of the pictures I have googled for fire worms look a bit different. Usually brighter colored and the bristles are a slightly different pattern. Anyone else want to weigh in?

 

[JohnnyReef]

I wouldn’t put it in my tank if it were me

 

[choss]

I wouldn’t put it in my tank if it were me

yeah its been dealt with.. But I'm still curious. I have a lot of small bristle worms in another tank and they seem harmless. This guy was a bit bigger than what I've typically encountered in my other tanks.

 

[cracker]

Can Ya isolate this creature until we get a positive id? These things give me the creeps but still pretty cool !

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

It's a bristle worm. Good cuc. Just don't touch with your bare hands.

 

[choss]

Yeah that is what I thought. He was just a bit too large for comfort. I'm sure i will have a bunch more in the rock. This rock was purchased from Gulfliverock and so far I haven't seen any other hitch hikers - kind of disappointed although I only ordered 25 lbs - mostly smaller rocks.

 

[cracker]

How long? I understand they are ok in the tank.

 

[choss]

it was about 1 inch long I would say.

 

[Oldsalt01]

An inch? Just a baby. I've had them in some of my tanks at 6"+. I used to trap them out. Now I just leave them alone. Good CUC and more biodiversity.

 

[EmdeReef]

Looks like a bristleworm. ugly but very useful.

I’ve been unfortunate to have fireworms in my tank few years back and they look very different, the bristles are quite different and much denser, they are also a bit flatter than ordinary bristleworms, and tend to be longer.

 

[choss]

An inch? Just a baby. I've had them in some of my tanks at 6"+. I used to trap them out. Now I just leave them alone. Good CUC and more biodiversity.

well....it looked a lot bigger when I removed it ;Wideyed. Yeah I think we all ted to over react when we are first putting things in the tank. I should have left him in his rock.

 

[choss]

Looks like a bristleworm. ugly but very useful.

I’ve been unfortunate to have fireworms in my tank few years back and they look very different, the bristles are quite different and much denser, they are also a bit flatter than ordinary bristleworms, and tend to be longer.

Yeah I looked at pics online and they are actually quite beautiful but definitely different than the worm I removed.

 

[Brew12]

I appreciate my Bristleworms. They can help clean the pores deep within the live rock that snails can't get to. Before I had a big enough population I used to use a small pump to blast the crud out from deep in my rock. Now, the worms do it for me. Or at least they did before I swapped tanks out. I may need to break out the pump again this weekend since my worm population seems to have crashed during the move.

 

[Kbeck]

I pulled this one out of my tank. It was about 7” long. He was too big for comfort.

 

[choss]

Kind of begs the question - if they are beneficial when they are small, is there ever a point where their desire for food leads them to corals or clams? I need to research these guys a bit more.

 

[Oldsalt01]

Kind of begs the question - if they are beneficial when they are small, is there ever a point where their desire for food leads them to corals or clams? I need to research these guys a bit more.

Nope. MOST polychaete worms are detritavores, and don't bother with living organisms larger than small amphipods (Bobbit worms being the obvious exception, along with a few other members of that family). The only reason I pulled the 6"+ worms was because they freaked me out, there being anecdotal evidence they DID attack corals. Then an old time reefer set me straight on what they actually contribute to a tank so I stopped the practice. NOW, when I find them in my 'fuge, I'll pull a couple out and add them to the display. I actually handle them with bare fingers and have learned to be gentle with them so as not to get stung. I learned my lesson there about 25 years ago when I got nailed by a big boy. Not a pleasant sensation.