Bristle worm?

GillMeister · Jan 27, 2021

I found this in my tank. I'm thinking it's a bristle worm though I've never seen one this tiny or white in color. It's about 4mm long.

Chrille26 · Jan 27, 2021

It looks like it has four whiskers which isnt typical for the regular bristle worms. I cant give you a id though, maybe someone else can.

GillMeister · Jan 27, 2021

Chrille26 said:
It looks like it has four whiskers which isnt typical for the regular bristle worms. I cant give you a id though, maybe someone else can.

I did a broader search for "saltwater worms" and stumbled upon dorvilleidae worms. That might be what we're looking at here. Nice observation on the whiskers. I hadn't noticed those.

Swede Reef · Apr 30, 2021

GillMeister said:
I did a broader search for "saltwater worms" and stumbled upon dorvilleidae worms. That might be what we're looking at here. Nice observation on the whiskers. I hadn't noticed those.

It seems I had one crawling on the glass. About 3/4 inch long

vetteguy53081 · Apr 30, 2021

NOT a dorvillidae but rater a eunicid worm and one you DO NOT want in your tank. Rid of it ASAP.
Related to the bobbit worm, you will end up with a nightmare

GillMeister · Apr 30, 2021

vetteguy53081 said:
NOT a dorvillidae but rater a eunicid worm and one you DO NOT want in your tank. Rid of it ASAP.
Related to the bobbit worm, you will end up with a nightmare

Oh boy, that's gonna make his heart skip a beat! I agree this looks nothing like what I have in my tank.

I think we found our resident pest expert!

Idoc · Apr 30, 2021

@KJ can you confirm or identify this one?

Swede Reef · May 1, 2021

I got lucky and found it on the glass of the tank. The worm is no longer in the tan

k. Any idea how many more there could be? Pretty sure he came from a "live rock". Should I remove the rock? Thanks for the help!

GillMeister said:
Oh boy, that's gonna make his heart skip a beat! I agree this looks nothing like what I have in my tank.

I think we found our resident pest expert!

Thanks for the id. I was very lucky and caught him on the DT glass. He met an early demise. Pretty sure he came from a "live rock" i got from a LFS. I have not seen any more. Should I remove the likely rock? It has a frogspawn on it that can be moved easily enough. I am definitely on the lookout for more.

Swede Reef · May 1, 2021

Sorry double post...

Swede Reef · May 1, 2021

Found a smaller one and sucked him up and did a WC at the same time. Looks like my small torch had an issue with the worm. It closed up over a few days so I gave it a Seachem iodine based dip. Nothing came out. Seems to start opening up again. I will be on the lookout for more. I will leave the night light on...