Help!Help!

[MT_is_a_Pisces]

I saw some type of worm in my tank last night. When I flashed a light it went into the sand.
My 55 gallon tank is over three years old. I haven't added any new livestock in over a year.
Wasn't able to capture a picture. What could it be?

 

[mta_morrow]

Good chance it may have been a bristle worm. Google some pics of them

 

[Peace River]

Good chance it may have been a bristle worm. Google some pics of them

+1. Bristleworms are common and most people consider them to a good thing (unless they get too big), but it is worth continuing to observe and monitor because there are some bad worms that can come in as hitchhikers as well. Good luck!

 

[Jay Tosi]

+1 bristle worms , they may be harmful but if not they will eat detritus and they do look pretty cool :)

 

[Justin Cook]

I really do like checking out my tank with a flashlight at night. You'll see all kinds of weird stuff. Yours is probably a bristle worm but it could be something else. Chances are it's harmless since you don't report any mysterious damage to tank inhabitants. I used to have a random worm that lived in the rock and I would only see it sticking it's head out at night. Haven't seen it in a while an I'm a little disappointed.

 

[Bob Weigant]

They can get pretty big. I usually pull them I feel I can

 

[DaveWasabi]

Still, better be cautious man.

 

[MT_is_a_Pisces]

Here's a pic I got this morning. This is one of two I saw. The other one was much bigger.

Harmless? How did it get in the tank?