Help with worms.

[Spiveysreef]

I have a 75 gal setup for about 4 months now and only have 2 corals so far a mushroom and clove polyps. I started noticing my cloves are starting to turn white nd die off but the frag has spread out from the frag plug it came on to all over my rock really fast. I looked in my tank with a flash night last night and noticed these lil white long skinny worms on my rock and on the clove polyps mostly on the ones that are dieing. They retract back in to holes in the rock when i shine flashlight on them. Can anyone tell me what they are and how to get rid of them?

 

[Darryl]

sounds like bristle worms
get a pic if possible
they are harmless and good for cleaning up excess food and dead things

 

[WhiskeyCoffee]

Without a photo there's no way to know for sure just what type of worm you are talking about. I can say there are tons of creatures that show up in our tanks and the vast majority of them are beneficial.

Here's a good page on common hitchhikers http://www.xtalworld.com/Aquarium/hitchfaq.htm that should help. Maybe your little worm is on there.

 

[Spiveysreef]

Thanks for the link. I now know they are digitate hydroids. They are definately killing my cloves. I am going to just remove the rock and coral, i dont like the cloves that much anyway.