Just counted 5 fireworms...

[Just John]

I really hate them. They are good for eating detritus, so a few would be fine, but you will literally have hundreds of tiny ones quickly. You have them now, so unfortunately you will probably never be able to get rid of them. The goal is to keep them under control before they get bad. Just keep an eye on them.

 

[VintageReefer]

What's the harm?

They cause tissue recession, stress, and can bore and eat food out of a corals stomach. Most of the time worms are not a problem and great cuc. On some situations they can cause problems, or make existing problems worse

If a coral recess and has exposed skeletal ridges, baby worms can get in there and cause irritation and prevent healing

My lobo I posted had been mouth gaping and receding and I couldn’t figure out why. Mouth gaping 24x7 for over a week. I found the worms in its skeleton, removed them, and the very next day, mouth was back to normal for the first time. I am hoping the removal of the worms was the key to a recovery path. I’m not saying they cause the problem, but I feel they contributed to preventing healing.

 

[BristleWormHater]

Late to the party
I agree with everyone here, those look like bristleworms. They are *generally a good guy to have since they eat uneaten food and detritus.

 

[KrisReef]

Eat: decaying matter, fish food, fish poop... all on the menu.

I swear this could be a description of many of the restaurants for tourists that visit here in Oceanside, CA.

Wait, I may have a picture

Today’s Special: Diesel Duck w/fries!

 

[Just John]

Late to the party
I agree with everyone here, those look like bristleworms. They are *generally a good guy to have since they eat uneaten food and detritus.

for someone called bristlewormhater, that was a surprisingly positive assessment

 

[BristleWormHater]

for someone called bristlewormhater, that was a surprisingly positive assessment

I was clawing at my eyes while writing it, I HATE THEM.