Omg….bobbit worm?

CHSUB

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
May 4, 2015
Messages
2,653
Reaction score
2,690
Location
Punta Gorda, FL
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Another hitchhiker….hard to get a great picture. Fast and been killing snail, as evident of a pile of shells it has been making.
IMG_1211.jpeg
IMG_1212.jpeg IMG_1213.jpeg
 

JoJosReef

Primus huffalumpus
View Badges
Joined
Sep 27, 2021
Messages
20,475
Reaction score
78,850
Location
Orange County, CA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
DOUBLE YUCK!!
I grabbed one once with tongs while lights waere off and I had a red lamp to see by. The thing twisted its body and head around like a cobra and began attacking the tongs with its mandibles. Startled me so much I lost grip of the tongs and POOF, gone back into its hole. After that, I did not try to catch them anymore.
 

Tripod1404

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 31, 2024
Messages
218
Reaction score
234
Location
wI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I got one out with a piece of table shrimp on squid lure.

The trick is not to pull the lure. Just apply enough tension to prevent it from backing in. It will eventually tire out and let go.
 
OP
OP
CHSUB

CHSUB

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
May 4, 2015
Messages
2,653
Reaction score
2,690
Location
Punta Gorda, FL
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thanks for the comments…and yes it looks nasty! As mentioned the colors are very kool: bright orange and red with black and white.

I small bucket of live rock has included many hitchhikers: stone crab, 3 mantis shrimp, 2 welks, Bobbit, few gorilla crabs. 😵‍💫
 

papercrab

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 1, 2025
Messages
80
Reaction score
71
Location
Devon
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
NO MERCY. im generally against killign pests but that is a horror. Trap it (whole as it can reprduce half of its body) avoid its mouthpieces as these can draw blood. Dont touch the body as it is venomous and irrating to skin and drop it in a large bucket of freshwater (are preferably drop it back into hell) and then RUN
 

Lavey29

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 29, 2021
Messages
15,161
Reaction score
16,352
Location
United States
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I guess I'm in the minority few here but I wouldn’t remove any living creature hitch hiker from my tank. I just see everything as part of the overall ecosystem and they live in a reef for a reason. All God's creatures have their role in nature. Im not opposed to introducing natural predators into the tank to solve a situation though because the same would occur in the ocean too.
 

Macropharyngodon

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 14, 2025
Messages
366
Reaction score
420
Location
Denver
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I guess I'm in the minority few here but I wouldn’t remove any living creature hitch hiker from my tank. I just see everything as part of the overall ecosystem and they live in a reef for a reason. All God's creatures have their role in nature. Im not opposed to introducing natural predators into the tank to solve a situation though because the same would occur in the ocean too.
Bobbit worms are something tho. Full grown individuals are capable of eating lionfish. They are a predator that I don't think is meant for a system that is carefully maintained for minimal stress. Not to mention that they can be annoying in terms of parameters, Because they kill your CUC, and don't eat algae.

Note: this is coming from someone who loves hitchhikers.
 

Lavey29

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 29, 2021
Messages
15,161
Reaction score
16,352
Location
United States
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Bobbit worms are something tho. Full grown individuals are capable of eating lionfish. They are a predator that I don't think is meant for a system that is carefully maintained for minimal stress. Not to mention that they can be annoying in terms of parameters, Because they kill your CUC, and don't eat algae.

Note: this is coming from someone who loves hitchhikers.
Thats good info and I'm sure very accurate. I just have a hard time terminating living creatures that God put here for a reason. Google says some large wrasses take out juvenile bobbits so that would be my option if it wasn't to large
 

TOP 10 Trending Threads

WHAT AMOUNT OF LIVE ROCK AND SAND SHOULD BE PRIORITIZED FOR OPTIMAL BIODIVERSITY/FILTRATION?

  • 100% live rock + bagged sand

    Votes: 37 27.6%
  • 100% dry rock + 100% live sand

    Votes: 45 33.6%
  • 50/50 live/dry rock, 50/50 live/bagged sand

    Votes: 30 22.4%
  • 75% live rock, 25% live sand

    Votes: 12 9.0%
  • 25% live rock, 75% live sand

    Votes: 10 7.5%
Back
Top