Random little worm(?) guy

[Opabinia]

Hey all!
i found this tiny guy thats probably 7mm long give or take (accidentally caught him). Just wondered if anyone knew what this was as it’s kind of cute? I want to assume harmless creature

 

[StartingATank]

Following Along. Maybe it is like a baby bristleworm? That is really interesting

 

[EnterName]

"Bristle worm" is a very broad term. Polychaete is a whole taxonomic class of different organisms. Some are "good" some are "bad".

For example Dorvilleidae are mostly harmless while Eunicidae can cause quite some trouble. Both are related to each other and belong to the Eunicida order making the differentiation a bit difficult when you aren't very familiar with them. I could imagine this specimen belongs to one of those families, but I lack the experience to say whether it's a good or a bad guy.

My rather blind guess is Dorvilleidae, judging from size and antenna.

 

[Opabinia]

Just wanted to add some bonus pictures as they are a bit clearer but not great

 

[EnterName]

The white "collar" is worrying me. While it's not a perfect indicator, it's something to look out for as far as I learned. We really need someone that knows more about these guys.

ISpeakForTheSeas appears very busy at the moment, so maybe one of the #reefsquad people knows more

 

[Troylee]

Woah! Never seen one of those lol.. I have no clue.