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FAQs about Worms, Vermiform Animals Identification 11
Related FAQs: Worm IDs 1, Worm
IDs 2, Worm IDs 3,
Worm IDs 4,
Worm IDs 5, Worm
IDs 6, Worm IDs 7, Worm IDs 8,
Worm IDs 9,
Worm IDs 10, Worm
ID 12, & Polychaete Identification,
Flatworm Identification,
Invertebrate
Identification, Worms 1, Worms
2, Worms 3, Flatworms/Planaria, Fire/Bristleworms, FAQs
on: Worm Behavior,
Worm Compatibility, Worm Selection,
Worm Systems, Worm
Feeding, Worm Disease,
Worm Reproduction,
Related Articles: Worms, Featherduster
Worms,
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Unidentified red/purple
worm... bristle... 11/21/07
First off, I would like to thank you all for your vast knowledge. I would
not be a successful reef keeper without the help of your site.
<A pleasure to share, serve>
I have a worm in my live rock that I have not been able to identify through your
site or other research as well. It has many white legs like a centipede and the
body is red (somewhat bright, not deep red) and purple, only about 1" long.
<An apt description for one of many possible species of Errantiate
Polychaetes... A bristleworm>
The red covers the top first half of the body and the light purple covers the
top 2nd half. I haven't seen it doing any harm and was exploring a snail but did
not seem to do anything to it. I don't see it often and it comes out in the
light, which seems unusual. It's a very nice looking worm and has a dangerous
look to it, and doesn't seem to be a fireworm. It seems to be a type of bristle
worm, however, does not seem to be nocturnal. Any help in this identification
would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Sean T
<... Even with a pic this is difficult... could likely narrow down the guess
given a close up of the head... number, placement of eyes, palps et al... See
the Net re the scientific designation above. Bob Fenner>
Long Clear Thin Worms on
Rock... On top of Spaghetti (Worms) All Covered With Cheese... 11/9/07
Hey guys!
<Hi Jane, Mich here.>
I have recently added a new piece of very live rock into my tank about 2 weeks
ago. While the moon light was on last night, I noticed there were 4-5 long (4
inches, and can stretch) very thin, clear worms of some sort coming out of a
hole in my new piece of rock. They resemble fishing line and can stretch to long
lengths. They are a solid clear color with no obvious head I can see. Are these
harmful to my tank?
<Nope!>
Should I try to eradicate them,
<Nope!>
they are on the bottom of the rock, in a hard to reach area.
<Leave it be. Sounds like a Spaghetti worm (Terebellidae sp.) to me. They are
harmless scavengers feeding on particulate organic material and detritus. More
here: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-06/rs/index.php >
Thanks for your help!
<Welcome! Mich>
Jane
Worms!!! Help!!! 10/27/07
Hello,
I'm having a huge problem with a tube worm "tubiculous polychaete"?
<That's actually not an animal name. It's an adjective put before a descriptive
noun. Basically, it's just a fancy way of saying "tube worm.">
It started out as two that where in my tank for a couple years. They were really
cool at first, never multiplied or disturbed anything, just cast a silk line out
every now and then and would reel in various things that floated by.?
<They sound like Vermetid snails. They're actually not worms. Please see here:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rs/index.php>
Suddenly, after all this time, they have started multiplying exponentially. I've
literally got hundred of them and there silk is bothering corals and making the
tank look nasty.
<They're probably not bothering the corals, but they can be aesthetically
unpleasing.>
To top it off, the tubes they make are sharp and I've cut myself several times
on them. Do these things have any natural predators that I can put in the tank,
or is there some other way to get rid of them?
<I don't think they have any predators you could keep in an aquarium. But these
things usually go through booms and busts. They'll likely start to die down
eventually on their own. There are some desperate measures you could take
(involving things like NaOH), but if I were you, I'd just make my peace with
them for now and hope they go away eventually.>
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for all the great info!
Will
<De nada,
Sara M.>
Worm
Identification? – 10/04/07
Sorry for the blurry pics, but I was hoping you might get enough to
help me figure out if this is a good or bad worm. He only comes out at
night and the minute my flash goes off he is sucked up back in his hole.
The worm appears to be brown with white stripes. I would have to guess
it is more than 8 inches long, just how long I have no idea. When it is
extending, it appears to be coming out of itself. The head part looks
sort of like a short thick white feather duster when it comes out but it
almost immediately goes back into itself and repeats this action over
and over. It always comes out of the same hole every night, never
ventures. Thanks for all of your help!
Bellinda
<Does it look like a Sipunculid to you:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/pnutwrmidfaqs.htm
BobF>
Re: Worm Identification? 10/5/07
<Hi Bellinda, Lynn here this time! Bob’s off diving - lucky fellow!>
Thank you so much for your quick response. <On behalf of Bob, you’re very
welcome.> I have never seen it when it is not stretched out so it is hard to
tell. It stays in a hole in the rock all of the time and only comes out at
night.
<Typical of Sipunculids/Peanut Worms. I love these little guys. They remind me
of elephant trunks, the way they appear to snuffle around looking for food - and
wow, do they not like it when you shine a flashlight on them! It’s amazing how
quickly they can retract back into their little abodes (not that I blame them!).
They vary in color from shades of gray, brown, black, or white - some with bands
of those same colors, some without.>
However, I do believe that is what it is. I'm assuming from what I read that it
is safe to leave this worm in my aquarium.
<Absolutely. Sipunculids/peanut worms are harmless, beneficial, little
detritivores, and a joy to have/watch!>
Thanks Again,
Bellinda
<You're most welcome! -Lynn>
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Worm ID
please... Spaghetti Worm (Terebellidae spp.) 9/28/07
Hi Guys...
<Hi Jo, Mich here apologizing for the delay.>
I found another hitcher the other night...its the first time I’ve seen
him so I quickly snapped the pic before the lions, who were circling,
grabbed him up...He got tangled in my Elegance Coral, and after tugging
for a good 5 min.s, finally broke free and retreated back into the
smallest hole in the live rock...fully stretched he measured around 50cm
and was flat, but as he retreated, he took on a round shape a inched
himself backwards slowly...he is red and white striped any only about
2mm in diameter...again, I’ve not had any luck searching the web...
<I believe this is a spaghetti worm (Terebellidae spp.) My crew mate
Brenda found this image: http://www.poppe-images.com/images/image_info.php?picid=912498
>
Cheers and Thanks...
<Kind regards and welcome! Mich>
JO... |
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Worm ID/Control...No Photo,
Can Only Speculate – 08/30/07
I have been looking for the kind of tube worm I have. It is not a feather
duster. It is a white circle with hair around the circle. It is taking over my
tank. It is on every rock and on the glass etc.
<<I can’t really say what these might be without a good close-up photo. These
could be a small Sabellid worm species...or something more ominous like Hydroids
or Anemonia majano. Suggest you do a keyword search on both and see what you
think>>
How can I get rid of it.
<<The Sabellids will likely cycle out in time...but if these are Hydroids or
Anemonia majano they can be more problematic. For these you might consider some
of the solutions discussed here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/cav1i3/aiptasia_impressions/aiptaisia_impressions.htm
But “identification” is your first step>>
The store I use suggested I put a wrasse in the tank.
<<You might try taking a rock with these “worms” on it to your LFS and see if
they can provide a positive ID>>
I have a 24 gal. nano tank and I have a Fiji blue and its buddy a clown fish.
<<Mmm...this “Blue Devil” damsel and the clownfish will make it difficult to add
more fishes in this small volume>>
I put the wrasse in and saved its life by taking it out.
<<Indeed...>>
My tank does not look like a fish tank it is full of the worms and that's all
you see. Is there some other way I can get rid of them?
<<Make sure your filtration/water quality is up to par and be diligent about not
overfeeding>>
Thanks I will pad your coffer.
<<Cool!>>
It's great to have a place to ask a question.
<<Indeed, but I can only speculate at this point without a photograph of the
organism. As stated earlier, do some keyword searches on the NET re the names I
gave you...once you make an ID you can search our site re “controls” for the
identified organism>>
Thanks,
Pat Zahner
<<Regards, EricR>>
Worm ID…
Sipunculid 8/22/07
Thank you for your time,
<Welcome, Mich here.>
I've been visiting your site for a few years and I absolutely love it,
<Nice to hear!>
but this is my first question. As a background, I decided to try a 10g
tank since I had to leave my 150g and 55g at my parent’s house because
of the frequency of me moving. I got some sand and rocks from the 150g
and started it. It did ok for a while and put in 5-6 hermit crabs and
two snails. I realized though that one cannot maintain a tank when it
evaporates 10-15% of its volume a day so I took out the snails and crabs
and started to take out the rocks when I found a worm hanging out of the
bottom of one of them. It looked very cool so I figured I could try and
keep it alive. I positioned the rock so I could see it better but it
disappeared after a couple days and I couldn't find, and thought it had
died. I kept doing top-offs and the powerhead and lights just to see,
but after a couple weeks I again decided to break down the tank. I
stopped topping off and the volume cut in half. All of a sudden the worm
reappeared in the same hole in the rock, slowly extending itself,
possibly probing the sand. This thing had lived through very bad water
quality to this point. It could retract similar to an earthworm but had
more of a nub at the end resembling a mouth to my guess. I didn't have
any ro water or supplies since I was breaking the tank down and sadly
had to watch the little guy die over a couple days, not having any time
to take it to my parents or knowledge of its good or badness.
<Was a good one.>
The constricted black ring formed right before he died. I pulled him out
and inspected. The front end, left side of the ruler picture, was light
blue with small specks and the back end, second picture, was white with
black spots, which I found are tiny barbs. The back end was pretty deep
in the rock and almost anchored in. Sorry this is so long, but even with
the Internet I couldn't convince myself what it was and I find it very
fascinating.
<From your description and images I am fairly certain this was a Peanut
worm (Sipunculid spp.). Sipunculids are beneficial detritus feeders. You
can see some similar images here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/pnutwrmidfaqs.htm
Thanks a lot,
<Welcome! Mich>
Adam
p.s. I have a larger version of the ruler shot, about 600kbs that shows
some better detail including some internal organs if you're interested.
<Sure! Please send along, will be posted.> |
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Id help:
Epitoke - 8/14/07
Hey everyone,
<Hey Noah>
I'll start with the required (but well deserved of course) Wow your site
is awesome, I love it. <Thanks!> Anyway, just recently I found this odd
little thing in my tank (pictures included). The white part is the head,
and it does seem to have visible eyes, mouth, etc. It behaves very
oddly. It will swim like an eel to the top of my tank, sit there trying
to get its head out of the water (at least that's what it looks like),
then suddenly stop moving and sink to the bottom of the tank. It does
this entire cycle maybe once every 5 minutes. Any help would be greatly
appreciated.
<Well Noah, what you’ve got there is an epitoke, sometimes called a
“swarmer”. It’s a reproductive form of an errant polychaete worm (sorry
- can’t quite see enough to give a better Id). There are several
different ways these worms reproduce. In this case, the back half
develops into a segment filled with gametes (eggs or sperm). When the
time is right (usually a phase of the lunar cycle), the worm emerges and
the posterior section breaks away. That section then swims up into the
water column, and releases its gametes in a mass spawning event. The
head/anterior section returns to the bottom and regenerates. By the way,
with only one of these present in your tank, you don’t have to worry
about an imminent plague of polychaetes! For more information, please
Google the terms “epitoke” or “epitoky”. Also, here are a couple of
photos of one I had in my tank for comparison. It had a very similar
looking segmented posterior section and is in the Family Nereididae.
Size-wise, it was a little over 4.5” long. http://wetwebfotos.com/usermedia/high/0/2470_44.jpg
http://wetwebfotos.com/usermedia/high/0/2470_46.jpg >
Thank you very much,
Noah
<You're very welcome! -Lynn>
Re: Id help: Epitoke - 8/14/07
Thanks again!
<Anytime, Noah! It’s pretty strange to see something like that swimming
around in your tank, isn’t it (but pretty neat too!). <lol> I hate to
admit it, but that one I photographed initially scared the living
daylights out of me. I’d just woken up, the lights were still off in the
tank, and I went in for a close look to check things out. Evidently, the
worm had been floating/resting up at the surface, and suddenly decided
to zoom by, right in front of me. I jumped back about a foot and let out
the most embarrassingly girly shriek ever. I laugh about it now, but at
the time…yikes! The lesson I learned was to avoid going in for those
close-ups first thing in the morning! I figure it spares me, as well as
the creatures living in my tank! <g> Anyway, it was a pleasure helping
you, and please let us know if there’s anything else we can do for you.
–Lynn> Re: Worm
Identification, Follow-up - 8/17/07
Thanks again crew!
<You're very welcome!>
Sadly, the little guy was sucked into a powerhead last night.:(
<Aw, I’m sorry to hear that. Thank you for sharing the photos and
experience with us, though. By the way, here are several good links for
future reference re: polychaete Id:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-03/rs/index.php, and:
http://home2.pacific.net.ph/~sweetyummy42/hitchworms.html. Good luck,
and thanks for keeping in touch. – Lynn> |
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Re: Identification?
Worm 8/15/07
Ill try to find it and get it out of tank, should be able to get a
close-up of it then!
<Real good>
Re: Identification?
8/16/07
Ok, so i got it and looked at it under a microscope.
It has 8 legs (or whatever the proper term is) on each side of the
forward half of the body.
It has two dark lines going from head to tail, and a visible blood
vessel (or something of the sort) that has a visible pulse.
It is about 3 mm wide at the front half, and 4-5 on the back.
It is about 14 mm long.
Some more pictures are included, hopefully they will be better.
Noah
<Ahh, thank you for these. I do agree with Lynn that this is very likely
an epitoke... a "reproductive unit" of a polychaete... Very common in
the world's oceans... and not a worry. Bob Fenner> |
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Worm That I
Can't Identify and Is This Worm Bad For My Tank? 8/8/07
Hi,
<Hello Ed, Mich here.>
I purchased live rock a few days ago to add to my tank. I currently have
a Blue tang, two fire shrimp, two Percula clowns, a Firefish goby, three
Blue Hermit crabs, and a starfish that I cannot remember the name of
right now.
<Sea stars do seldom fair well in captivity. I would discourage you from
any future purchases. Brittle stars generally do much better and can be
a beneficial addition to your tank.>
My parents have a 55 gallon back at home in Florida. They only have one
Yellow tang in the tank at the moment, and have had it for a few years
now.
<This tank is too small for a Zebrasoma flavescens. Should be in a 75
gallon tank at a minimum.>
They had told me that a hitchhiking worm had grown to a large size and
was prey to the tang. I have recently purchased some live Fiji rock and
have noticed that a hitchhiking worm was present in the rock. The
pictures are below, is this a worm that I should be fearful of?
<Let's put it this way... I would not name him George or hug him or pet
him or squeeze him... Is definitely an errant polychaete worm, hard to
tell much beyond that. Most are harmless scavengers but a few can cause
problems. Is hard to get a perspective as to size. But generally, bigger
is badder! So if this guy is bigger than you basic earth worm it may be
time for manual extraction.>
I do not want to lose any of my livestock over this. What can I do to
remove it?
<Manual removal is often the most successful. If the head is removed it
is unlikely to regenerate.>
Is there an invertebrate or a fish that I can add to the tank for
removal of this worm?
<There are natural predators but I can't think of any suitable for a
home aquarium.>
Thanks in advance!
<Welcome! Mich>
Re: Worm that I can't identify and is
this worm bad for my tank? Yep! 8/12/07
Hey Mich,
<Hi Ed!>
Thanks again for the reply.
<Welcome!>
The worm is about 6-8 inches long and about half inch wide.
<Yipe! Yipe! Yipe! Get rid'a that bad boy!>
I was asking about the Peppermint and Cleaner shrimp since I am looking
at alternatives to Pseudochromis and Arrow Crabs. I am trying to find
something that will live in harmony with my inhabitants but will "take
care" of my worms, in the deadly sense!
<Heeheee! I understand why. I think manual removal will likely be the
easiest method here, with a pair of forceps or thongs not with your
fingers of course!>
Ed
<Good luck, Mich> |
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