bristle worm ????

[albie611]

i found a 12 in long bristle worm in my tank today......what cought my eye was that he was eating my green zoa's...he came out of a rock crevice latched onto a cluster of 4 or so and then proceded to pull them free and then disapeared into the rock...all within a few seconds ...well i then spent the next hour baiting and trapping him in a rigid tube...

so the question is..... what do i do with him now that he's out of the tank?

 

[Hawkeye]

Someone on the board who is comfortable with the worm (and doesn't have zoas) may take it off your hands. Or just someone who wants to feed some FOWLR tank.

On the other hand a human disposal is an alternative...

 

[albie611]

well he's in a container with netting over the top for now
if anyone wants hime let me know...otherwise i have to dispose of him..

 

[reefitup]

Out of curiosity...

Would we be able to say that it's a fireworm vs run of the mill bristle worm since it's eating zoos?

I have several, what I refer to as, bristle worms in my tank, but they've never eaten anything (zoos). I always understood that the Fireworms were more inclined to eat a zoo than your normal bristleworm?

Any worm weenies out there know the difference??

 

[magic]

Your local LFS would probably take it if no one wants it. Alot of them sell bristleworms.

 

[chaoscat]

How did trap him? I suspect I have some the the same variety ( only smaller) doing the same thing.

 

[Hawkeye]

Out of curiosity...

Would we be able to say that it's a fireworm vs run of the mill bristle worm since it's eating zoos?

I have several, what I refer to as, bristle worms in my tank, but they've never eaten anything (zoos). I always understood that the Fireworms were more inclined to eat a zoo than your normal bristleworm?

Any worm weenies out there know the difference??

hermodice carunculata is from the atlantic so it's possible that is the culprit if albie has gulf of mexico LR or purchased LR from someone else who had LR from that area. Hard to tell from the pic - and I am not an expert at all...you'll need to put some water in there and get a close up shot of the head - then post it on Dr. Ron Shimek's forum on Marine Depot.

On the other hand if albie has everything in the tank from the Pacific then it's unlikely to be the bearded fire worm and just some other predatory species.

The vast majority of bristle worms are supposedly scavengers. Still at 12 inches I would have probably yanked it also.

Your local LFS would probably take it if no one wants it. Alot of them sell bristleworms.

U mean for free? Maybe...I never asked any of my lfs if they want bristleworms - seems counter-productive since they'd rather sell hermits/snails at a much higher markup.

 

[albie611]

How did trap him? I suspect I have some the the same variety ( only smaller) doing the same thing.

i used a 1/2 inch rigid tube about 18 inches long,baited the end with shrimp and stuck it in the tank neer his hidding place...after a few minutes he started climbing up the tube to get to the bait...after he was completly out of the rock i lifted the tube out of the tank and put him in a holding container with mesh netting covering it

 

[HEMI_Andy]

Throw him in your fuge or sump, if you have some rocks in there for him to hide in.