Bristle worm trying to kill my fish

[DI68]

I thought bristle worms only devoured dead fish? My hubby caught one the other week with a pair of kitchen tongs. It was ravelled around my much alive scooter blenny like a snake. Last night I watched one following my target mandarin but this morning while the lights were still off it full on went after my sleeping anthea and latch onto its tail. The anthea woke and flicked it and then I spotted it coming out from under the rock at the front of the tank going for my sleeping clarki clown! Hubby has his kitchen tongs again on the ready.......


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[mr_X]

Not a common bristle worm. The worm you describe had to be pretty fast and have eyes.

 

[jeffaquarius]

If the prey is asleep and not moving it is vulnerable to a hungry worm. That is a sign that there is not enough extra leftover for them to eat.

 

[DI68]

This is the worm ....grabbed the rock he was hiding in however when he stretches out he is much longer. Doug he wasn't slow in approaching the fish. Can't see any eyes ...looked more like he was lifting his head and using sensors to find the fish.


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[DI68]

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[mr_X]

Hard to tell but are the bristles moving like legs? Which seems to be the head, top left or bottom right?

 

[DI68]

Lower right...the end is the redder section


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[DI68]

Sorry-no the bristles aren't moving like legs.


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[mr_X]

I can't ID the worm. If it's a common bristle worm, they move too slow to catch a healthy fish. A worm that size would tell me there is plenty of food available in your tank.

 

[Gvillboy]

Oh wow that's crazy to have a worm that size in your tank.... I would flip. How much and how often do you feed?

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[Amitas]

It's defiantly a polychaete, however I have to agree with mr. X identification would be hard without seeing the specimen. However some polychaete worms are predatory, bobbits for example are not only predators but very very efficient ones

 

[boardsurfer]

From the picture, it looks like a bristleworm to me. I haven't seen any quick enough to catch fish, but nothing surprises me any longer...

 

[DI68]

Found a couple more big ones creeping up on my fish as the lights went out. It looks like my green mandarin has had a bite taken out of his tail. Looking up traps now.


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[Slightlylooney]

Buy a file fish ...mine fights every night trying to pull them from underneath the rocks


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[mr_X]

Filefish tend to eat corals though, and they also sleep, so if there's a fast moving predator(s) in the tank, it will not be out of danger.

 

[Slightlylooney]

If that's the case maybe wrong choice but I've had good results with my aptasia filefish


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[Amitas]

If your dead set on getting rid of them. An arrow crab is your best option, polychaete worms are their natural food source in the wild.however I highly doubt these species of bristle worms is your problem. They are not biologically capable of preforming these events, nor is it the ecological niche they fufill. Ophiodromus flexuosus, are detritivores, and predictors of micro organisms within the substrate and Abiotic structures.

 

[Amitas]

Predators*, I hate auto correct.

 

[DI68]

Amitas my hubby had to pull one off my healthy scooter blenny and I have watched them go after my sleeping fish, latching on to the back of one until it woke and shook it off. We thought we got rid of the big ones but there are more. I don't think it's us over feeding, I think they are feeding themselves as I notice fish missing and can't find them, including an anthias which isn't small.


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[Gregcoyote]

Just set a brissle worm trap.


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