What is this?

[Cb24]

Found this in my tank what is it?

 

[mr_X]

It looks like a common bristle worm to me. A free member of your cleanup crew.

 

[AbsoluteFaye]

Following. Because I wanna say bristle worm but it looks more like a fire worm to me. Hopefully someone has better input.

 

[obscurereef]

The shape/color makes it look like a fireworm.

 

[AbsoluteFaye]

Mr X beat me! I'd trust what he says.

 

[mr_X]

This, I'd call a fireworm-

 

[Cb24]

Are they bad?

 

[not_again]

Are they bad?

Its a bristle worm... fire worm have the bristles all over there body whereas bristle worms have them on their sides

 

[Cb24]

So they are good then?

 

[MINItron]

As mr_X said it is a free addition to you clean up crew. They eat detritus along with snails and crabs.

 

[obscurereef]

http://www.biol.andrews.edu/evergla...nd_worms/orange_fireworm/orange_fireworm.html

It resembles this imo which is a fireworm, but Mr. X is probably right. It's probably a bristle worm then.

 

[MINItron]

Fireworm and bristleworm really are two names for the same thing. They are only a problem if they overpopulate, or are large enough to bother your livestock. Any bristleworm will give you a painful stick. The ones typically referred to as fireworms are just worse than others.

That being said there are some species that are damaging no matter the size from what I understand, but I don't have any experience with those.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Here's one I shot in the wild in a underwater cave. He was about 7" long and could deliver quite a burn.