Mystery Worm

[NRoman70]

Hello all.


I'm restarting my 75g. It's been down for a while. I decided to buy done live rock to reseed it and this morning I found this guy hanging out of one of the new pieces.

 

[ktomminello]

Looks like a brittle star- or 2 bristle worms

 

[MacDracor]

I'm with ktomminello on this. Either way, wicked cool pic! Watch the spot for a few days. If it moves from place to place and doesn't continue to appear in a pair or group, I'd say worm. If it stays in the same area and is usually in a pair or group, probably a star. Keep us posted!

 

[DaleHauze]

Yeah i had a lot of them in my tank. Lfs said that they're a good thing but also said to watch and not let them over run your tank. I got rid of mine by lowering the amount of feeding my fish to once per day

 

[NRoman70]

Thanks for the responses. Two days and its in the same spot. Comes out for a few then disappears. Last night I heard something coming from the tank that has me baffled. It sounded like tapping or clicking. It's a small rock only four pounds I can't imagine that there is a critter big enough in there that could make such a loud noise. I google it and it seems that there are others in the hobby that have experienced the same noise after adding live rock. It's either a pistol shrimp or a mantis shrimp. I was up till two in the morning trying to spot the culprit without any luck. I've never experienced anything like this and I'm wondering if I should be worried.

 

[MacDracor]

Well mini stars are harmless and bristle worms are super beneficial. The tapping, you correctly narrowed down. The old bottle trap technique should allow you to catch it for identification. If its a mantis, sell it! Heck, I'll buy it! I have a sump it can live in. Pistols are cool and fairly reef safe.

 

[mr_X]

There are also rock boring crabs that can make a bit of noise as they burrow in.
Yours is definitely a worm. See if you can pick it out here:
Worm Hitch Hikers

 

[MacDracor]

Doug, I hadn't considered the crabs. Do they make a comparable clicking?

 

[mr_X]

Doug, I hadn't considered the crabs. Do they make a comparable clicking?

You can definitely hear them. I mean, think about it- they actually dig a hole right through solid rock.

 

[NRoman70]

Haven't seen what is causing the tapping but I definitely hear it. I'm kind of confused...should I keep him or trap him? I've seen pics of them and they get huge!! Kind of cool but from the looks of it I would have a 75G mantis only tank?

 

[mr_X]

If it was a mantis shrimp, there is a possibility it would kill everything else. I doubt it is though. Pistol or crab would be my guess. I used to hear that clicking for years and never saw anything hurt. I was in there with a flashlight in the middle of the night for what seemed like months, and never found a thing.
If you got your rock from Florida, I would think mantis, but Indo, I would think otherwise.

 

[NRoman70]

I live close to my office. Leaving here for lunch and heading straight home to build and set a trap. I'll post pics if I get lucky.