reefbound
Aquarium Advice Freak
Hey all, Look what I caught trolling this morning... Im not sure what it is but Im suspecting a Fireworm...its about 6 to 9 inches long.
Is this a fireworm
- Thread starter reefbound
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Fluff
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'd agree with your suspicions of fireworm.
reefbound
Aquarium Advice Freak
Fluff said:
How do you tell if its the bad type? he his about a 1/2 wide and more like 10 inches long and quite red in color... That pic was taken minutes after capture and seems to have faded,but this morning he his quite red again in the QT tank.
Should I leave him out of the main or return him?
Fluff
Aquarium Advice Addict
The way I try to tell is by color and by looking at the bristles. Though the reflextion from the bottom of your tank may be making it seem more than is actually there. The common bristlworm is typically red and grey. They also usually have a sparse single row of bristles. Like this.
http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/pages/picture_pages/faq_bristle.html
A fireworm is solid in color and usually has two rows of bristles. Like this.
http://myunderwaterworld.com/curfireworm.htm
Fireworms also can be red, yellow and grey/greenish (probably more) in color.
http://www.luizrocha.com/Venezuela/slides/FireWorm.html
http://uk.geocities.com/matrix4d/marinelife2/fireworm.htm
http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/pages/picture_pages/faq_bristle.html
A fireworm is solid in color and usually has two rows of bristles. Like this.
http://myunderwaterworld.com/curfireworm.htm
Fireworms also can be red, yellow and grey/greenish (probably more) in color.
http://www.luizrocha.com/Venezuela/slides/FireWorm.html
http://uk.geocities.com/matrix4d/marinelife2/fireworm.htm
reefbound
Aquarium Advice Freak
Your second link, http://myunderwaterworld.com/curfireworm.htm Is more like whats in my Qt only the body is more red in color and the bristle are yellowish. I probably dont have to ask,but is he detrimental or beneficial?
EDIT: never mind... Quote "Fireworms are voracious predators that feed on soft and hard corals, anemones, and small crustaceans."
EDIT: never mind... Quote "Fireworms are voracious predators that feed on soft and hard corals, anemones, and small crustaceans."
Fluff
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yep, as beautiful as they are, they are a threat to inverts. Shame really.
reefbound
Aquarium Advice Freak
Fluff said:
That would explain all the empty shells around his rock.it really is a shame because the color is really striking.
How'd you catch it? I've been trying to catch some with a piece of capped pvc pipe with a couple holes drilled in it and a chunk of squid inside it... the larger bristleworms (fire actually) are staying away from the 'trap' even with it being in there for a couple days..
I turn off the tank lights and watch them get close, then turn away and go back into the rock.
I managed to actually grab one with tongs.. it promptly ripped itself out of them (he's a biggun!) and fled back into the chunk of rock..
Very large problem in my food rearing tank atm so any help is gladly accepted.
I turn off the tank lights and watch them get close, then turn away and go back into the rock.
I managed to actually grab one with tongs.. it promptly ripped itself out of them (he's a biggun!) and fled back into the chunk of rock..
Very large problem in my food rearing tank atm so any help is gladly accepted.
Well I found one way to bring these troublesome critters out... anti aiptasia stuff puts them into fits.. got tired of the worms avoiding the trap, so I decided to have a little experiment.
I used some Stop Aptasia (all natural reef safe green goo) on a hole one of the larger fireworms was hiding in (had the stuff out to take care of an anemone that had sprung up).
The worm came out IMMEDIATLY and was none too happy, but didn't do anything but wriggle around trying to get the stuff off itself.. easily removed at that point.
While it's not the intended use for this product, it does work and I imagine wouldn't be anymore detrimental to the tank then if you were following the instructions to take care of prob anemones.
Hope that helps (and hope it doesn't qualify as terribly evil)
Edit -
This method does indeed work well.. it ticks em off to no end to have that stuff sprayed in whatever hole or cranny they are staying in.. just removed a foot long sucker using this method.. they evacuate the rock and are quite easy to catch.
I used some Stop Aptasia (all natural reef safe green goo) on a hole one of the larger fireworms was hiding in (had the stuff out to take care of an anemone that had sprung up).
The worm came out IMMEDIATLY and was none too happy, but didn't do anything but wriggle around trying to get the stuff off itself.. easily removed at that point.
While it's not the intended use for this product, it does work and I imagine wouldn't be anymore detrimental to the tank then if you were following the instructions to take care of prob anemones.
Hope that helps (and hope it doesn't qualify as terribly evil)
Edit -
This method does indeed work well.. it ticks em off to no end to have that stuff sprayed in whatever hole or cranny they are staying in.. just removed a foot long sucker using this method.. they evacuate the rock and are quite easy to catch.
