Worm ID

[clr_newbie]

I was a little suprised to find this worm like creature in my tank today. He looks to be about 1 to 2 inches long. Any ideas on the name would be great. I hope its not a pest because i no longer know where he is.

Thanks in advance

 

[mrcrazypants05]

This picture is a little fuzzy, but I believe that is a fireworm.

http://fantasyreef.com/database/index.php?p=getitem&db_id=1&item_id=43

 

[clr_newbie]

Thanks crazypants for the link. The worm seems to be gray toward the center of his body and taper into a red end towards the outside. It did not appear to have the fuzz on the outside like the fireworm in the link. Any other possibilities?

 

[DurTBear]

Looks like a bristleworm to me...

http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/pages/picture_pages/faq_bristle.html

 

[melosu58]

I agree it looks like a bristle worm. I have several in my tanks. They are good at eating fish waste.

 

[clr_newbie]

The link durtbear provided definitely resembles the external anatomy. The coloring is not the same but I imagine bristleworms come in many coloring patterns. Thanks for the help all. I am going to ID it as a bristle worm unless someone else disagrees. Thanks all...

 

[Devilishturtles]

I vote for Bristleworm too. Fireworms look the same, but are rather rare, come mostly from the carribean I think, and have more tufts on the sides.

 

[roka64]

I agree, bristleworm. I consider them part of my clean up crew.

 

[mrcrazypants05]

Can I blame my 22" monitor? lol Fine I can admit I was wrong. Now that I look at it closer, it does look like a bristleworm. The red body threw me off, and I thought the frills were just blurry slightly... My bristleworm in my tank does have red on it though. The bristleworm that i havent seen like a month... I wonder if he's alright. I should call him sometime...

 

[roka64]

Don't worry about being wrong, I am, quite often. I just write it up as a learning experience.