caribian fireworm eating cloves :(

[tooldini]

Hello,, I have had a caribian fire worm in my reef tank for over 3 months and he never seemed to bother anything. I recently got some Neon green clove polyps that were beautiful. I got up one morning after having them for a couple weeks now I only have 2 polpys out of five or so When I shut the lights out tonight I waited then seen him come out and was going right after the cloves. I moved them since I had glued them to a shell. I have other cloves he doesn't bother because he never really leaves the area of on live rock it seems. NOW I NEED HIM GONE!!! What is the best way to remove him? He seems to be pretty long. Will a trap work or should I just bait him away with a silver side and manually try? of course I want the easiest. Any ideas will help.

thanks
Jeff

 

[lando]

These animals are voracious predators and will feed on hard and soft corals. I had a huge bearded fireworm in my tank that injured my rose BTA. They are very destructive in a reef environment. Careful removal is the best method. Do not touch it. They can be pretty fast. You can try a baited trap to get rid of it. steve-s suggested I get a small length of panty hose, put some shrimp in it and loosely tie the ends with string. the fireworm will crawl inside and it's bristles will become entangled in the material. I got luck and found mine moving in to finish the job on my BTA and snatched it up with a pair of tongs.

 

[lando]

Here are some pics of the one I cought.

 

[tooldini]

Thanks,, that looks just like mine,, only mine is more purple but it could be the lighting. Well it looks like he or someone finished them off last night sometime. You know were I can get anymore Bright green clove polyps for under 50.00. He will be gone by the end of the weekend.

thanks
Jeff

 

[got bait?]

Got mine here, but looks like they're out now.
http://www.farms-of-thesea.com/catalog/index.html

Keep in mind most of these corals are frags. I like to buy things small and watch them grow. I bought about ten frags from this site and all are beautiful.

 

[tooldini]

Thanks,,, I am gonna trap him tonight hopefully LOL dirty bastard ate all of them. I got them for $20.00 at LFS.

Jeff

 

[tooldini]

one survivor

I had one polyp I found near a rock. I glued it to a shell. I haven't caught the fire worm yet I tried the knee high trick and baited with krill he didn't fall for it. I guess I won't sleep tonight and hope he comes for the last one LOL

Jeff