Worms...

[Flyerfridge]

Any idea what these are? It looks like I have about 3 in my tank. They are pretty gross. I was wondering if they are harmful or not.

 

[Reefing Madness]

Bristle Worms. Part of the natural order of the clean up crew. They are not harmful in the smaller sizes, but if you see ones that are just huge, well, they need to go. You can keep the population in check by not letting your system have excess nutrients running around, thats what they will feed off.

 

[Flyerfridge]

These look to be about 2 to 2-1/2". Should I get them out?
How do you do that?

 

[Beej1254]

DONT touch them without protection! Until you are confident they are all out(if you choose to remove them) I wouldn't grab any rocks or even do any tank work without gloves.

You can make traps to collect them out of cheap materials you might already have. Or if you see one you can pick it out with tweezers or something. Be extra careful not to break them or they will just become 2.

As said before not having excess nutrients will keep them in check and some people actually prefer to keep these in the tank because they can get into the smallest holes and clean them out like a wire brush.

They can grow to be massive though.

 

[54seaweed]

bristol worms are harmless to your tank they are a good part of your CUC ,
all though they are safe for your system they can cause you pain ,
if you touch one those bristols will get in your skin causing a burning iching sensation, almost like that of a bee sting ,

 

[markodeniro]

I have been stung by one horrible for a few days but they do keep the tank clean look creepy but I kept mine in


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[Reefing Madness]

I'd just leave the ones you have alone. By bigger I mean in the foot ranges. They can get rather large, but for the most part, they are manageable, and quite harmless. They are a good thing to have in the tank because they help keep it clean.

 

[Flyerfridge]

hitchikers

Thanks for the responses!

I just stopped by a LFS to pick up some base rock. When I got home I noticed some hitchhikers on one of the rocks. Any ideas of what it is? It kinda looks like a sponge. Some are super yellow (picture 2) and some are a pale pink (picture 3). There is also some weird mustard looking substance (picture 1)..
Finally there are ones that look like little red leafs (picture 4).

I am holding off putting in my tank until I can figure out whether they are detrimental or not.

 

[Beej1254]

I personally have no idea what any of those things are haha. Sorry I'm no help.

Is your tank already setup and cycled? If it is then I recommend you cure the rock before adding it to your DT or you might have some major issues.

 

[markodeniro]

They could be sponges and the last one could be type of mushroom


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