What the hell is this ????

[Kim Kipper]

Have just been carrying out my regular tank maintenance. After cleaning the debris from the sand I was looking in the bucket for any baby fish and I spotted It !

Looks like an earthworm, about 3.5" long but it has legs all along both sides, like a millipede.

It is salmon pink in colour with a bright red vein (as in blood) running the length of it's body.

Also looks like it has been eating my sand. I have black sand and I can see it inside.

Don't want to kill it but worried about putting it back in the tank in case it is dangerous to them.

Please advise

 

[Allivymar]

Hrmmm...

What do you feed your fish? Do you feed them any live foods?

I'm sorta at a loss on this one. It doesn't sound like a fly/beetle larvae so far. Can you get a pic or give more of a description (mouth parts, type of eyes if there are any for example).

And just to clarify, this is a FW tank yes? What sort of fish are in there?

 

[LondonGman]

someone once had a similar experience on this topic http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=9933 and below was my response

If you did not buy them in the LFS, and they do not look like babies of any of the organism you did buy; then that means they names are not on the guest list, and they have gatecrashed you tank party and should be bounced off the dance floor. I think??
Only the pretty ones should be allowed in.

 

[Kim Kipper]

Allivymar,

Thanks for reply. Yes it's a freshwater tank.

Can't buy live foods in UK anymore. My tank is about 3 months old now. I bought some great plants from an on-line store that did have various free animals - snails, hydra etc.

Nothing like this though. Have been looking on Google and closest I can see to it is a Bristleworm. Not sure if they live in FW though ?

HAve just taken a photo but will have to wait until tomorrow to post it. Getting late over here.

 

[Allivymar]

Ok cool. You know LOL I was thinking bristleworm too...is why I asked if it was FW. As far as I know they are only a SW creature.

Sounds like something that came in on the plants; I'll be looking for the pic tomorrow!

 

[guppylove]

Kim Kipper i dont know where you shop but i get live food every week for my fish

 

[vega]

Post Pic would help us a lot ...

 

[grimlock3000]

Worms living in the sand almost 4 inches long??? I would have boiled the entire contents of the tank the moment I saw it and put the fish sat in a glass bottom QT tank 8O

Anyway, I am really interested to see this thing. Maybe you could buy a small tank and keep it in there seperate from the fish. Or with some top dwellers, in case the worm decides to go for the kill

 

[Kim Kipper]

Have attached a picture. Thanks for looking.

It's still alive. Don't like the way it looks at me !

 

[Electrobes]

WTF is that!?!? 8O Dude I've had tarantulas, dealt with snakes, yadda yadda, but if anyone appraoched me with that.. I would be like "hell naw", not unless I had some radio active protection gloves or some deal... too bad we don't have the oogly and spooky thingamajig photo contest.. you would definately take the prize on that thing!

 

[Electrobes]

I looked up some worms.. freshwater and here is the closest I got thus far.. apparently those aren't supposed to be legs maybe? Apparently they come in all sorts of colors and can with stand a hella lot

 

[alarmguy66]

That thing looks like a blood worm to me. We use them to fish in VA and NC. Here is one way to tell. When you hold a bloodworm in your hand he will push his mouth out of one end and it has 4 "claws" on it. The mouth is a very nasty looking thing, but they are harmless to hold. Fish like to eat them.

Thats my guess.

 

[Electrobes]

can a blood worm survive under water? (lack of knowledge is astounding.. I know )

 

[sumphead]

I've never seen a bloodworm like that, and I've used em alot fishing for cats. My guess is whatever it is is came in on the plants roots and is probably subterrainian. Also the bloodworms I am thinking of will eventually drown in water. I guess I wasn't any help afterall. I guess it could be a UK or european species us USers wouldn't know.

 

[Allivymar]

Ok, I am taking a bit of a shot in the dark here, but I'm quite sure its a centipede or a millipede.

I came across this website: http://www.earthlife.net/insects/diplopoda.html . In the ecology section, the scond to last paragraph describes the Polydemus denticulata: "Some species in South America survive flooding by being able to live and breath underwater by means of a plastron (a plastron is an layer of air that adheres to the body and works as a physical lung allowing for the transmission of gasses). Species such as Polydemus denticulata can survive at least 75 days underwater. "

Also came across some other posts of folks who has what seems to be the same thing in their tanks, although I don't see any definitive answers:
http://fins.actwin.com/aquatic-plants/month.200310/msg00250.html
http://pub157.ezboard.com/fthetropicaltankdiscussionforum41828frm17.showMessage?topicID=602.topic

 

[Enki]

It looks like some sort of annelida polychaetes

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/annelida/annelida.html

Has some info.

Seems it would be beneficial unless it ate fish or carried/vectored disease...

 

[madasafish]

Good God !!!!!
That's no small creature to find in your tank. If I'd found it I would have run. That is truly frightening!

This is really a new one for me, too. I've heard of and seen bristleworms, but have never seen anything like this in a FW tank!

Those leggy things look like scilia to me, not legs, btw. A way of getting around, but not actual appendages. I'd love to do some research and help, but I'm in the middle of writing a BIG paper. If I finish and nobody's come up with any other advice, I'll do some research.

 

[alarmguy66]

The blood worm is also called the Tubifex Worm, or aquatic angleworm. It can live in low oxygen conditions and yes, that means underwater too, as long as it has some type of soil to anchor itself to.

 

[William]

what the....


Thats freakier then heck! I got goosepimples just looking at the pic. 8O

 

[sumphead]

I think i may have gotten ahead of myself with you alarmguy. The bloodworms i was thinking of is a wee bit different but I believe now you are right. Glycera di Branchiata is also known as the bloodworm and can live in both fresh and saltwater. Here is a picture:

http://www.mainebait.com/bloodworm.html