Bristleworm or fireworm?

[DeanoL]

Hi,

Just found these when I lifted up a pad of green star polyps that was on the sand bed.

Friend or foe? Have removed the ones I saw.

Thanks for any help and advice!

 

[Reefering1]

Looks clearly red compared to my brown/ tan bristles...

 

[DeanoL]

Just realised typo in title of thread bloody autocorrect....not sure how to correct it though

 

[DeanoL]

Looks clearly red compared to my brown/ tan bristles...

Yeah they look a pinky red colour. I'll see if I can get some other pics

 

[moldos]

looks like just normal bristleworms, if they were fireworms their body would look different and they would have much more pronounced white spines

 

[ptrahan]

I vote bristleworms.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Bristleworms.

 

[Miami Reef]

Just realised typo in title of thread bloody autocorrect....not sure how to correct it though

I read this in a British accent.

The same thing happened to me when I made a thread. It made me say firework, too!

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Just realised typo in title of thread bloody autocorrect....not sure how to correct it though

I asked the mods to correct it

 

[UMALUM]

Bristleworms.

What about this one?

 

[Miami Reef]

What about this one?

Fireworm IMO.

 

[Fish Styx]

Hi,

Just found these when I lifted up a pad of green star polyps that was on the sand bed.

Friend or foe? Have removed the ones I saw.

Thanks for any help and advice!

These are bristleworms. Some people hate them. I like them as part of the CuC, provided their numbers don't get out of control.

 

[Fish Styx]

Fireworm IMO.

Agreed.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

What about this one?

Check out

Oenone Fulgida​

 

[WheatToast]

What about this one?

Fireworm IMO.

Agreed.

Check out

Oenone Fulgida​

I agree with fireworm, not all of which are harmful (though I am unsure which species you have since it is so small). They are distinguished by their puffy, red gills that line their flanks alongside their white bristles (setae). I seem to have Pherecardia striata in my own tank which does not appear to have caused any damage.
Fireworm examples:
https://chucksaddiction.thefishestate.net/hitchworms.html
Oenone fulgida is another worm that I have, which has a very different body structure. They have larger eyes (the eyes on common bristle and fireworms are practically invisible since they are so small), a longer snout, and fleshy lobules instead of white bristles (setae). They are also distinctly orange-yellow in coloration and their innards are not visible from the outside (common bristle and fireworms have visibly black innards). Screw them to high heaven! They are the reason I cannot keep most grazing snails alive.