Is this monster a fireworm?

[Sink_or_Swim]

This guy has been in my tank almost a year... I've only ever seen part of it, but from what I can tell it's got to be at least 6"+ and it's as wide as my finger. It comes out in the daytime all the time, and also irritates my BTA as you can see in the blue pic where it is snaking its way through holes in the rock. It tried stealing my jawfish's burrow the other day too! The red things along its sides between the white bristles are really fluffy and wave in the current. It just doesn't look like any regular bristleworm I've ever seen in friend's tanks or my LFS tanks... I'm afraid to touch anything in the tank without gloves on. I also kind of want it out of there because the rock it likes to hide in is part of the cave that most of my fish like to hang out in - and I'm worried it could harm one of them. It's huge!

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I'm not an expert, but that looks like a fireworm to me.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

I'm not an expert, but that looks like a fireworm to me.

That's what the owner of my LFS thought when I showed him pics too... yuck. I don't even know how it got in my tank - other than on the ONE thing I didn't dip (a rock with a bunch of mushrooms I got from a local reefer... my very first corals). I remember spotting a small worm shortly after adding it to the tank, and assuming it was a bristleworm (since she definitely had them in her tank). It grew into this beast though... I've just had a hard time from all my Google searches trying to ID it. If it's a fireworm I want it out for sure.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

That's what the owner of my LFS thought when I showed him pics too... yuck. I don't even know how it got in my tank - other than on the ONE thing I didn't dip (a rock with a bunch of mushrooms I got from a local reefer... my very first corals). I remember spotting a small worm shortly after adding it to the tank, and assuming it was a bristleworm (since she definitely had them in her tank). It grew into this beast though... I've just had a hard time from all my Google searches trying to ID it. If it's a fireworm I want it out for sure.

Hopefully someone better at worm ID will chime in for a certain ID, but to me it looks like it may be Hermodice carunculata - the bearded fireworm.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

Hopefully someone better at worm ID will chime in for a certain ID, but to me it looks like it may be Hermodice carunculata - the bearded fireworm.

Yeah I figured I'm never going to figure it out on my own so time to enlist the help of those who would know. Bearded fireworm = one of the bad worms, correct? I don't think it's munching on any corals... but I really don't like it hanging out in the jawfish's burrow and touching it with its bristles. And it's just gross - doesn't move like regular bristleworms I've seen... it "walks" like a centipede.

 

[vetteguy53081]

This guy has been in my tank almost a year... I've only ever seen part of it, but from what I can tell it's got to be at least 6"+ and it's as wide as my finger. It comes out in the daytime all the time, and also irritates my BTA as you can see in the blue pic where it is snaking its way through holes in the rock. It tried stealing my jawfish's burrow the other day too! The red things along its sides between the white bristles are really fluffy and wave in the current. It just doesn't look like any regular bristleworm I've ever seen in friend's tanks or my LFS tanks... I'm afraid to touch anything in the tank without gloves on. I also kind of want it out of there because the rock it likes to hide in is part of the cave that most of my fish like to hang out in - and I'm worried it could harm one of them. It's huge!

It is and it’s eviction time !! Best removal as you dont want to handle them will be a litre or 2 litre bottle trap as shown below and baited with shrimp

After youve caught it , they have special tanks for this creature as shown below:

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

It is and eviction time !! Best removal as you dont want to handle them will be a litre or 2 litre bottle trap as shown below and baited with shrimp

After youve caught it , they have special tanks for this creature as shown below:

That's what I feared... Definitely time for a trap and a trip to the Porcelain God then!

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Yeah I figured I'm never going to figure it out on my own so time to enlist the help of those who would know. Bearded fireworm = one of the bad worms, correct? I don't think it's munching on any corals... but I really don't like it hanging out in the jawfish's burrow and touching it with its bristles. And it's just gross - doesn't move like regular bristleworms I've seen... it "walks" like a centipede.

Yeah, to my knowledge pretty much anything that might be called a fireworm (genera Hermodice and Eurythoe) are coral or other sedentary invertebrate eaters - that said, the way they eat is pretty abnormal:

"Fireworms are voracious predators that feed on soft and hard corals, anemones, and small crustaceans. They engulf the last few centimeters of the tip of a branching coral, such as Acropora cervicornis (staghorn coral), in its inflated pharynx and remove the coral tissue right from the skeleton. They typically spend 5-10 minutes at each branch tip, visiting several, and the “skinned” branches are apparent by their white ends."
Source:

https://www.marinebio.org/species/bearded-fireworms/hermodice-carunculata/

That said, fireworms are opportunistic scavengers that eat pretty much anything they can get, though at least some of them seem to have a strong preference for fish - importantly, they also lack teeth, so they won't be preying actively on any fish in your tank; they have to be able to fit the entire piece they're eating in their mouth.

Tough, armed and omnivorous: Hermodice carunculata (Annelida: Amphinomidae) is prepared for ecological challenges | Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom | Cambridge Core

Tough, armed and omnivorous: Hermodice carunculata (Annelida: Amphinomidae) is prepared for ecological challenges - Volume 97 Issue 5

www.cambridge.org

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www.scielo.br

 

[Bj’s Reef]

Please post a picture when you catch it.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

Please post a picture when you catch it.

Oh I definitely will - I'm very curious to find out how big it actually is. I almost feel bad evicting it (my son likes it and named it "Wormy") lol... but it's gotta go!

 

[JoshH]

Oh I definitely will - I'm very curious to find out how big it actually is. I almost feel bad evicting it (my son likes it and named it "Wormy") lol... but it's gotta go!

Do you have a section of your sump you could banish it to?

 

[GHOSTLY]

I really love fireworms but they're horrible fkr the tank. I removed a big one with chopsticks then used a turkey baster to suck it out of the tank

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

Do you have a section of your sump you could banish it to?

If I did I totally would sump it, but I'm running a canister filter on this tank. I may actually see if anyone locally wants it for their sump or something - you never know! It'd still be good CUC as long as it has no coral or fish to bother. I'd feel really bad if someone got tagged by its bristles though...

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

I really love fireworms but they're horrible fkr the tank. I removed a big one with chopsticks then used a turkey baster to suck it out of the tank

Yeah he actually creeps me out less than the regular bristleworms - he's like a fluffy alien worm, lol. Would be kinda cool in a little tank by itself, if someone would want it. I almost grabbed some tongs to try to grab it last time it came partway out of the rock, but when I get close to it, it pulls back into the rock super fast. I'm scared I'll end up ripping it in half... and it's too fat to be sucked up into any of the turkey basters I have. My melanurus wrasse even stays away from it. I know I need it out of my tank, but I still feel bad killing it. :/

 

[JoshH]

If I did I totally would sump it, but I'm running a canister filter on this tank. I may actually see if anyone locally wants it for their sump or something - you never know! It'd still be good CUC as long as it has no coral or fish to bother. I'd feel really bad if someone got tagged by its bristles though...

Sounds like an excellent opportunity for an upgrade...

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

Sounds like an excellent opportunity for an upgrade...

Haha, this tank is already a recent upgrade from a smaller AIO. Main reason I didn't do a sump is the stand doesn't allow for it (and I love the stand I got because it matches our furniture, lol). Believe me, I'm already thinking up ways to convince my hubby I need an even bigger tank when we eventually move and have more space, lol!

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I know I'm late to the party, but yes, definitely a fireworm
(I have no problem with regular bristleworms but fireworms freak me out!)

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

I know I'm late to the party, but yes, definitely a fireworm
(I have no problem with regular bristleworms but fireworms freak me out!)

That's what I was afraid of... I'm going to try making a trap. Funny thing is, other than the fact that this is a bad guy, I'm actually more creeped out by the regular bristleworms, lol. I hope there aren't a bunch more of these in my tank... ugh.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

Night 2 of trying to catch "Wormy", and this is how it's going:

Fireworm = 2, homemade worm trap = 0

Sticks his head in then decides against it and retreats back into the rock. Well played, Wormy. Well played...
Also noticed tonight that Wormy has some much smaller fireworm friends living in the same rock. Starting to wonder how worried I should be about this...

 

[GHOSTLY]

I had to catch a peppermint shrimp. Made a fish trap and put TONS of food. Caught a damsel, clown, my other clown, skunk cleaner, then my peppermint shrimp. Put the trap under the sand so that the entrance is just above the sand