Not Your Usual Worm ID

[CEReefer]

Caught this guy in my refugium, I am sure I have seen some small ones too under some frags, they are crazy fast, what are they?

2 videos for a better view (the first one has some better close shots):

5 December 2021

youtube.com

5 December 2021

youtube.com

 

[CEReefer]

Sorry for the awful pictures but it’s tiny.. I will try to take a peek under a microscope tomorrow

 

[Gtinnel]

It seems to be an epitoke.

Eta- I should've mentioned, an epitoke is not a species of worn but part of the life cycle of a polychaete worm. They break off of the rear end of the worm and swim around releasing gamete cells.
Do you have bristleworms in the tank?

 

[CEReefer]

It seems to be an epitoke.

Eta- I should've mentioned, an epitoke is not a species of worn but part of the life cycle of a polychaete worm. They break off of the rear end of the worm and swim around releasing gamete cells.
Do you have bristleworms in the tank?

Plenty..

 

[CEReefer]

To be honest what I am scared of something that affects snails, my snails don't last that long, and I have always wondered if there was some parasite that was affecting them

 

[Gtinnel]

Plenty..

They're almost definitely an epitoke from a bristleworm. I see them in my tank occasionally. They're easy to spot because they're usually free swimming and the way they quickly wiggle back and forth is very distinctive.

 

[monti mike]

I think it’s an Epitoke too! I found the same in my tank and posted about it. General consensus was Epitoke. The interesting things we find in our tanks…

 

[CEReefer]

Thank you everyone! It went down the drain, no need for more worms around