Should I be afraid, very very afraid?

[Cheryl’B]

A picture says a thousand words. To be honest it does scare me.

 

[Sandroni]

Looks like a bristle worm almost.

 

[Jason mack]

Bristle worm ... good ... counts in your clean up crew .. big ones can be removed .. use pincers don’t use your fingers a sting from this is very unpleasant.. you can buy traps to catch them at night .. personally I just leave them unless really big !

 

[Cheryl’B]

Bristle worm ... good ... counts in your clean up crew .. big ones can be removed .. use pincers don’t use your fingers a sting from this is very unpleasant.. you can buy traps to catch them at night .. personally I just leave them unless really big !

Thank you for your reply. This guy is about 4” in a 13g tank. Is that considered big?

 

[S.O.MLemos]

Thank you for your reply. This guy is about 4” in a 13g tank. Is that considered big?

They can grow over a foot long so I’d consider that still small. I personally don’t like them so I remove them when I can even though they are beneficial. Just not a fan of the burn when they get ya while cleaning

 

[Cheryl’B]

They can grow over a foot long so I’d consider that still small. I personally don’t like them so I remove them when I can even though they are beneficial. Just not a fan of the burn when they get ya while cleaning

Plus they’re ugly, and scary.

 

[reef lover]

I see a little bristle under the rock but that larger worms looks a little ominous . I'd pull him outta my tank...

 

[VietExtender]

I don’t like how they look so when I saw them for the first time, I had to remove the rock which it was in to remove it. I don’t want to risk it and have to be afraid that if I ever grab onto a rock, will I get a ton of bristles into my fingers.

 

[Jason mack]

You could put a little Tupperware pot in your tank at night with some different size holes drilled in the sides then put a few pebbles in top weight it down .. and put some raw shrimp/ muscle cut up small .. put the lid on and leave over night .. remove in the morning and empty out the bristle worms ..

 

[SDReefer]

Remember to not touch it! The bristles are painful. Also, they are fast if you try to pick them up with tweezers and will survive if you tear one in half.

 

[KMench]

The smaller worm looks like a polychaete - linopherus aka common bristleworm. They are perfectly fine as they are detritivores and will help keep your tank clean. Mine mostly hide during the day and come out at night to tidy up . Do you have a better picture of the larger one? Another positive is they can be fish food

 

[DSC reef]

Bristle worms can be good and there numbers usually depend on available food. If your looking to remove them you can put some frozen food or shrimp in a stocking and they will stick to it. Just another idea to throw around.

 

[gar732]

Look up a bobbit worm, that’s when you should be afraid.

 

[KMench]

The lack of distinct segmentation on the big guy makes me think he's not a bobbit ;Wideyed although those bobbit worms are pretty scary looking

 

[Cheryl’B]

Look up a bobbit worm, that’s when you should be afraid.

Ok, I had to look......very very afraid

 

[LbulletM]

That's definitely a bristle worm. I have to have literally hundreds of varying sizes based on what I see with a red flashlight an hour after lights out.

 

[Cheryl’B]

The smaller worm looks like a polychaete - linopherus aka common bristleworm. They are perfectly fine as they are detritivores and will help keep your tank clean. Mine mostly hide during the day and come out at night to tidy up . Do you have a better picture of the larger one? Another positive is they can be fish food

here's a better picture, kind of hard to get.

 

[Cheryl’B]

 

[LbulletM]

Still a bristle worm.

 

[Cheryl’B]

Still a bristle worm.

Thanks!