That can't be a worm! Snake?

|Frank| · May 23, 2021

Atul said:
- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtube.com

Nope!

That thing looks terrifying lol

Atul · May 23, 2021

IKD said:
That’s good camera work. Definitely a bobbit. Has it eaten anything of value? Can you see where it’s lair is? Theres a chance it’s in the sand underneath and not in any particular rock. It’s too big for a bottle trap for sure.

The depth is 2 feet. It tests on a corner. So it like having a 4 feet by 2 feet tank attached to another 2 feet by 2 feet section.

Zoas, mushrooms, leathers have all been missing or disappearing. Probably $1K worth of stuff over the last few months I thought it was water quality or lightening. Last night I saw it right next to a mushroom rock I have been losing mushrooms over the last few weeks.
I read somewhere they can pull some coral to their lair. I have some plugs that have been dragged behind the base of one of my rock formations. I blamed by sea urchins but I think it is this worm.

Atul · May 23, 2021

Just John said:
That is nightmare big! How big is your tank?

The depth is 2 feet. It tests on a corner. So it like having a 4 feet by 2 feet tank attached to another 2 feet by 2 feet section.

ying yang · May 23, 2021

Well just read most this thread in bed with lights off and itching all over and could feel something crawling on me under the covers.so thought ok ,time to go to sleep and read tommorow ,NOPE JUMPED OUT BED AS CONVINCED SOMETHING UNDER COVERS lol .
But glad you got it out and shame no one wanted it.
P.s note to self dont ever read thread called " what is this" just before sleep ^_^

IKD · May 23, 2021

Atul said:
The depth is 2 feet. It tests on a corner. So it like having a 4 feet by 2 feet tank attached to another 2 feet by 2 feet section.

Zoas, mushrooms, leathers have all been missing or disappearing. Probably $1K worth of stuff over the last few months I thought it was water quality or lightening. Last night I saw it right next to a mushroom rock I have been losing mushrooms over the last few weeks.
I read somewhere they can pull some coral to their lair. I have some plugs that have been dragged behind the base of one of my rock formations. I blamed by sea urchins but I think it is this worm.

I would agree I think you found your real culprit. You can try the least disruptive method first but have a feeling you’ll need to go more direct with removing structures. Sure would be nice to have some poison bait traps to kill these things but nothing like that I know of. Keep us posted and wear gloves!

Nami · May 23, 2021

Atul said:
The depth is 2 feet. It tests on a corner. So it like having a 4 feet by 2 feet tank attached to another 2 feet by 2 feet section.

How old is your tank? The aquascape seems pretty open, its quite surprising you didnt come across that 2 feet+ monster when you first put in the rockwork..imagine it slithering up your arm

tamanning · May 23, 2021

I had two between 6 and 8 inches in my old sump. at least 100 smaller ones. Bristle worms.

Atul · May 23, 2021

Nami said:
How old is your tank? The aquascape seems pretty open, its quite surprising you didnt come across that 2 feet+ monster when you first put in the rockwork..imagine it slithering up your arm

3+ years. It is not as open as it seems. I assume it just was small in the beginning and then just grew and grew. I have seen bristle worms that were 4-6 inches for a couple of years but thought nothing of them (after searching the forums for hour Lol ). LBut this is different obviously.

I didn’t sleep well last night. I kept feeling this crawling on me.

Just John · May 24, 2021

Just John said:
You know, most threads are like "how do I lower my nitrates" or "what is this spot on my fish". This is the first mystery / science fiction like, drama thread I have seen. We need more of these.

Above is what I said last March during the last Bobbit Worm attacks. I'm glad someone finally came through for us. Now it just needs escape and slither down the air duct to make it interesting.

DED65 · May 24, 2021

People are going to recommend bottle traps and pantyhose. These guys are so large that even if the worm goes into any trap, it will just back out. I believe that the worm doesn't completely come out of the lair, so trapping is nearly impossible. Watch the tank and try to figure out where it is living. If the worm is living in a rock, you can pull the rock and try to get the worm out of it. @Dolphin2409 had luck with club soda and was able to remove the rock and the whole 36+ inch worm, his thread is in here somewhere. Mine was living in the sand bed and I had to break the tank down. The worm has probably been in your tank since it was set up. People think it should be easy to find one, but you first need to suspect the worm is in there. They are very adept at hiding and as you can see from your video, just how fast they are. They will pull large, heavy corals to their lair. I can keep corals alive now and the zoas are actually growing like they should. Don't lose sleep over the worm, I am still alive and have no battle scars from the freaking thing

!

Atul · May 24, 2021

DED65 said:
People are going to recommend bottle traps and pantyhose. These guys are so large that even if the worm goes into any trap, it will just back out. I believe that the worm doesn't completely come out of the lair, so trapping is nearly impossible. Watch the tank and try to figure out where it is living. If the worm is living in a rock, you can pull the rock and try to get the worm out of it. @Dolphin2409 had luck with club soda and was able to remove the rock and the whole 36+ inch worm, his thread is in here somewhere. Mine was living in the sand bed and I had to break the tank down. The worm has probably been in your tank since it was set up. People think it should be easy to find one, but you first need to suspect the worm is in there. They are very adept at hiding and as you can see from your video, just how fast they are. They will pull large, heavy corals to their lair. I can keep corals alive now and the zoas are actually growing like they should. Don't lose sleep over the worm, I am still alive and have no battle scars from the freaking thing!

I tried a bottle trap because something was eating some bright beautiful Toadstool’s I just got. Only thing I caught were hermits crab and snails. Now that I have see. the worm, I agree it is way too big to fit in the bottle trap.

I tried shrimp in the pantyhose. The worm someone how got the shrimp out of the “toe” part (they were closed toed panty hose) and was dragging it. Only good news is I figured out where it’s lair is. Bad news it is at the base of at least a third of the rock in my tank.

I also know from where it traveled to it is probably close to 4 feet than 2 feet. Getting some help Wednesday and will empty the rocks and hopefully find this worm and get it out.

DED65 · May 24, 2021

Since you have a plan, you may want to feed the worm. It may save your other livestock until you can get it out. Good luck and keep us posted.

Just John · May 24, 2021

ok, I truthfully had a nightmare last night about that thing getting into my tank and gorging on everything I have. My alarm went off as it was dragging the last zoa colony into its lair.

EJReefer · May 24, 2021

How big of a tank would it take to keep one? Just wondering in case I find one.

Atul · May 28, 2021

DED65 said:
Since you have a plan, you may want to feed the worm. It may save your other livestock until you can get it out. Good luck and keep us posted.

Had a crazy day Wednesday. The Bobbitt worm is out. It is being kept a local aquarium place that services tanks. Their best guy came to help get it out.

All the top rocks on the side of the lair were removed and placed in tubs/water first. Then, big nets were used to "block" one side of the tank. The rock/lair of where the worm was lifted up. The worm was on the underside coiled up almost like a snake. The worm went away from the nets (which was what we wanted) and was caught with a different large net and placed in a bucket that had holes with water in the tub. We had a lid but really did not need it. It would not come out of the water at all. Part of the worm broke during this. The tail kept moving like it was alive. In the end, the total length was 6 feet! Yes, I have pictures and videos. Will post everything later.

Bo. · May 28, 2021

Atul said:
Had a crazy day Wednesday. The Bobbitt worm is out. It is being kept a local aquarium place that services tanks. Their best guy came to help get it out.

All the top rocks on the side of the lair were removed and placed in tubs/water first. Then, big nets were used to "block" one side of the tank. The rock/lair of where the worm was lifted up. The worm was on the underside coiled up almost like a snake. The worm went away from the nets (which was what we wanted) and was caught with a different large net and placed in a bucket that had holes with water in the tub. We had a lid but really did not need it. It would not come out of the water at all. Part of the worm broke during this. The tail kept moving like it was alive. In the end, the total length was 6 feet! Yes, I have pictures and videos. Will post everything later.

DED65 · May 28, 2021

That is one huge worm! I can hardly wait to see the pictures

! The broken section may regenerate into another worm, wouldn't that be cool to see? Congratulations on being able to get him out!!!

Fish Think Pink · May 29, 2021

ying yang said:
Well just read most this thread in bed with lights off and itching all over and could feel something crawling on me under the covers.so thought ok ,time to go to sleep and read tommorow ,NOPE JUMPED OUT BED AS CONVINCED SOMETHING UNDER COVERS lol .
But glad you got it out and shame no one wanted it.
P.s note to self dont ever read thread called " what is this" just before sleep ^_^

Just John said:
ok, I truthfully had a nightmare last night about that thing getting into my tank and gorging on everything I have. My alarm went off as it was dragging the last zoa colony into its lair.

Atul said:
3+ years. It is not as open as it seems. I assume it just was small in the beginning and then just grew and grew. I have seen bristle worms that were 4-6 inches for a couple of years but thought nothing of them (after searching the forums for hour Lol ). LBut this is different obviously.

I didn’t sleep well last night. I kept feeling this crawling on me.

Been watching this post for while and as I sat here keep feeling something crawling on me... Glad I'm not the only one grossed out by this. @DED65 @Atul SO glad that you've gotten to the other side of this...

@Atul - 6 FEET LONG - OH MY GOSH - this is where those bad horror movies start... BOBBIT FROM SEWER or some such thing... BOBBIT TAKES ON GODZILLA (2nd movie in series)