Weird worm in sand
- Thread starter EB707
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jkcoral
Valuable Member
Capture it and post close up photos if you can.
Sometimes they can be harmless spaghetti worms, but it only looks like a few short tentacles, which does raise the possibility of something more sinister.
Did you add live rock to your tank?
Sometimes they can be harmless spaghetti worms, but it only looks like a few short tentacles, which does raise the possibility of something more sinister.
Did you add live rock to your tank?
OP
OP
EB707
Community Member
Here is a more zoomed in video.
Hard to tell, but it looks like two palps protruding from the worm hole, which might ne a spionid worm. They can be bothersome.
jkcoral
Valuable Member
Looks like a spaghetti worm (kinda) from that zoomed in video. If so, harmless and good guys (they will catch extra food in your tank)
It will be hard to tell for sure unless you grab one
If you see more than 2 tentacles extending from the tube (they can sometimes be extending flat across the sand), then I'm inclined to say spaghetti worm like @jkcoral above. If there are only two, maybe spionid. Spaghetti worms a welcomed, honored guests in my tanks!
In this case, it's probably a Chaetopterid worm - they're very similar to Spionid worms, but they tend to prefer burrowing in the sand instead of in the rocks, and they reportedly tend to have longer palps.
That said, I say probably because to make a proper ID involves removing the worm from its tube and getting pics of the body out of the tube, which just isn't feasible.
Generally, these aren't a problem unless their numbers start getting out of hand.
That said, I say probably because to make a proper ID involves removing the worm from its tube and getting pics of the body out of the tube, which just isn't feasible.
Generally, these aren't a problem unless their numbers start getting out of hand.
