Worm ID

jabberwock

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This will be tough because it is tiny, 5 or 6 mm. I was lucky to suck it off the glass with a turkey baster. Gulf of Mexico live rock. I am pretty sure it is predatory.



 
Not all eunice worms are bad...
impastor GIF by TV Land
 
Not all eunice worms are bad...
I meant looking at it... I think I mentioned it in another thread, but worms with mouthparts creep me out. That said, you're right, most eunice are completely harmless to a reef tank...

centipede GIF
 

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I can't see the video either on mobile. Look for five straight antenna in a star pattern jutting out from the head. Non-ambush Eunicids don't have the jaws on display like the bobbit worm in the video above. They are retracted till use. I've seen mine use their jaws for scraping stuff off of live rock--and also for attacking my tongs when I got a hold of one once. There are a LOT of species out there, and I understand most to be detritivores, although I also imagine them to be opportunistic, given they've got the tools..
 
It's soooo tiny, kind of has a greenish tint. I think I see mouth parts. Regardless, it ain't going back in a tank...

It is about to surf the sidewalk.
Start a 5 gallon “You Don’t Want that in Your Tank”, Tank… They are fun to watch grow through the years ….
 
Yeah, the pics are too blurry for an ID (at least for me) - I think I can see chaetae, so (assuming I am seeing chaetae) that would mean it’s a Polychaete, and I think I can see what I presume would be the worm’s palps in the third pic, but I’m not sure. I can’t see any antennae or tentacles on the head that I can tell, so that would seem to eliminate it being a Eunicid or Dorvilleid worm as far as I know at the moment. That’s all I’ve got at the moment though.
 

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

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