Worms? ID Help

[emmysnewtank]

So it looks like I have some kind of worms. Assuming these are probably beneficial as they are in sand bed...but hoping for some feedback. I tried google but no images seemed to be too close to what these appear to be.

thx in advance...

 

[Zach B]

Most likely bristle worms but a bit hard to tell. Could be detritus worms as well

 

[emmysnewtank]

Most likely bristle worms but a bit hard to tell. Could be detritus worms as well

Bristle are bad right? should I try vacuuming them up? detritus worms good...so maybe I wait on them? I just don't want them exploding in population if they are bad.

 

[MaxTremors]

Looks like a Dorvilleidae worm, totally harmless. Bristle worms are harmless too.

Edit: Most bristle worms are beneficial. They won’t get out of control unless you overfeed. Some larger species can cause trouble, but even then they’re not a huge problem. But I don’t think this is a bristle worm.

 

[Zach B]

Most worms are beneficial to an extent for cleaning the sand bed and other tight spots. Usually it means there is an excess of food/feeding heavy. I leave them all in my tank. Like the saying goes, everything is OK until it's not

 

[emmysnewtank]

Ya, we feed pretty heavy. Its amazing to me how much random life finds their way into these closed environments.

Will have to wait until night and pull up a flashlight to see if we can catch them crawling around.

 

[Ryde]

Bristle are bad right? should I try vacuuming them up? detritus worms good...so maybe I wait on them? I just don't want them exploding in population if they are bad.

Some say bristle worms are harmless, and they mostly are. They can grow very large—up to 24 inches in a tank, but probably won't get any bigger than 6in. They are usually nocturnal only coming out if disturbed. They consume materials in your tank that would otherwise decompose and produce ammonia, adding to the load that must be processed by your biological filter. Bristle worms primarily are scavengers and consume uneaten food, detritus, and carrion in a saltwater aquarium. For some they can be cool to watch.

Here's the bad, bristle worms if not all? have well, bristles which can irritate you skin when touched. Especially the "Fire worm." They can also be hard to identify because there are so many different species. Next, they can explode in population, but this can be delt with via natual predators you can add to the tank. Now lastly, I won't keep them because I think they are scary looking and have my hands in the tank a lot. Best of luck, you might not even have brittle worms hard to tell. Hope I helped!

As a side note I don't mean to scary anyone. But them things scare me....

 

[MaxTremors]

Some say bristle worms are harmless, and they mostly are. They can grow very large—up to 24 inches in a tank, but probably won't get any bigger than 6in. They are usually nocturnal only coming out if disturbed. They consume materials in your tank that would otherwise decompose and produce ammonia, adding to the load that must be processed by your biological filter. Bristle worms primarily are scavengers and consume uneaten food, detritus, and carrion in a saltwater aquarium. For some they can be cool to watch.

Here's the bad, bristle worms if not all? have well, bristles which can irritate you skin when touched. Especially the "Fire worm." They can also be hard to identify because there are so many different species. Next, they can explode in population, but this can be delt with via natual predators you can add to the tank. Now lastly, I won't keep them because I think they are scary looking and have my hands in the tank a lot. Best of luck, you might not even have brittle worms hard to tell. Hope I helped!

I’ve been reefing for over twenty years, have had bristle worms in every tank I’ve ever owned, have my hands in the tank all the time, don’t wear gloves and have never once been bristled or had any irritation from bristle worms. I’m not saying it’s not possible or doesn’t happen, but it’s not some huge risk and is certainly no reason to eradicate all of the bristle worms out of your tank.

It’s really hard for me to wrap my head around why people want a ‘reef tank’ but don’t want the complexity or microfauna that keep a reef functioning and healthy. All of the microfauna and the complex food chains that develop in our tanks is half of what makes them so interesting (and keeps them healthy and balanced). I think with the move to dry rock people have started to really misunderstand and have paranoia about ‘hitchhikers’ and pests. The vast majority of hitchhikers are actually beneficial, and the vast majority that are pests are easily manageable, there are very few pests that come on live rock that are tank ending. The more diverse the biome and microfauna in your tank the healthier and more stable (and more interesting) it will be.

 

[Ryde]

I’ve been reefing for over twenty years, have had bristle worms in every tank I’ve ever owned, have my hands in the tank all the time, don’t wear gloves and have never once been bristled or had any irritation from bristle worms. I’m not saying it’s not possible or doesn’t happen, but it’s not some huge risk and is certainly no reason to eradicate all of the bristle worms out of your tank.

It’s really hard for me to wrap my head around why people want a ‘reef tank’ but don’t want the complexity or microfauna that keep a reef functioning and healthy. All of the microfauna and the complex food chains that develop in our tanks is half of what makes them so interesting (and keeps them healthy and balanced). I think with the move to dry rock people have started to really misunderstand and have paranoia about ‘hitchhikers’ and pests. The vast majority of hitchhikers are actually beneficial, and the vast majority that are pests are easily manageable, there are very few pests that come on live rock that are tank ending. The more diverse the biome and microfauna in your tank the healthier and more stable (and more interesting) it will be.

I usually enjoy the complexity or microfauna, but some things just creep me out.
I don't even want to mention the Bobbit worm.

 

[emmysnewtank]

I’ve been reefing for over twenty years, have had bristle worms in every tank I’ve ever owned, have my hands in the tank all the time, don’t wear gloves and have never once been bristled or had any irritation from bristle worms. I’m not saying it’s not possible or doesn’t happen, but it’s not some huge risk and is certainly no reason to eradicate all of the bristle worms out of your tank.

Thanks, I am just new to reef keeping, so mostly paranoid more than anything else, but recognize the need to not panic. I actually think its pretty cool finding new things that keep showing up somehow. As long as things aren't going to mess with my coral, I am all good.

We removed some nudibranchs early on that were definitely hanging around to munch corals, and that kind of bummed us out because they were kind of cool looking.