Worm ID requested.

[gloo]

After reading the worm ID thread, I'm not sure what my worms are.(http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15867)
I had always thought from some light reading on the net that the little worms that come out at night from my LR were peanut worms feeding.

They are translucent and about as big around as angel hair pasta. Some of these extend a good 3-4 inches out of the LR.

I've heard some peanut worms burrow into rock, but didn't realize they can be seen swimming.
The worms that are in my tank only seem to come out of LR at night. They extend out and grab food from the surface of the LR, although I have seen them 'ejecting' these hard empty tubes during the day. I assume these empty 'tubes' are a by-product of the worms burrowing into the rock as well as what ever waste they produce.
The worms are quite active, but again, my bashful worms only come out of the rocks to feed at night, and even then, they never fully exit their burrow.

I'll try and get some pics later, but any ideas?

 

[LakeEd]

Without any pictures... it is going to be very hard for someone to guess what it may be you have.

Have you looked thru the Invert gallery here, to see if any of those pictures are close?

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/photos_corals/showgallery.php?cat=539

 

[gloo]

I did check the gallery, but I was unable to find anything that resembles what I see in my tank. It could be Capitellidae, if that worm spends most of its time burrowing into LR.

I'll try and take a pic once I get home, but I work graves, and they usually have already retreated into the LR by the time I get back.

 

[steve-s]

Also check these....
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-06/rs/index.php
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-04/rs/index.php
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-05/rs/index.php

Cheers
Steve

 

[Boomer]

Your worms are just the tentacle of a Spaghetti worm/s Often you wll not see the body at all. See steve-s first link

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Spaghetti worm&btnG=Google+Search&sa=N&tab=wi

 

[Angelscrx]

Nope those aren't spaghetti worms I have the same thing in my tank. it's pretty cool becasue you can see the food going down through them as they eat from the rock. Always out at night and never during the day.

 

[Boomer]

Angel

I missd the part on " ejecting empty tubes" do yours do that also ? Got any pics ?

 

[Boomer]

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&q=spionid%20worms&btnG=Search&sa=N&tab=wi

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-05/rs/index.php


Look at these

 

[gloo]

Yeah, I did some searching on google and found others that also have observed these worms.

I also checked in a book I had regarding Marine invertebrates ( its an old book I bought a decade ago ) and came to the conclusion that these are spinoid worms, although not sure on exact species.

Either way, I figured they were harmless, from observing their feeding behavior, but wanted to make sure.

Its just annoying cuz they do make a mess with all the ejected 'tubes' in my bare-bottom tank.

 

[gloo]

I'll try and get some pics and maybe a short video of these worms after I wrap up my work week (I get home after the sun is up and they have long retreated to their burrows by that time).

 

[Boomer]

Here is a great pic from melve of a simialr worm I ID for him

 

[Angelscrx]

Yeah, I have seen the tubes but never put the two together but now I know where they come from. Thanks They are cool to watch if you can catch them feeding.