aptasia eating worm?

[guano]

I'm raising Berghia to handle my Aptasia problem in a ten gallon tank by cycling in infested LR as needed to feed the brood. Lately I noticed that the Aptasia were disapearing at an unusualy high rate, and in a rather odd way. This was about the time that I started seeing these half inch long worms in numbers. they are light shy, move extremely fast- several inches per second- and don't seem to bother the Beghia. I have tried feeding them to the Aptasia, but they are totaly imune to them, one actualy crawled into the tube and back out. When they feed the Aptasia turns into a nebulous blob that the worms crawl around in.
Does anyone know what they are and if they are harmful, since they obviously came from my main tank?
in the pcture the mass in the middle was a healthy Aptasia a few hours ago and the Berghia is only about 1/16 inch long.

 

[Anonymous]

I have no idea, but congrats on raising the Berghia!

 

[spsmike]

Look like regular bristleworms to me.

 

[liquid]

guano:

:welcome:

So are you saying that the 1/2" worms are also feeding on the Aiptasia? If so that's pretty darned cool as I've never heard of anything else eating them outside of Berghia.

Hey did we meet at Troy's (Clownkeeper) place in Ft.Wayne a month or two ago? I'm only about 30-45 minutes from you.

Shane

 

[liquid]

Look like regular bristleworms to me.

However I've never heard or seen any bristleworms moving several inches per second. They're fairly slow moving creatures (at least in my tank).

Shane

 

[guano]

yes liquid we met at troy's and if you would like you can come and inspect them yourself.
Yes they are eating the Aptasia at a rather faster rate than the Berghia, and I do not beleive they are regular bristle worms. For one the largest is only about 1/2 inch streched out, two, to the naked eye they are smooth, white worms, the largest in the picture is only about 3/32 of an inch and in a month none have gotten past the 1/2 inch mark,if that, and three my "normal" bristle worms avoid them. and they are much faster than the much larger bristle worms in the tank. they also seem to feed only on the Aptasia, drop in some food and the regualar bristles come out in force while the white ones ignore it. currently there are 2 Aptasia under attack and 2 more that ar infested and one that has been abandond by the worms- just a mucas like envelope with specs of detrius on it.
I don't know if they just prefer the Aptasia ( also thinning out in my main tank at a rate faster than the berghia should account for) but if they turn out to be non harmfull to ofther tank inhabitants and capable of eating other than Aptasia they could be the ideal control for Aptasia. Just my thoughts

 

[guano]

two pics of the worms from the top instead of the underside, with what i call a normal bristle worm. you can see that the protrusions don't seam to have any hair, and one pic of a finished Aptasia, and on closer examination it apears that the white specs in the carcass could be eggs.

 

[guano]

couldn't add multiple files

 

[guano]

last pic

 

[Anonymous]

Definitely not regular bristle worms, but I don't have a clue.

Wanna send me some?

 

[spsmike]

Yeah, by that pic I retract the above statement.Those are awesome looking!

 

[spsmike]

Look like regular bristleworms to me.

However I've never heard or seen any bristleworms moving several inches per second. They're fairly slow moving creatures (at least in my tank).

Shane

Mine will dart off when the lights come on.

 

[Anonymous]

These look superficially similar to polynoid worms that ocassionally hitchhike on LR, other than that I'm clueless...

 

[wade1]

Are they possibly juvenile Berghia?? Just a stab in the dark really... you should start shipping those out to people with Aiptasia issues (I have seen some tanks totally encrusted with aips). Wonder if they'd touch Majano anemones (probably not).

Get those out into the wider public and see if anyone has the same luck as you do with them.

Wade

 

[Juck]

you should start shipping those out to people with Aiptasia issues

Maybe we should wait to see what they eat when the aiptasia run out.