Hitchhiker ID Help

[Anonymous]

The poor pic below shows the 5" long, 1" wide monster I caught lurking at the back of my tank last night. My first thought was it was a sea cuke, but its never been out in the light, and hides all the time. It may be responsible the the steady attrition rate of healthy and long lasting corals in my tank over the past year. Any ideas what it is? Its not clear from the pic, but it has dark brown spike all over, is brown and grey in colour and is pig ugly....

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry, pic attached below....

 

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry Andy, but that sounds like a eunicid worm to me. You might need to do some hunting. Check out this link.

http://www.oregonreef.com/sub_worm.htm

 

[Anonymous]

sorry but that's what it looks like to me too. Get yer speargun ready...

 

[Anonymous]

I'll try get some better pics, I dont think its one of those, if it is it would have to be about 30 ft long, its really fat. I dont want to go and tear into my rockwork and remove it to find it was harmless or perhaps even beneficial.

 

[Anonymous]

30 foot long

 

[Anonymous]

I had a Eunicid worm in my big reef years ago. Distinctive signs, other than corals (mostly softies) dissapearing are a ring of 5 tentacles surrounding the head and they are lightning fast. The one in my tank was about 2' and could retract its entire length in about 1 second when spotted. Find the rock its living in, take it out and smash er up is my advice - they are voracious!

 

[Anonymous]

I'll try get some better pics, I dont think its one of those, if it is it would have to be about 30 ft long, its really fat. I dont want to go and tear into my rockwork and remove it to find it was harmless or perhaps even beneficial.

With the dimensions you originally gave (5' long, 1" wide), I'd have thought it was possible that it was a Eunicid.

As for it possibly being beneficial, I'd have thought something that big in a tank (even one your size) has the potential to be disruptive, even if it would be a beneficial element of a natural environment. It's certainly not a necessary element of the tank.

 

[brandon4291]

heres mine
yes it was a pic off the pc screen of my vid I know thats so 99.

 

[Anonymous]

*shudders*

 

[Anonymous]

I'm with everyone else, I think you're dealing with a eunicid. Having lived with the damage a small one could cause not so long ago myself, I sympathize but urge you to find the rock it's mostly dwelling in and remove it.

Eunicids are the devil.