1-day-old Tank and already have a few small worms clinging to my dry rock??

[Brakaan]

Greetings everyone! I'm brand new to the hobby (Just set up my first tank yesterday), and I need some help identifying a critter.

Here's the setup:
I have a Coralife Biocube 16
CaribSea Arag-Alive Fiji Pink sand
3 dry rocks purchased from LFS (I can't remember the name, but I think it was Ocean Rock or Reef Rock. It came from the ocean I was told)
Filter Floss that came with tank.

I mixed my own water using RO/DI water and Instant Ocean.

Should I be surprised to find hair-thin, reddish worms, about 1/2-inch long clinging to my "dry" rock? I specifically used dry rock because I didn't want any hitchhikers.

From what I've searched online, I'm thinking either bristleworm or peanut worm. They cling to the rock with one end and float in the current in the other.

What are they? And what should I do about them?

Thanks for your help!

 

[24/7ReeFTime]

The description sounds like bristle worms. But I can’t load the pic so it’s a guess of description . What doesn’t make sense is the dry rock. It may have came from the live sand.

 

[S.Pepper]

I can open the link, but don't know what it is. Your description was right on.

 

[Jaebster]

Looks like bristleworm! Are you sure the rock was completely dry? Is the worm moving because of waterflow? It doesnt look like it's natural movement.

 

[El_Guapo13]

It doesn't look like bristle worms too me. Honestly if it wasn't moving I would have thought theu were the shells of vermited snails due to the coloration. I do see what looks like the end of the one on top that is connected to the rock being sorta dark grey in color, so maybe a peanut worm. Maybe... let me look at it again. Also let me get @KJ to see if he knows what it is. He knows everything.

 

[jurgenph]

it looks like the dry rock was once liverock, and still has some dead organic matter on/in it.
that thing looks like it's just some leftovers moving in the flow. that doesn't look alive to me at all.


J.

 

[Brakaan]

Hey everyone, I appreciate the help!

I may have to admit something quite embarrassing but equally humorous!

I showed the video to a worker at my LFS, and she didn’t know either, but she asked a very good question: “Are you sure it’s alive?”

Um...no actually. On closer examination, it does appear possible that the movement is caused by the water flow. I did purchase dry rock so there shouldn’t be any hitchhikers, and the live sand was bagged so nothing should have survived...

And then it hit me - it’s obvious, laughable and has “noob” written all over it:

I think it’s fish pellets!!

After I set up the tank last night I dropped 2-3 dry fish pellets into the tank to help it cycle. They must have fallen on the top rock and gotten stuck! As they got saturated with water, they expanded and began moving with the water flow. My “worm” is a wet pellet!! ‍

I’ll never live this down! Haha

 

[Terri Caton]

Ok. That’s just too funny. Very cute noob story though

 

[Brakaan]

Ok. That’s just too funny. Very cute noob story though

I belly-laughed when it dawned on me. My wife even sat through my lecture on the nitrogen cycle as the setup to the story. She admitted the punchline was worth the wait!

What a way to join the reefing community!

 

[knightnsd]

looks like a dead worm as you have figured out but better to ask and learn versus get a nasty bite, lose some nice fish, or have an outbreak early in the hobby