An unidentified worm seems to be eating my silicone?

[killer2001]

Well, after seeing this, my next tank will be acrylic. Thank you.

 

[MnFish1]

I don't have that much time and only shared what I am doing in my situation. I concur, hopefully more people are looking at this thread if thier tank starts to leak. (Hopefully never for everyone and every tank manufacturer). Also it would be nice to know the manufacturer of the silicone for clear or black.

Thanks this makes sense - I'm just wondering how many people have a full view of the entire back of their tank.

 

[MnFish1]

This is not a redsea tank.
He stated it was an IM.
Not sure when that got into the thread.
The video, to me, clearly shows the worm biting, pulling off a piece. More than once.
Very, very, strange, and creep

I never said it was a redsea tank - I was just responding to another post. IMHO - its a 1 in a million episode and If I thought it was a problem I would take my 100 gallon tank down..

 

[TnFishwater98]

https://chucksaddiction.thefishestate.net/eunice.pdf

 

[TnFishwater98]

Worm Hitch Hikers

The identification of Worms found within live rock and live sand

chucksaddiction.thefishestate.net

 

[agREEFs]

Hey everyone, looking for some advice here... I have had some mysterious leaks form in my tank. The first time it happened was a couple of years ago. The way the leaks formed, it almost looked as though something had eaten a trail through the silicone between the pieces of glass on the bottom of my tank. These leaks always appeared under the sand and occasionally would appear not as trails down through the seam (and out the bottom of the tank where water would start dripping) but as a hole with a few grains of sand in it that looked as though something had tunneled through the silicone horizontally and stopped when it hit glass.

Had no idea what to make of this, the only logical conclusion was some kind of worm, but I've been told by multiple people in multiple groups that this isn't possible... "there's no worm that eats silicone. your tank is probably not level or something" was a common theme.

Fast forward, I couldn't keep the leaks from forming, even after pumping the originals full of silicone again. I finally broke down and bought a new tank and replaced everything except for one or two rocks .

Now here I am about 2 yrs later and my tank is leaking again and when I plug the leaks, new holes appear. I finally caught what I think is causing my issues on video... Anyone know what exactly this thing is? My first thought was a bobbit worm , but mainly just because I don't know of many other worms aside from bristle worms...? for size reference, this video was filmed with a 180mm macro lens and the length of visible worm in the video is appoximately 1-2mm . I've definitely had larger bristle worms than this in my tank.

Oh, and just ignore this cheery music... I forgot I'd added it before uploading... lol

Better to remove it lol. I read other reply’s it must be causing issues that lead to that.

 

[shorty6049]

Good morning everyone... Small update. I made a worm trap yesterday by cutting the top off a bottle and inverting it . Caught maybe 1 or 2 worms... also both of my Nassarius snails. Going to try a different method later... lol

 

[violetjones]

Hey everyone, looking for some advice here... I have had some mysterious leaks form in my tank. The first time it happened was a couple of years ago. The way the leaks formed, it almost looked as though something had eaten a trail through the silicone between the pieces of glass on the bottom of my tank. These leaks always appeared under the sand and occasionally would appear not as trails down through the seam (and out the bottom of the tank where water would start dripping) but as a hole with a few grains of sand in it that looked as though something had tunneled through the silicone horizontally and stopped when it hit glass.

Had no idea what to make of this, the only logical conclusion was some kind of worm, but I've been told by multiple people in multiple groups that this isn't possible... "there's no worm that eats silicone. your tank is probably not level or something" was a common theme.

Fast forward, I couldn't keep the leaks from forming, even after pumping the originals full of silicone again. I finally broke down and bought a new tank and replaced everything except for one or two rocks .

Now here I am about 2 yrs later and my tank is leaking again and when I plug the leaks, new holes appear. I finally caught what I think is causing my issues on video... Anyone know what exactly this thing is? My first thought was a bobbit worm , but mainly just because I don't know of many other worms aside from bristle worms...? for size reference, this video was filmed with a 180mm macro lens and the length of visible worm in the video is appoximately 1-2mm . I've definitely had larger bristle worms than this in my tank.

Oh, and just ignore this cheery music... I forgot I'd added it before uploading... lol

Bristle worm probably - David Saxby, a very famous and well respected reefer has said several times that bristle worms can eat through silicone and cause holes

 

[Goaway]

I'm surprised by people denying that this is possible. The video evidence is quite clear, that worm is burrowing through the silicone. Eunice worms can burrow through rock. Why wouldn't they be able to burrow through silicone? I'd pull that sucker out of there in a heartbeat.

I'm just going to quote this. These worms bust up rock with their jaws. What's silicon going to do to stop them?

@shorty6049 you may not know this, there could be more than 1 in your sand bed. Eunics are not easy to trap. They have a hook on their tail allowing them to hunt and quickly retract to safety. Or. They break like a lizards tail. Only, it's the tail that grows a new head.



When it comes to brandon... "if i don't see it, i don't believe it even if you got a video". Ignore him.

 

[Magnapinna]

Cripes. As if I needed any more reason to hate these things!

 

[TnFishwater98]

Cripes. As if I needed any more reason to hate these things!

Great CUC

Bristle worm probably - David Saxby, a very famous and well respected reefer has said several times that bristle worms can eat through silicone and cause holes

Its not a bristle worm in the video. The common bristle worm is a great CUC team player. They will not get big enough to chew on silicon IMO… Looks like a Bobbit in video. They have bigger jaws/mouth.

 

[Erasmus Crowley]

Its not a bristle worm in the video. The common bristle worm is a great CUC team player. They will not get big enough to chew on silicon IMO… Looks like a Bobbit in video. They have bigger jaws/mouth.

Aren't bobbit worms one of the many species collectively referred to as bristle worms? Wikipedia seems to think they are.

"Eunice aphroditois is a benthic bristle worm of warm marine waters. It lives mainly in the Atlantic Ocean, but can also be found in the Indo-Pacific. It ranges in length from less than 10 cm (4 in) to 3 m (10 ft). Its iridescent cuticle produces a wide range of colors, from black to purple. This species is an ambush-predator; it hunts by burrowing its whole body in soft sediment on the ocean floor and waiting until its antennae detect prey. It then strikes with its sharp mouthparts. It may also be found among coral reefs. "

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Aren't bobbit worms one of the many species collectively referred to as bristle worms?

Yes - all Polychaete worms (worms from the taxonomic class Polychaeta) are bristle worms, but in the hobby most people use term colloquially to mean a non-predatory polychaete.

Since the worm in question here is a Eunicid worm (taxonomic order Eunicida, family Eunicidae, genus Eunice), it is technically a bristle worm. However, it may or may not be a bobbit worm (Eunice aphroditois). As I mentioned on page three of this thread, there are other Eunice sp. worms that look/may look very similar to the bobbit but likely have different lifestyles and/or diets (such as E. valens).

 

[OrionN]

I read about 15 years ago that some one had similar problem in Australia. He had to start over completely
Sorry to hear about your problem.

if you are able to do a search on ReefCentral.com you will see discussion about this very topic many years ago.

 

[shorty6049]

Great CUC

Its not a bristle worm in the video. The common bristle worm is a great CUC team player. They will not get big enough to chew on silicon IMO… Looks like a Bobbit in video. They have bigger jaws/mouth.

One thing about the worm in my video that's not super obvious is that it is TIIIINY right now. Like definitely standard bristle worm size. I recorded it using a DSLR on a tripod with a 185mm macro lens so the hole you're seeing here is only a few grains of sand wide . That's kinda why I originally thought maybe it was just a bristle worm

 

[TnFishwater98]

One thing about the worm in my video that's not super obvious is that it is TIIIINY right now. Like definitely standard bristle worm size. I recorded it using a DSLR on a tripod with a 185mm macro lens so the hole you're seeing here is only a few grains of sand wide . That's kinda why I originally thought maybe it was just a bristle worm

It’s not, you can tell by the “head” of it and the shape of the body.

 

[TnFishwater98]

Aren't bobbit worms one of the many species collectively referred to as bristle worms? Wikipedia seems to think they are.

"Eunice aphroditois is a benthic bristle worm of warm marine waters. It lives mainly in the Atlantic Ocean, but can also be found in the Indo-Pacific. It ranges in length from less than 10 cm (4 in) to 3 m (10 ft). Its iridescent cuticle produces a wide range of colors, from black to purple. This species is an ambush-predator; it hunts by burrowing its whole body in soft sediment on the ocean floor and waiting until its antennae detect prey. It then strikes with its sharp mouthparts. It may also be found among coral reefs. "

Yes, there are several types of bristle worms. If we thought this was a fire-worm would we tell @shorty6049 that he has a bristle worm? A fire worm is a bristle worm. Check out this video of how strong these Bobbit worms are! Crazy!

 

[Erasmus Crowley]

Yes, there are several types of bristle worms. If we thought this was a fire-worm would we tell @shorty6049 that he has a bristle worm? A fire worm is a bristle worm. Check out this video of how strong these Bobbit worms are! Crazy!

Yes, I've seen the pictures and videos of bobbit worms. The jaws are impressive. Can you say with 100% certainty that bobbit worms are the only species of polychaete with impressive jaws?

We know that this is a polychaete with very high certainty. So when you say "that's not a bristle worm", you are factually incorrect. It definitely is a bristle worm. If someone showed me a picture of a fire worm and asked, "Is this a bristle worm?", my answer would be, "Yes it is, but specifically it is probably a fire worm, which is an especially painful type of bristle worm".

So let me turn your question around on you. If I shared a picture of a Duncanopsammia axifuga and I asked, "Is this a coral?", would you respond with, "No that's not a coral. It's a Duncan!".

Of course you wouldn't, because that makes no sense. Obviously, a duncan is a coral. An acropora is a coral. A euphyllia is a coral. They're all coral. You'd never ever say to someone "That's not a coral, that's an acropora."

 

[TnFishwater98]

Yes, I've seen the pictures and videos of bobbit worms. The jaws are impressive. Can you say with 100% certainty that bobbit worms are the only species of polychaete with impressive jaws?

We know that this is a polychaete with very high certainty. So when you say "that's not a bristle worm", you are factually incorrect. It definitely is a bristle worm. If someone showed me a picture of a fire worm and asked, "Is this a bristle worm?", my answer would be, "Yes it is, but specifically it is probably a fire worm, which is an especially painful type of bristle worm".

So let me turn your question around on you. If I shared a picture of a Duncanopsammia axifuga and I asked, "Is this a coral?", would you respond with, "No that's not a coral. It's a Duncan!".

Of course you wouldn't, because that makes no sense. Obviously, a duncan is a coral. An acropora is a coral. A euphyllia is a coral. They're all coral. You'd never ever say to someone "That's not a coral, that's an acropora."

Sorry, you got offended with my comments. I guess I should have been more wordy with my commits. I’ll try again.
The worm in the video is Not a Common Bristle Worm. But it’s definitely a worm…. I posted a pic of the common bristle worm. They are easy to recognize. My guess it’s a Bobbit Worm in the video. However, some like to say It’s a type of bristle worm. You could call it a Bobbit Bristle worm but some might get confused of your choice of words. I posted pics of Bobbit worms and information on identifying Eunicids. It’s very easy to tell the difference between a common bristle worm or a Bobbit “bristle” worm. @shorty6049 , check out info on Bobbit worms and see if it matches….

I believe the main concern was a common bristle worm was eating his silicone… The answer to that concern is, it’s not a common bristle worm eating your silicon.

 

[Erasmus Crowley]

Sorry, you got offended with my comments. I guess I should have been more wordy with my commits. I’ll try again.
The worm in the video is Not a Common Bristle Worm. But it’s definitely a worm…. I posted a pic of the common bristle worm. They are easy to recognize. My guess it’s a Bobbit Worm in the video. However, some like to say It’s a type of bristle worm. You could call it a Bobbit Bristle worm but some might get confused of your choice of words. I posted pics of Bobbit worms and information on identifying Eunicids. It’s very easy to tell the difference between a common bristle worm or a Bobbit “bristle” worm. @shorty6049 , check out info on Bobbit worms and see if it matches….

I believe the main concern was a common bristle worm was eating his silicone… The answer to that concern is, it’s not a common bristle worm eating your silicon.

I'm not offended or upset. I just think that you're using words wrong, and I'm attempting to educate you.

OP did not (that I'm aware of) claim that this was specifically a "Common Bristle Worm". They correctly called it a "bristle worm".

Bristle worm is the common name for all polychaete worms. Polychaete worms are a specific class in animal identification. The "Common Bristle Worm", the "Fire Worm", and the "Bobbit Worm" are all species which belong to this class. They are all bristle worms. That is a fact.

As far as I can tell, you were the one that first asserted that the worm in the video was a "Common Bristle Worm" and then you blamed that assertion on OP, after which you immediately claimed that OP was wrong about it being a "Common Bristle Worm" (even though they never said it, you did), and then you corrected them and claimed with confidence that it was specifically the species "Eunice aphrodiois".

Lets say that I drive a car. If I said, "Is this a car?" to you, would you reply with, "That's not a car, that's a Ford!"? Of course not. Same deal here. I would be correct to identify my car as a car, even if it is actually a Ford.

But also, you can't know that this is specifically "Eunice aphroditois", because you don't know how many other polychaete worms have powerful jaws. There could be hundreds or thousands of different species with jaws like that. So you shouldn't claim with any confidence to have the single correct answer.