Please help ID this worm thingy

[BlueCaves Reefer]

I apologize for the very blue picture, I am waiting for my camera filter lens to come. If this is too blue/blurry i will try posting again when i get the filter.

I have a small 15 gallon tank being used to house/breed berghia nudibranchs and a sand sifter goby. I was staring at my tank for awhile and noticed this striped worm type of critter. Then i saw a bunch scattered around the rock work. Not grouped together just maybe 10 really small worms on the same rock. Some are so microscopic and the others are bigger, maybe half an inch long. It moves like a caterpillar or typically worm. Please let me know if you know what this is, i can’t find any image online that looks like this.

 

[tbrown]

I don't want to say what I think it is but I think it's what I think it is....

@ISpeakForTheSeas ?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I apologize for the very blue picture, I am waiting for my camera filter lens to come. If this is too blue/blurry i will try posting again when i get the filter.

Yeah, white light pics would be helpful.

It moves like a caterpillar or typically worm.

To clarify here, it doesn't move like an inchworm, right?

 

[BlueCaves Reefer]

I don't want to say what I think it is but I think it's what I think it is....

Lol what do you think it is that you don’t want to say?

 

[BlueCaves Reefer]

Yeah, white light pics would be helpful.

To clarify here, it doesn't move like an inchworm, right?

Correct, it does not move like an inchworm. But it moves rather fast. If i go to take a picture after spotting one, it is long gone within a minute while trying to grab my phone.

Last night after the lights went off I saw a completely different worm being blown around from the powerhead. I did more staring at the tank and could see multiple different types of worms everywhere! OMG I thought it was just one type and a small amount but it’s a lot and all seem to be different breeds and sizes.

I don’t know if i need to restart this tank from scratch or if I can make it work.. its basically now a mystery worm tank instead of a nudibranch tank. I am new to this hobby and learning as i go.

If you found over 100 worms in your side non display tank, would you start over or work with the bugs and keep it running?

Lol helpppp me!

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I thought it was just one type and a small amount but it’s a lot and all seem to be different breeds and sizes.

I don’t know if i need to restart this tank from scratch or if I can make it work.. its basically now a mystery worm tank instead of a nudibranch tank. I am new to this hobby and learning as i go.

If you found over 100 worms in your side non display tank, would you start over or work with the bugs and keep it running?

Lol helpppp me!

Haha, most if the worms we see in the hobby are bristleworms (Polychaetes) of some variety, and most varieties are harmless/beneficial in our tanks - in fact, even some of the "bad" kinds are really only bad in large numbers. Actually harmful worms are surprisingly rare, with the most common being flatworms and predatory Eunicids (relatives of the infamous Bobbit), and they usually stand out with flatworms being flattened, and Eunicids having five (typically noticeably striped) tentacles on their heads, a white stripe/ring near their head, fast movements, and typically burrowed in a rock and unwilling to fully leave it.

Personally, unless I found a few particularly harmful worms, I'd keep the tank going and maybe add a worm predator or two to keep the numbers in check (though your options are pretty limited in a 15 gallon) - I don't mind the worms as much (anymore) as some people do though.

 

[BlueCaves Reefer]

Haha, most if the worms we see in the hobby are bristleworms (Polychaetes) of some variety, and most varieties are harmless/beneficial in our tanks - in fact, even some of the "bad" kinds are really only bad in large numbers. Actually harmful worms are surprisingly rare, with the most common being flatworms and predatory Eunicids (relatives of the infamous Bobbit), and they usually stand out with flatworms being flattened, and Eunicids having five (typically noticeably striped) tentacles on their heads, a white stripe/ring near their head, fast movements, and typically burrowed in a rock and unwilling to fully leave it.

Personally, unless I found a few particularly harmful worms, I'd keep the tank going and maybe add a worm predator or two to keep the numbers in check (though your options are pretty limited in a 15 gallon) - I don't mind the worms as much (anymore) as some people do though.

Thank you for your response! You put my anxiety to rest. My display tank was hit with an absurd amount of aptasia so I started this side tank to grow nudibranchs and they are doing really good. I really panicked when seeing all the different worms in such a small tank.. like what else could possibly go wrong now?! Lol I was thinking im cursed and probably need to quit this hobby lol but i won’t give up.

Thanks again!

 

[tbrown]

Good. I sounds like it's not what I didn't want to say what I thought it was. That's why I didn't want to say.