Suspected Eunice worm

[Osbie Feel]

Hello good people of R2R, I have what I think is a Eunice worm in my tank but would love to hear that I am wrong. It decided to come out with the lights on today and I was able to get a decent look at it, and even snap some terrible photos- it is VERY sensitive to movement so unfortunately these were the best I could do atm.

No idea how long it is but it is not too large, as thick around as a charging cable maybe. What worries me is that I have had 2 snail deaths recently near the rock it seems to live by/in... What is the best way to get this guy out? Thanks for the advice. If I can get some better photos, I'll post em.

 

[IKD]

Agree with Eunice. The empty snail shell is definitely an indicator. You can try bottle traps but they rarely leave their cave entirely and if the break apart, their segments can grow new worms. Do you have the option to remove the rocks to catch him? The other option is to try and block his entrance and force him to love to a new location that is easier for you to remove

 

[JoJosReef]

Ditto what IKD said, but it will be very difficult to remove. Some people have success removing the rock that they live in and shooting soda water into their hole to drive them out. I did not have luck with anything like that. I also tried very hot water (not boiling) shot into their hole to drive them out. Nope. I think they are still there, but I don't see them since it is an office tank ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The only guaranteed success I've seen are people taking their rock out and breaking the rock apart until they get it, but I've really only seen that when people have a very large one.

 

[Osbie Feel]

YIKES what a drag, the rock it is in (or under?) is pretty much the corner stone of my aquascape. I guess I'll yank the rock and hope he comes with it... is there some kind of dip I could do to the rock to force him out? I would like to avoid pulverizing the rock since I am not sure if it is in the rock, or burrowed in the sand near it

 

[IKD]

YIKES what a drag, the rock it is in (or under?) is pretty much the corner stone of my aquascape. I guess I'll yank the rock and hope he comes with it... is there some kind of dip I could do to the rock to force him out? I would like to avoid pulverizing the rock since I am not sure if it is in the rock, or burrowed in the sand near it

Hopefully it’s burrowed in the sand as it will be a lot easier to extract, although you probably have to remove all the rock anyway. People have tried high salinity and even soda water with mixed success. The good news is you know he is there and can keep at it until you get him. You can use epoxy to reattach if you have to break the rock up. I don’t think you will find peace leaving it be unfortunately.

 

[wtdenk]

You know where it came from? What kind of rock did you start with?

 

[Osbie Feel]

I started with dry rock, so I seeded the tank with some Aquabiomics reef rubble, and also some live rock and sand from Pacific East Aquaculture. Got some coral from my LFS and from Aqua SD but I doubt this thing came riding in on a frag plug. My coral frags are pretty new and will be easy to move, but I have a BTA that I'm sure I will tick off when I start moving rocks around, definitely gonna have to move the rock he's attached to. Gonna set up a QT tank and start moving some rocks over, either he'll come with the rock or I'll have a better angle on him in the sand. Thanks for the help everyone, I'll try to post some updates as things progress.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

I started with dry rock, so I seeded the tank with some Aquabiomics reef rubble, and also some live rock and sand from Pacific East Aquaculture. Got some coral from my LFS and from Aqua SD but I doubt this thing came riding in on a frag plug. My coral frags are pretty new and will be easy to move, but I have a BTA that I'm sure I will tick off when I start moving rocks around, definitely gonna have to move the rock he's attached to. Gonna set up a QT tank and start moving some rocks over, either he'll come with the rock or I'll have a better angle on him in the sand. Thanks for the help everyone, I'll try to post some updates as things progress.

Do yourself a favor and make sure you have some long tweezers and you’re ready to grab that thing because every time this is happened to me as soon as I move the rock he’s underneath it and moves fast

 

[Osbie Feel]

Do yourself a favor and make sure you have some long tweezers and you’re ready to grab that thing because every time this is happened to me as soon as I move the rock he’s underneath it and moves fast

I definitely will! How many times has this happened to you, I thought these were pretty rare? In your experience, after you remove it are they gone for good, or is it like bristle worms where if you see one, there's probably more?

 

[((FORDTECH))]

I definitely will! How many times has this happened to you, I thought these were pretty rare? In your experience, after you remove it are they gone for good, or is it like bristle worms where if you see one, there's probably more?

I guess it all depends. In my case they were gone till I introduced another

 

[IKD]

I definitely will! How many times has this happened to you, I thought these were pretty rare? In your experience, after you remove it are they gone for good, or is it like bristle worms where if you see one, there's probably more?

They are not common like bristle worms and from what I’ve learned, they are solitary so I don’t think one indicates there are others but do a thorough scan of empty snail shells to look for other possible hideouts. When you catch him, make sure you see his head and tail segments, otherwise it may have broken off and you’ll need to retrieve the other parts.

I’ve had to remove three that came in live rock purchase. I’m guessing yours came in the rubble or live rock. They can curl up into very small spaces. It had a 9” one curled up in a piece of rubble the size of a tangerine.

 

[IKD]

Oh, and keep us posted on updates!!

 

[Osbie Feel]

Oh, and keep us posted on updates!!

Well, it's been a week now and I don't have much to report. I was able to catch sight of it a couple more times after my last post. Each time it was coming out of that same hole that was circled in the second picture above, so I thought it likely that was where it had taken up residence. I removed the rock to a QT; there was no visible worm or burrow underneath when I lifted it. The thing is, I haven't seen it since, in the QT or the display... I've been checking both tanks nightly with a red light. I'll update again if I see it. Might just smash up the rock it was in at this point to see if I can find it.

 

[Osbie Feel]

Also, turns out those two snails I thought it killed, were alive... they had both not moved for over a WEEK so I had just assumed. Anybody else had snails that did this??