Funny orange fiberous worms in tank...

Question

The pic of worms   QUESTION: Hi there, i have some fibrous orange worms in my tank. The worms are bright orange, as seen in the picture. The strange thing is that you cant see the whole worm, you can only see the "tentacles" that stick out of the head of the worm. i have seen the whole worm only once, it looks like a normal earthworm of about 2ml wide at the rear for about 6cm, then the next 2cm are the head, which is about triple the width and looks hairy with the tentacles on it. At any given time you cant see the whole worm, only a spiderweb like tentacle formation on the rock where it lives. The tentacles are also bright orange and can be seen moving at all times. i have recently had the death of two clowns in the tank, and i am not sure what caused them. These worms are troubling me as in the many years ive had a tank ive never seen then before. This is a picture of the worms in question, u cant see the body, only some of the Tentacles. Thanks very much for the help.

ANSWER: Hi Omi,

The vast majority of worms will prove to be harmless or at the least, a predator of other small worms and pose no threat to the larger life forms that we place in our tanks. Of course there are exceptions. While some worms can grow large and seem threatening they are in fact a vital part of the clean up crew, taking care of unseen livestock deaths and left over food. It is this clean up service that they provide that has led to some species being labeled as fish killers as they are usually blamed for such fish losses when they are seen on the corpse of the fish doing their job of cleaning house.

Regarding the species of worm in the image you provided. It's hard to visually see from the image, but since you mentioned it was orange in coloration, and resembled an earth worm, then perhaps it's a Capitellidae species, which are found to be orange, brown, red in colorations.

The capitellids commonly known as "lugworms" resemble earthworms. They burrow in various grades of live rock or sandy mud, inhabiting mucus-lined tubes.

If you can take a better image of it, send it in, it may help to fully identify the worm.

Regards,
Dave

All Experts - Editor

http://ocreef.com - Director

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I think the fans are spaghetti worms, but they have now overrun most of our live rock, and corrals are battling to grow there. is there a method or fish that i can use to decrease their population?

Answer

Spaghetti Worm   Hi Omi,

Please Note:  You didn't mention anything in your previous question to me about a fan worm or fans. And from the image, I don't see any fans...

However regarding spaghetti worms which are (Sedentary polychaetes), they are related to fan worms. See the attached image of a spaghetti worm. Keep in mind in this image, this is a whole specimen, not flattened and attached to live rock or sediment inside an aquarium; therefore the view of the animal is unobstructed.

Defining characteristics of spaghetti worms: usually tubes (in sediment or attached to hard substrate) or burrows. They are suspension feeders, and/or deposit feeders. I don't believe they pose to big of a threat to your corals or live rock, other than being unsightly, especially if they are starting to populate all over your aquarium.

Regarding a method to eradicate them, I always recommend trying a natural method first, which involves adding a fish and/or invertebrate that will consume them.

The first fish that I would recommend, if suitable for your aquarium, being compatible with your other fish, and if you have the proper aquarium size would be the CopperBand Butterfly.

Other marine animals that you could consider to help eradicate the worms, would be the following: Six-Line Wrasse, Hoeven's Wrasse, Peppermint Shrimp, and a Sand Sifting Sea Star.

However keep in mind results will vary with each different animal. For example it could take a couple of months for the CopperBand to get fully comfortable in your aquarium, before it starts consuming the spaghetti worms.

I hope this information helps. Best of luck in all your saltwater aquarium endeavors.

Best Regards,
Dave

All Experts - Editor

http://ocreef.com - Director