help with removal of huge Eunice Worm

[Ryan7]

Found a huge Eunice Worm in my 325G reef. I'm estimating it is at least 2ft long and is the thickness of my index finger.

For the longest time I have been blaming my tangs and reef crabs for the bite marks on my sps and disappearing zoa's, but never caught them in the act. Then the other night to my horror I discovered the worm, now he is definitely getting the blame, have managed to see it twice now at night in the tank, but is gone once I get a light on him... didn't appear to retreat to a home of some sort that I could see..

I have read the only success people have in removing them is to dismantle their tank, but there is no way I am going to do that... it would be hard enough for me to remove one rock with all the encrusted corals, assuming I knew the rock it was in...

So I thought someone here might have a clever way to get it out?

I was thinking of baiting a long clear tube at night to see if it crawls in, then take the whole tube out if it does??

Where can I buy local a red lens flash light?

NASTY!

[spit.fire]

Just turn the brightness up on your phone with a red screen, lots of the flashlights you can buy at Canadian tire will have a red led as well

[Ryanerickson]

Sounds nasty hope we get pics if you catch it good luck

[corpusse]

Burn your house down, collect the insurance and start again.

Really a trap is your best bet. Maybe put a pvc pipe with some holes drilled in it and some shrimp or fish or something smelly in just after lights out. Watch with a red flashlight. If you have a spot large enough on your sandbed / bottom that is away from the rock that would be ideal because for all you know he's 8 feet long and you've only seen 2 feet of it.

[gobytron]

sure doesn't sound like it's scavenging for dead things.

you should try to identify whatever it is in your tank that it seems to eat the most, then remove as much of it from your system as you can, then bait a trap with whatever it is.

I don't think you'll read too many successful trapping stories with these guys.

[Aquattro]

I had one years ago, never caught it, but did find the rock it lived in. The rock went into the garden :)

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I have a blue UV flashlight you could borrow, but you'd have to make sure you return it afterwards.:wink:

[Myka]

I took one out of my tank a few years back. It was only 11". I knew the general vicinity of where it lived and took apart that side of the tank. Then I squirted soda water in the holes. That didn't work so I did a 50/50 vinegar and water dip...it came out like a rocket and I dropped the rock and screamed like a girl. It had made all sorts of slime coated tunnels under the rocks.

[hillegom]

I dropped the rock and screamed like a girl.

lol
:biggrin:

[gregzz4]

lol
:biggrin:
Double LOL

I've never read any online posts to support using a trap.
Sorry to say but it looks like you'll need to remove it's 'home' and force it out with club soda.
Keep in mind that it may leave it's tail end behind, so be sure it comes out 'complete'

Good luck!!

[hfp75]

I've read to use a womens nylon and food... to bait it. Apparently they get aught up in the nylon.... you need to anchor the nylon & put food inside it..... I'd watch for it to get caught up in the nylon and remove it asap.... might be a long night waiting & watching.

Some people are successful with it...

[gregzz4]

Not so sure Eunicid worms will become trapped in nylons such as bristle worms will.
From what I can find online anyway ...

Besides, they appear to be able to leave their anchored tail behind to regrow ... ?

[Myka]

Eunicids are bald and won't get caught in nylons,but that's a good trick for bristle worms! Eunicids are more like millipedes...lots of legs but no "hairs". They are also very fast - I remember reading an article that said they are one of the fastest animals in the world IIRC. It said some crazy thing like 300 ft per second they can withdraw themselves. Don't quote me on that... :lol:

[Dearth]

Enucid worms are notoriously difficult to catch as most of the standard tricks generally won't work well as was stated by Myka they are smooth no bristles so the nylon trick will not work they are also extremely fast so catching them by grabbing with tongs, grab hooks and so on are generally not successful.

As these worms target live foods as their primary source using meat and chunks of invert food won't work as a general rule however putting a live feeder fish or live large shrimp in food traps have met with some success.

Most commonly people either trap the worm in a rock and remove said rock or end up ripping up their tank to trap the worm which appears to be the most common practise.

****it is important to note that Enucid worms have mandibles so do not handle with your hands when caught they have been known to inflict a very nasty and painful bite

[Aquattro]

Yup, slippery and fast. I tried for months to catch mine, finally found the rock with a build up of dead snail shells around an opening. Rock gone.

[christyf5]

I had a large one in my tank a number of years ago, at least a foot and a half long. Ate all my zoas, bastard. I managed to find its lair and took the rock out that it lived in. I did end up dismantling half my tank and was lucky that it eventually slid out of the rock it was in (or I might have broken the rock in half, I can't remember). The worm also broke in half too. It was absolutely disgusting. I was mostly across the room while a fellow reefer removed and disposed of it for me :razz:

[gobytron]

If you can remove your zoas from your tank, you could bait your trap with zoas.

Seems like a common go to for them.

[christyf5]

If you can remove your zoas from your tank, you could bait your trap with zoas.

Seems like a common go to for them.

make sure you use pretty ones though, if you use brown ones, they'll just sit there forever...taunting you :razz:

the fug brown ones were the last to go in my tank....*sigh*

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

make sure you use pretty ones though, if you use brown ones, they'll just sit there forever...taunting you :razz:

the fug brown ones were the last to go in my tank....*sigh*

Murphy's law. Remember the member who had a Moorish Idol for months and then it started eating his expensive zoa collection, going from the most expensive to the browns. This Eunice worm obviously went to the same school of eating corals and pi$$ing off tank owners.:twised::wink:

[pbauec]

Can I have him when you catch him ? My son wants something terrifying and this is as terrifying as I can think of :)

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

[Scythanith]

Get a peacock mantis shrimp if you want something cool and terrifying :)

[pbauec]

Mantis shrimp are cool and I want one too. But it won't give anyone nightmares.

[Scythanith]

Tell that to anything you put in the tank with it ;)

[soapy]

Get a peacock mantis shrimp if you want something cool and terrifying :)

Yes, or get a spearing mantis if you want something even more terrifying.

[pbauec]

I'm sure someone will send me one eventually. I'll keep a tank ready for a bobbit

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[GoFish]

This is cool :cool:

http://aquaa3.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Bobbit-Worm-Eunice-aphroditois.gif

[Dearth]

This is cool :cool:

http://aquaa3.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Bobbit-Worm-Eunice-aphroditois.gif

In nature yes ...in your tank no

That is a bobbit worm ambush predator

[Ryan7]

Replies: (I don't know how to multiple quote)

-tried the red phone, not bright enough, found a red led flashlight. thx

-"Really a trap is your best bet. Maybe put a pvc pipe with some holes drilled in it and some shrimp or fish or something smelly in just after lights out. Watch with a red flashlight. If you have a spot large enough on your sandbed / bottom that is away from the rock that would be ideal because for all you know he's 8 feet long and you've only seen 2 feet of it."77

^This is along the lines I was thinking of trying, I like where you are going with this, except I was think clear flexible tubing.. with one end out of the water, where I can dangle in bait on a hook and line.. what do you think?

-Not sure what the UV light would do..

-nothing particular I can bait any trap with in my tank...

-If I catch him, anyone is welcome to it.

Update:

I have only managed to see it once since the OP. Only about 2" of it... its definitely thick! I have not tried catching it via any trap method yet, as I was hoping more investigation of night watching would give me some clues as to where it hides... no such luck.

My purpose of the OP is to whether someone had something new or clever to get it out, as I cannot/will not take any rock apart... I am well aware of their biology, and the common efforts others have made for removal (;

[Ryan7]

Well I caught it!! my heart is still beating a mile a minute..

Here's how it happened..

Same as most nights, I get the red flashlight out to look for the beast, most nights I see nothing, and when I did, I would only get a glimpse of it for a few seconds and it would always be in a different spot that there was no way I could get at it or the rocks.

But tonight was different, I saw 4 inches of it in the corner of my tank where there is only two rocks, and those 2 rocks where on the sand on top of each other and surrounded by sand. I kept the light on the area for a few minutes to see if it moved, it didn't, so I decided to go for it. I turned on all the lights in the tank, no way I was going in with just a red flash light.. no movement from the rocks. I went from above and with a set of eheim tongs moved the first rock out of the way while checking to see if it was in there, it wasn't. One large rock left on the sand... I could see that it was under the rock, not in it.. I didn't have much room to work with.. I put a net in and had the tongs ready. I fiddled around trying to lift the rock for 15 minutes with no success.. then it escaped.. I could see it moving from underneath the rock down the side of the tank towards the front pane, but couldn't get at it... I jumped down from the back of the tank where I have access and ran around to the front of the tank.. I thought I lost it..

When I got to the front of the tank I could see it in the front corner and making its way across the tank.. I watched it to see if it would go to a spot where I could try to catch it again.. It must have been startled from the lights going on and my previous attempt to get it under the rock, because it travelled mostly in the open across the sand under my cave setup..

My tank is 6 feet long...

Its tail was in the front corner, it was stretched out 5 feet to where the head was!! I almost sh*t myself...

I watched it go to the other side of the tank and curl itself up within some small rocks in the other corner. This was the easiest area for me to get at and be able to move some rocks.

As I started moving the rocks it would curl itself through all the rocks.. I figured a this point im going to grab a piece of it with the tongs... I did, I squeezed the tongs as hard as I could, and it release a 1-1/2 foot piece.. I put the piece in a bucket and went in for more. I got another 2 foot long piece, into the bucket.

Now I was worried it was going to get away, so I decided to try for the front head section... I waited until I got a good shot and squeezed the tong trigger about 4 inches down from the head.. but this this time it wasn't releasing a segment of itself.. I squeezed as tight as I could and pulled at for about 15 minutes... it was literally a tug of war..

Finally, it gave up, and I pulled the rest of it out of the rock and put it in the bucket..

The palm of my hand is red and bruised from squeezing the trigger soo tight... but I got it, all of it!! 4 pieces in total in a bucket..

knock on wood, the nightmare is over..

Sorry for the long read...

I will post some pics tomorrow afternoon.

[Ryanerickson]

Crazy story glad you caught it thanks for sharing can't wait for pics.

[Myka]

GROSS! :bolt:

I'm glad you got it out though. At 5 feet long, it could really do some damage!

[spedly]

I had no idea what a eunice worm is. Ugh. My wife would make me do a full tear down if I had one of those aliens in my tank.

[Ryan7]

Couple of quick pics.

Its thick when shrivelled, maybe two double A batteries, stretched to 5 feet in the tank..

It took me hours to fall asleep last night after I caught it.. I kept thinking of waking up in the morning, going to the bucket, opening the lid, and the worm not be there.. :)

I have read that some think the body can regenerate a head when broke off.. Anyone know if there is any fact to this? Anyone want the body to do some myth busting?

Now, im debating disposal... no way im flushing this down the toilet, I would never be able to sit on it again...

I know someone wanted it when I caught it, I will reach out to them.. Im guessing I would sending the part with the head...

[mrhasan]

Couple of quick pics.

Its thick when shrivelled, maybe two double A batteries, stretched to 5 feet in the tank..

It took me hours to fall asleep last night after I caught it.. I kept thinking of waking up in the morning, going to the bucket, opening the lid, and the worm not be there.. :)

I have read that some think the body can regenerate a head when broke off.. Anyone know if there is any fact to this? Anyone want the body to do some myth busting?

Now, im debating disposal... no way im flushing this down the toilet, I would never be able to sit on it again...

I know someone wanted it when I caught it, I will reach out to them.. Im guessing I would sending the part with the head...

You can try selling it to the dark side of the market. Pretty sure they can find use of it to enlarge or boost something :razz: :lol:

Bad joke? :redface:

I would have burnt it right then and there before going to the bed. Because of Murphy's law!

[brisco]

Great news....can I come see it?

[pbauec]

That's an impressive tank story man. Yes, please post pictures. And I would still make a home for that monster.

[brisco]

Okay so I went over and saw the "monster", whoa very impressive! The head segment was still very much alive and while I was looking at that part another section started wiggling away. Both interesting and terrifying at the same time.:bolt:

[BCOrchidGuy]

I'm a Dean Koontz fan and seriously this had be going more than any of his novels in a long time.
Even if this had been a fictional story it would have been a great read.

[Ram3500]

I don't think I will get much sleep tonight it looks like something out of a 80s horror movie :bolt:

[tang daddy]

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o227/tangdaddy/PB270170.jpg (http://s121.photobucket.com/user/tangdaddy/media/PB270170.jpg.html)
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o227/tangdaddy/PB270180.jpg (http://s121.photobucket.com/user/tangdaddy/media/PB270180.jpg.html)

Glad you caught it Matt, years ago when I had my 120g I was loosing Zoas and chunks of sps it wasn't until I took down my reef the monster showed itself about 2ft long and thick like a sharpie pen, I was so horrified to remove it I payed my younger brother $20 it wrapped around a 5 g pail. That's a large tunze pump for size comparison, still gives me the jitters if I see one in person to this day.