gut churning bristle worm
 

what's the largest bristle worm you've ever discovered within your tank? i found one 10 to 11 inches long couple years ago when i was switching tank. it must have been scavenger type for i had not noticed any disappearing fish, polyps, shrooms. i still regret flushing it down toilet as i could have kept it in the sump doing useful work.

I haven't had any gut churning incidents although I do have a lot of 10-12" worms in my tanks but if you need a new meaning to the term "gut churning" check out this beauty :mrgreen:
http://www.oregonreef.com/sub_worm.htm

I knew someone was going to post that . Is that not the sickest, that's just a segment of the worm, it was a lot longer. 7 feet. Off topic, if you get a chance that is Steve Weast tank stunning setup worth the read. In small print on the top of his page click to enter his cold water set up that's crazy to. Sad to hear he lost that tank.

I had a two foot eunicid worm. The same as Steves only considerably smaller :razz:

It was one of the most disgusting reef experiences I have ever had.

That thing is sick!!
Hope I never have one

Everyone who ever put decent live rock into their tank has eunicid worms. Some of them are really small, while others grow to monster movie size. If you look closely enough, you'll see them. The largest I've ever kept was about the thickness of my little finger. He was vegetarian and I never did get to see how long he actually was....at least 12".

While commonly called bristle worms, eunicid worms are quite different. 5 distinct "antennae"...nasty mandibles...very fast moving...rarely seen completely out of a hole...and centipede like legs...usually shiny segmented body. They can be problematic..but they can just as easily exist in your tank for decades and you wouldn't know it.

Old picture...but still a classic.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/100_0865.jpg

YAh i had a eunicid worm in my tank it grew to almost 6 feet long fiji rock is real bad for them

OMG, I looked at that coldwater tank page and it's AMAZING! I would love to do something like that some day... I actually considered doing a yellow perch tank, though I'd have to get a permit to collect them.

And these worms are sick. I had better freaking NOT get one of these in my tank. It would probably make me end my reefing days :surprise:

so... is there a way to remove worms like that?

From reading steve's experience, you have too get them out in one piece, they will segment off and the pieces will stay alive and regenerate back into a worm.