ID this worm plz ?

[Gregs]

hey everyone, been fresh keeping all my life and now im switching to the darkside (for my wallet) - setting up a 220g fowlr and everything is ready to go. i got a load of live rock but as I was moving them from bucket to bucket one of these guys fell out... and then another... and another... all in various sizes.
bad?
good?
if bad, how would i erradicate the critters before throwing the rock in the tank?

thanks,
cheers

[reef684]

very bad, make sure you.get them out and dont touch it. look online under bristle worm.

[Gregs]

i had a feeling this was a bristle worm...
but.. now what do i do? after much reading it seems like people are 50/50 on the danger of these things.

[2bafish]

They aren't really bad. They just eat leftover food and etc. many people leave them in the tank. I personally hate them because they creep me out, so I remove them.
It might not be a bad idea to check your rock for any other critters. They sell products to soak your rock and kill unwanted hitchhikers. It is not doing anything bad to the corals or live rock. I use it as well when I buy new corals. Good luck

[xtreme]

I wouldn't necessarily say they are very bad. They can be beneficial detrivores. The bigger one are pretty gross though.

[reef684]

i have some small white ones in my tank. bought an arrow crab, he eats them but that one looks different than the ones i had/have.

[subman]

not bad at all actually a good detrivore

[MrGoodbytes]

+1 These guys might not have much in the looks department but they are a great part of your CUC. Just don't touch them if you can resist :P. There's one main Amphinomid (the kind of worm they are) called Hermodice carunculata that should cause concern but you don't appear to have that one. They're like snails in freshwater planted tanks in the sense that their numbers will heavily depend on how much food goes into the system.

I get happy when I see mine poking around :P.

[vanreefer]

I would leave them in the tank... the main risk is that you'll get stung moving a rock... in a FOWLR tank they'll help wit the left over food...

[paddyob]

Originally Posted by reef684

very bad, make sure you.get them out and dont touch it. look online under bristle worm.

Very wrong.

Bristle worms are harmless tonyour tank. They are scavengers and will help clean your tank.

Leave it.