I caught 1/2 of a Fire Worm...will it die or regenerate???

[Pik]

Steven, this is how I've removed a big worm (15") from my rock. Basically, I just take the rock out of the tank (I don't know if this is convenient for you.. but it seems to be the easiest way) put the rock in a bucket. Fill the bucket with regular saltwater up to like 1/2". Just leave the rock there for a day or so.. might need longer, but the worm should come out and stay in the water. The rock may "die"... but you won't have the worm anymore.

[jegel]

So what about cutting good worms in half to get twice the worms? Would this work?

[Pegasis]

Hello all,

Well, I have been stalking two Fire Worms in my tank and today I was able to get ahold of one...the only problem is that I caught the front half and it ripped in half and the other half went back into the hole.

Does this mean that I have killed it (hopefully) or will it be able to regenerate it's head?

Your input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Steven

[Pik]

Well Steven, I'm sad to say.. you havne't killed it. It'll regenerate itself again. Just like an earthworm. How big is it?

[Pegasis]

It's hard to tell...it's at least 5" long, but the part that was in the hole never came fully out, so I couldn't really say.

I have another that I have been stalking and it is at least 7" or 8" long. That one is very smart. But I will get it one of these days even if I have to take the rock out and do a FW dip to it...I can live with Bristleworms, but NOT Fire Worms...

[Alice]

Bristle worms will usually mutliply pretty fast given the right conditions. I feed my tanks pretty heavily and the populations exploded.

Steven; have you tried the nylon stocking trick? Don't feed the tank for a couple of days and them put a piece of fish, shrimp, etc. in a wad of clean nylon stocking and put it in the tank, on the bottom, at lights out. You should have a collection of worms in the morning as their bristles get tangled in the nylon. It's worth a try.

~Alice

[Canadian]

What kind of live rock do you have? If it isn't Caribbean/Atlantic rock or wasn't housed with Carribean/Atlantic rock then you more than likely don't have a "Fire Worm", and it's probably a run-of-the-mill, good 'ol bristle worm.

It's probably a good thing that half of it got away. That way it will live to eat some more of whatever it has been eating to become so large.

Forgive me if I am misguided in my assumption that you have not yet witnessed this "Fire Worm" eat or attack anything that was healthy.

[ 03-05-2001: Message edited by: Canadian ]

[Pegasis]

Hi Andrew,

The LR was from Tonga (Indo-Pacific). I had a few very small pieces of FL Maricultured rock, but they didn't have holes in them and I had them for quite a while before I got the Tonga rock.

If a large Bristle worm looks like a Fire worm when it is stretched out ie. to get food then maybe it is a Bworm. It just looks so much like the pic of the Fireworm that I saw:

Fireworm
http://www.concentric.net/~Pegasis/images/fireworm.jpg

Bristleworm
http://www.concentric.net/~Pegasis/images/brstlwrm.jpg

These creatures seem to be so difficult to ID. I do know that I have only seen these worms in the rock and NEVER in the sand and they take food that lands near their hole and they also eat the plantlife near their hole. Less, perhaps their spawn feeding Filter Feeders, I have seen NO benefit to the worms I have in these rocks.

I do have a LLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG way to go when it comes to this "hobby" (way of life), but I can only go by what I see and what I hear and read.

I want to get a Clam soon and I would hate to see one of these overgrown creatures kill it. Some of the text relating to these worms say they are 2-3mm in size...that's 1/8" in size. I cannot believe that these 5" to 7" worms in my tank are the same thing. I am not saying that I could not be wrong, but it sure seems weird to me.

I hope this makes sense. I do not believe in killing creatures for the sake of killing them, but I do realize that compromises have to be made when we are trying to create a "real" environment in a false environment.

So much for my "Soap Box". I will stand down now. It is just so frustrating sometimes, and I don't have the answers that I need and I try so hard to do the "right" thing. There seems to be no "right" answer...there seems to be many "right" answers depending on each individual situation. I am SURE they all have merit and I am SURE that I can learn form them...I am NOT SURE however, which ones I can mix with other ones.

Thanks for listening.

Steven

[Canadian]

Here ya go:

http://canadianreef.homestead.com/files/Worm.jpg

That's a picture of a bristle worm that has been in my friends tank for well over a year. He also has some Tridacnids. The worm has been a perfect resident in the tank.

The erroneous assertion that large polychaetes pose a potential risk to clams, corals and other inverts results in the demise of some of the BEST detrivores in a reef tank. I firmly believe that the majority of publications which warn against the dangers of these "monster bristle worms" are based on either witnessing a worm consuming a necrotic section of an animal or an entirely dead animal, or an ignorant assumption based on the sheer size of the worms.

My guess is that your worm poses no more of a risk than the one pictured. In fact, the worm in my friends tank is highly valued for its great ability to consume large pieces of detritus.

BTW, the unsightly cyanobacteria on the sand bed has been eradicated. My buddy was sort of emabarassed by it when he took the pic, but the worm happened to venture out like that during the cyano outbreak and he couldn't pass up the chance to snap the shot.

Oh yeah, and those aren't his hands either...they're his wife's.

[ 03-05-2001: Message edited by: Canadian ]

[ 03-05-2001: Message edited by: Canadian ]

[Doug1]

FWIW polycheate worm species number over a thousand, The damaging FireWorms number in the few. Even the majority of large ones are benign detrivores, my theory is if it aint caught red handed dont worry bout it. Unless its one of the easy to ID red fire worms or similar if its eating on something it may be hurt or dying anyway. There was a thread on another BB a while back about nassarius attacking clams, which caused a minor panic till it was learned the clam had been in decline awhile

[Pegasis]

Andrew,

All I have to say is OH MY GOD!!! That is a HUGE BWorm!!!!!!!!

Steven