help identify bug and rid of worms

[laurenneedshelp!]

Okay, I have five Bristleworms? I think thats what they are. They are half pink and half grey and have little spikes all over themselves, and I would like to get rid of them because I heard they eat corals, which I have in the tank. I also found a pill bug looking.. bug, and i would apprieciate it if anyone could help me find out what it is. Thanks for any help. (sorry i dont have any pictures).

[ChrisPrusha]

First off, welcome aboard!!! w0000000000000000000000t!!!

Bristleworms shouldn't bother your heathy corals...the vast majority of them are simply scavengers. The pill bug thingy is prolly just a pod...no reason for concern there, either...pods are often a sign of a healthy tank.

[jdbassin]

The small half pink bristle worms are harmless deterivores. don't worry about them. it's the fireworms and bobbit worms you have to worry about. if you found 5 you prob have many more. the pillbug looking thing???? is it hard on top with plates and like a snails under the plates, if so it's a chiton. they have 8 plates by the way.


jd

[Paintbug]

take a look here http://www.xtalworld.com/Aquarium/hitchfaq.htm see if yo can ID the "bug". it could be alot of things, amphipod, isopods, chiton. without a pic its impossible to say but i would lean towards an Isopod. heres another link on Isopods http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/rs/index.php

[laurenneedshelp!]

thanks for all the help! The worms werent bristleworms, they are fireworms, and the bug is a pod! Thanks so much! But, now i found something else in my tank. Its a half circle looking thing, and its dark brown on the top with white edges with five feet-looking things sticking out. Its stuck to my glass and moves very slowly. It moved down the side about a half inch, closer to the rock since yesterday. If anyone knows what it is, please tell me! Thanks for any help!

[Paintbug]

thats probably going to require a pic.

[laurenneedshelp!]

well, i cant get a picture now because it moved somewhere, but heres a doodle of it. Hope it helps! Picture A is what it looked like when i first saw it and picture B, which looks more like a contorted starfish (like when i saw it too), is when I last saw it. Thanks for any help and dont worry about it if noone knows. Thanks again!

[Paintbug]

that doodle didnt help, way to small. anyway im going to take a guess here since you said it looked like a starfish. they may be Asterina Starfish. take a look at this article.(towards the bottom)

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...ture/index.php

[laurenneedshelp!]

Thanks for all the help! i really apprieciate it! Sorry the picture was so small!
thanks a lot!

[Paintbug]

was that it? Asterina Starfish?

[laurenneedshelp!]

Sorry i havent replied, but im not sure, it looks like it could be. I have an actual picture, but it may be to small, tell me if it is and ill strech it out, now that i figured out how to use winzip...

[ChrisPrusha]

I do not think that its an asterina. I am not sure what it is. Anyone have any ideas?

[BoomerMn]

It is still a tiny image but I blew it up and it looks like it may be a Asterina

laurenneedshelp

One of the reasons you can not get the pic bigger, at the pixel max or KB value max, is you are posting the pic as a Bitmap (BMP). Convert the Bitmap to a jpeg.

[Paintbug]

any way to get a full size pic? you can email it to me. TJones@ncpbonline.com put something in the subject about IDing please.

[Twitterbait]

One way to deliniate the fireworm from the rest is to look at the spines. regular bristleworms have spines losely stacked along the length of the body whereas fireworms have tight tufts of grouped spikes coming out in more of a straight line pattern (kinda like the bristle bunches in a brush)