Bristle worms and fire worms

[rajuncajun]

Is there a diffrence between a bristle worm and fire worm i got a candy cane coral today and it was really nice. i knew it had one aptasia on it but was willing to buy it and just kill the aptasia. well when i put it in the tank this large pink worm with white bristles crawled off the coral and into my live rock. i was not worried about a bristle but i was reading some bad things about fire worms. same, diffrent, anything to worry about.

[Fly Guy]

they are all polychaetes, and all commonly referred to as firewoms. Many think fireworms are different and bad guys, but they are not. It just depends on what myth if going on in the thread you are reading

There are very few fireworms out of countless types that pose our tanks any problems. You are more likely to find a eunicid than a harmful polychaete. Eunicids dont have the bristles. Most likely the one you have is fine and just a detrivore that isnt equipped to be killing anything no matter how big it gets.

Without a good picture its hard to say for sure, but odds are he is your friend, not foe

[crvz]

I'll defer to fly for the specifics, but in any case many folks have somewhat of an adverse reaction to bristleworms. Take caution as you handle them, as it may "sting" you for lack of a better word (some detached bristles can irritate the skin).

[rajuncajun]

This is what he looks like.



found him on this web site http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchworms.html good source for hitchiker identification so i thought i would pass it along.