• Palolo or fiery?

  • Heather

Hello! The aquarium is 2 months old, and this worm didn't show any signs of existence before, but this morning, right after feeding the fish flakes and before turning on the light, it appeared. It was rummaging around the bottom, and I was even worried about the hermit crab; when the light came on, it quickly darted back into its burrow, and as soon as the light was off, it started rummaging around the bottom again. Unfortunately, I couldn't take a better photo. The zoanthids and the xenia are untouched. If anyone can identify it from this photo, please respond. Thank you.

Tiffany5069

with bristles - fiery

Maria6659

Thank you very much!

Denise

By behavior, it's definitely not a fire one; they are not so secretive, and the Mensheviks don't shy away from the light like that. Can you see its face in the photo? Fire ones come out for food even during the day... you can check with a piece of fish in front of the burrow...

Crystal

Thank you, oh man. He didn't show up again last night or this morning. I'll try with the fish. I understand I was supposed to look at his face, but at that moment I didn't know what to pay attention to. If it's palolo, should there be antennae? In the photo, the face of the worm is under the shed, and I was scared about what he wanted there, maybe it was what he ate from the shed or maybe the shed itself.

Amy1672

Yes, palolo worms, take a look at the photos online, you might be able to identify them... you can try to catch them with a tube and bait.

Gabriel

Today the situation repeated itself... right after feeding, this miracle came out to eat (from under a stone, but from a different place), sniffing for leftover flakes lying on the bottom and eating them. I managed to take some slightly better photos. I didn't see any whiskers. But maybe I'm just not looking in the right place. In general, I leave it to your judgment. What is this?

Devon107

I think you shouldn't worry so much; he doesn't look like a pololo. This is most likely fireworms, just take a look, and your worm.

Justin

Thank you very much! You put me at ease.

Wesley

Similar to Eurythoe complanata, it can be distinguished from other fireworms by its thickness; it is the thickest. If needed, you can catch it with tweezers... they didn't harm me... I constantly fed them - it was quite a horror.

Alexander

thank you

Lindsey3628

Morning can be good! The strombus is alive and well, apparently stuck in a little cave and wriggling around, hence the unnatural position, but it got out overnight. So, my worm is at most a killer of trochus. Or maybe it’s not him at all, but the ot shell.

Jessica

You are making a problem out of nothing. Just catch him and all questions will be resolved.

Jessica9188

Compared to others, it's not fast at all. It will always be near some fresh dead thing. It's not a problem at all, except aesthetically. It grows to about 20 cm.

Mark9853

I have such (exactly) living and thriving! one as thick as a leg and as long as the equator (healthy in general) in considerable numbers! It eats what fish leave uneaten! it doesn't kill anyone! it is a scavenger and detritivore! there is no need to destroy the creature just out of suspicion!

Wendy8540

Thank you to everyone who responded. I've already gotten used to it, and I wouldn't be able to bring myself to do anything to him. However, the hermit crabs turned out to be quite unpleasant characters, so I moved them to the Black Sea stone urchin after one of them ate a strombus and was "caught in the act" (after all, the trochus probably had something to do with it too). Thank you once again.

Brent7831

Up to 24 cm. And yes, they stretch and compress very well. Not predators. Quite harmless scavengers/recyclers. They are abundant in every aquarium (unless there are large wrasses). In my opinion, a useful creature.