Help......this nasty is EATING my finger leather

[Anonymous]

Help this worm thingy is literally shredding my leather from the base up! Help!!

 

[Anonymous]

More pics

 

[RobertoVespucci]

Can you get it out?

I think I'm going to have nightmares now. :roll:

 

[SnowManSnow]

If you can't catch it you'll have to set some sort of trap. My guess is that it is nocturnal? There are different traps on the market... some of the guys here can probably tell you how do DIY one. You might try the DIY forum and look through the previous posts.

B.

 

[Anonymous]

but I'm pretty sure I saw another. It is only about an inch long or so and when it's in the water it is almost transparent. The one I got is in a bag thumbtacked to my wall........still kicking.........does anyone know what it is?

 

[Anonymous]

It looks to me to be a member of the Eunicid Family. If it is then there's good news & bad news.

Good news:
they don't reproduce well in captive environments
They usually don't venture very far from their hole

Bad news:
some get big, really big
the bigger they get the more they eat
the bigger they get the further they can reach from their hole

 

[Anonymous]

Guy your just filled with all kinds of good news, aintcha :wink:

 

[SnowManSnow]

Are there any natural preditors of these guys that our friend my consider adding to his tank???

B

 

[Anonymous]

Almost any fish would eat one if it could. The problem is that they are usually nocturnal and can quickly retreat to their hole. If you can isolate the coral you might be able to get it to evacuate the rock by squirting fresh water into its hole. Just so you know I'm just guessing on how to get rid of it. An Iodine dip might get it pretty upset too.

 

[Anonymous]

from previous perch (it was almost detached anyway) relocated to a place where I can monitor the base. All seems well so far. Haven't been able to locate any more of the worm things. Fingers are crossed.

 

[wade1]

Iodine based dips won't matter to a worm like that very much... the freshwater is a better method (or rather, tank water cut in half with RO).

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Wade, I didn't know that. Makes sense.

Guy

 

[Anonymous]

eunicid worms have been known to hunt fish actively, and get huge