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jelwyoming
08/17/2007, 09:29 AM
A couple of weeks ago, before leaving for work in the early morning, I checked out all the mechanics of my reef tank as I do every morning..ph, flows, light, ect. However, that morning when I looked at the sump for water level, I found the largest worm that I'd ever seen! It actually had visible jaws. Since then, I know that this was what has been eating at my SPS. I put on some rubber gloves and grabbed the thing out of the sump. It recoiled, but I still got a hold of it. Still recoiled, I put it in the bottom of a gallon pitcher that I used to top the tank with. It made 2 complete coils around the bottom; you figure how long that it is! It was 3/4" wide at the largest point. The sad part of this was that I left the pitcher near the tank to take a picture of it when I got home from work. Well, when the rest of the family saw it later that morning, it wasn't long before it went down the toilet! Without exaggerating, I estimated that it was nearly 2 feet long. I had added one large live rock a month before and expect that it had been harboring in that when it arrived! It was near black and looked very much like a terrestrial millipede. Has anyone else come across something like this before? I would like to know what it was.

Bandsaw
08/17/2007, 09:42 AM
Sounds like a pretty cool worm. Glad you have it as opposed to me!! ;)

Can you post a picture of him?

reefshadow
08/17/2007, 04:44 PM
Sounds like it was probably a eunicid (spelling?). Never seen one of these in person, but the pics are scary.

Hormigaquatica
08/17/2007, 05:23 PM
Here ya go (http://oregonreef.com/sub_worm.htm)

Rewd
08/17/2007, 05:52 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10576556#post10576556 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Hormigaquatica
Here ya go (http://oregonreef.com/sub_worm.htm)

:eek2: :eek2: :eek2: :eek2:

awestruck
08/17/2007, 06:16 PM
Geez, watch the movie ANACONDAs.

Scissorhand
08/17/2007, 06:18 PM
aw a picture would have been cool.

awestruck, if your son tells you he loves you then he wants somethin'... be on the lookout for gifts demands... like Nintendo Wii or an iPhone. j.k.

kingfisher62
08/17/2007, 06:49 PM
I saw that link before Hormigaquatica and that is just what I was thinking!

unda_da_see
08/17/2007, 07:33 PM
gloves are on my shopping list.

yellowwatchmen
08/17/2007, 07:40 PM
Hope i dont get one of those!:eek2:

clsund
08/18/2007, 01:04 AM
ugh.

magdelan
08/18/2007, 01:18 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10576556#post10576556 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Hormigaquatica
Here ya go (http://oregonreef.com/sub_worm.htm)

I was waiting for someone to post that site. CRAZY!!! :eek1:

awestruck
08/18/2007, 08:44 AM
Off topic but scissorhand, I'm LMAO!!!! Yes, my son is going to be 12 in two weeks and still cuddles once in a while. I wonder what he wants then...probably a Bucatti for when he turns 16. :D

romunov
08/18/2007, 10:53 AM
Such worms do show up every now and then, and unfortunately almost always in the wrong place. I wouldn't mind having a bunch of those in my tank! Instead, my biggest beast is about 15 cm long. And they both spend their time by the glass, so it's a real kicker watching them. Due to their big size, I'm unable to keep small snails, though. :(

beaupierce
08/18/2007, 11:10 AM
I saw your wesite too. Very nice setup.

nmywrx
08/18/2007, 12:18 PM
I saw one of those worms going in and out of a hole in my live rock a couple of months ago. I haven't seen him since. He was only a 1/8th of an inch wide. I don't know how long he was because he never completely came out of the hole.

Should I be worried about him, and is there any way to catch him?

jelwyoming
08/19/2007, 01:55 PM
Thanks for the help and comments.
I suspect that he's been in my tank for a while; especially to have grown to that size. I have been loosing corals and recordias for a while now, so it must have been him. It's been a few weeks now and no more losses. I am relieved. I never saw a trace of it before catching him. But now I understand why some of my frags might have repeatedly been knocked over.