fireworm?? reef safe??

[tim.hunt7]

i found this funny loohing work in my live rock i identifed him as a fireworm (chloia flava) sorry couldnt get picture i saw him pull off some dead crap from the rock and eat it do you think it would be reef safe he is about 10cm give or take

[LeslieH]

I hate to say this but if it's really Chloeia flava it might not be reef safe. This species is a predator and scavenger. Normally it's found on soft bottom areas hunting for the worms & decaying flesh it prefers. In a reef tank without it's normal food it may go after other critters. You'll have to keep an eye on it especially at night to see what it does. I would target feed fish & shrimp it to take the edge off it's appetite.

[pntballgunz]

I agree...I just captured a fireworm myself. My purple firefish is recovering from getting bristles all over it. It was nasty to see the fish look like a porcupine. The fireworm was not too bashful and came out when food was near its opening in th eliverock. I made a needle spear with 5 needles and put shrimp at the end. When the worm came out to grab the shrimp, I stabbed it and rolled the spear to remove the rest of the body from the rock. Seems like a lot of work, but took me a few hours watching for the worm while watching tv. Goodluck!

[LeslieH]

YOU WHAT?????? Oh, the inhumanity of it all!!!!!!

[gastone]

Ahhh... don't kill it!

I'm in the process of procuring a eunicid for my sump... I've always wanted a sump monster.

A club local (WAMAS) is looking for a fireworm for a small species only tank. If you happen across another one, get in touch with me and I'm sure we can work out shipping.

Garrett.

[tim.hunt7]

yer he is about10cm+ so far i want to catch him to put in my sump because although not friendly he is pretty awsome. just gotta remember he is there when im workin down there

[LeslieH]

Tim - if the body shape is an oval then it could be a Chloeia. If the body is long cylindrical then it's a regular amphinomid, most likely Eurythoe and a reef safe scavenger.

[tim.hunt7]

i found more info it looks pretty much identidal and it says it eats soft corals like zooanthids and it just so happens that the rock it lives in came with zooanthids on it

[Dante_JoseCuerv]

Hmmm... could we see pics? I'm not ruling out the possibility that it's a fireworm but you're more than likely looking at a regular harmless bristleworm. Just keep an eye on it and see if it goes after any corals or anything, if it's just scavenging then I'd leave it. I've got a few bristleworms that come out after dark in my tank and they clean the place out overnight. I can never "overfeed" my tank because by the next omrning it's spotless. I also have a couple in my sump to take care of any food that may end up in there. THey're quite happy.

[tim.hunt7]

well it apears that mantis shrimp quite like bristleworms i found the half carcus this morning but it looks a bit smaller i may still have the big guy fingers crossed i wanted to put him in my sump