View Full Version : Worm ID
bwest
03/20/2008, 10:49 PM
I have a number of these that I've seen in my tank. This is a picture of one crawling on the glass. Anyone know what they are? Thanks.
Edit: I also wanted to add that the one in the picture is no larger than an inch in length.
http://www.serenereef.com/tank/IMG_6654.jpg
LeslieH
03/21/2008, 09:55 AM
It's a dorvilleid polychaete. They tend to be micro-grazers that scrape food off hard surfaces and nothing to worry about.
bwest
03/21/2008, 10:29 AM
Thanks for the information. Based off of that I looked it up and found that a eunicid worm looks very very similar. Are these two one in the same?
LeslieH
03/21/2008, 07:43 PM
Dorvilleids and eunicids are all polychaetes and belong in the same group of families with jaws so they're more closely related to one another than to a group like the terebellids (spagetti worms), cirratulids (hair worms), or amphinomids (fire worms).
Here's the head of a dorvilleid that resembles yours:
http://www.nhm.org/guana/bvi-invt/bvi-surv/images/worm-05/h0996c.htm
And here's the head of a eunicid:
http://www.nhm.org/guana/bvi-invt/bvi-surv/images/worm-04/h0792a.htm
bwest
03/22/2008, 07:46 PM
That certainly helps out a lot. Thanks Leslie!
vBulletin® v3.8.4, Copyright ©2000-2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.