Spaghetti worm plague

[Redseadragon12]

DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO ERADICATE THESE THINGS? I know they are "beneficial" but they sure as heck are murdering my zoa colonies and chalices. The tentacles keep them closed all day. They also steal food from the zoas when I feed. I have a 20 gallon tank with several large zoa colonies and these worms are slowly spreading and taking over the entire colonies and killing them. I notice once they get the zoas closed they just constanly swirl around them until they start melting in the area where the worm is and then the worm will feed on the zoa tissue as it slowly decays....

[shadowmonster]

I'm assuming you have a sand bed? How deep/old is it? For a quick fix you could always replace some of the sand. I'm not really sure how to remove the one that inhabit the rocks though.

[Redseadragon12]

I have no sand at all they are only living in rocks.

[shadowmonster]

You might want to do some research and see if there's a reef-safe fish or invertebrate that will eat these worms for you. www.liveaquaria.com would be a good place to start. They usually offer a little bit of information on all their livestock. (compatibility, diet etc)

[Redseadragon12]

You might want to do some research and see if there's a reef-safe fish or invertebrate that will eat these worms for you. www.liveaquaria.com would be a good place to start. They usually offer a little bit of information on all their livestock. (compatibility, diet etc)



Is that an advertisement? I'm aware of live aquaria the biggest online retailer in the country lol.

[shadowmonster]

and yet finding a fish or invertebrate that might eat these worms never crossed your mind? lol

[m0nkie]

I'm not sure if Flat Worm Exit will help. They tend to kill all worms, even Bristles. the harm comes when there's a huge worm population die off and possible cycle. so large WC is needed after

Arrow crabs also feed on worms.

lastly, I believe having that big of a worm population means you have too much detritus in the tank.

[m0nkie]

and since it's only a 20gal with zoas, have you considered removing the rocks 1 by 1 for bayer dip?

[Redseadragon12]

and yet finding a fish or invertebrate that might eat these worms never crossed your mind? lol

No im not that smart:)

[j_mazzy]

can we get some pictures of these guys?

and where are you located?

[Redseadragon12]

and since it's only a 20gal with zoas, have you considered removing the rocks 1 by 1 for bayer dip?

Thats a pretty good idea! I think I may give this a shot. I'll have to read up on it.

[Redseadragon12]

can we get some pictures of these guys?

and where are you located?

Im in Houston Tx. I will try and get some pics later today.

[Redseadragon12]

That was fun!

[j_mazzy]

give them away to local club or lfs?

[Redseadragon12]

The worms are in the rocks if I could remove them I would definitely give them all away to any takers.

[Redseadragon12]

give them away to local club or lfs?

The worms are in the rocks if I could remove them I would definitely give them all away to any takers.

[Ron Reefman]

I had them in my sand and they never caused any problems. When I added a wrasse they were all gone in a couple of days, not that I wanted them gone!

[Bent]

An arrow crab will destroy them.

But they will also eat other things. They remind me of those tripod things in war of the worlds.

[bif24701]

You also may want to look at your feeding practices. Try spot feeding and reduce the feed if possible.


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[Redseadragon12]

from what I've read wrasse cannot pick them out of the rocks. Maybe an arrow crab but I keep reading nightmare stories about them.

[Redseadragon12]

You also may want to look at your feeding practices. Try spot feeding and reduce the feed if possible.


True I only spot feed corals. It's a lot of work and also frustrating to see a spaghetti worm rip some shrimp away from a chalice or zoa. The fish I don't feed much at all and they never let food get to the bottom because they are always famished. They actually splash me when I walk by that's how I know it's time to feed lol.


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[Bent]

from what I've read wrasse cannot pick them out of the rocks. Maybe an arrow crab but I keep reading nightmare stories about them.

They are a nightmare once they get big.

[jlmawp]

I had them in my sand and they never caused any problems. When I added a wrasse they were all gone in a couple of days, not that I wanted them gone!

This. My 6-line straight-up eradicates anything that is spindly and moves on its own. By some miracle, I had a mini brittle star re-appear, arms waving in the current the other day. I'm sure he'll last all of a couple more days until he's locked onto and eliminated.

[FullBoreReefer]

How long have you had them?

I had them in my old 180gal, before I knew it there were hundreds. Slowed and cut back on feeding, increased my vortechs after feeding, and did alittle extra maintenance to stay ahead. And BAM, the next thing I know, they were all gone.

They exploded because there was excessive food, then I cut back, less food and they outcompete each other and slowly die off.

Don't worry about feeding zoas, palys yes. How many fish? Can you skip a day or two of feedings for a few weeks? Feed with smaller doses/quantity?

[ThRoewer]

Get a Chelmon rostratus (CBB) - that one will eradicate them in no time.

[Redseadragon12]

How long have you had them?

I had them in my old 180gal, before I knew it there were hundreds. Slowed and cut back on feeding, increased my vortechs after feeding, and did alittle extra maintenance to stay ahead. And BAM, the next thing I know, they were all gone.

They exploded because there was excessive food, then I cut back, less food and they outcompete each other and slowly die off.

Don't worry about feeding zoas, palys yes. How many fish? Can you skip a day or two of feedings for a few weeks? Feed with smaller doses/quantity?

At least 3 years now. I rarely feed my tank. I even went three months without adding any food and they still survived and thrived somehow. Other than the worms it is pristine no algae in sight looks sterile. There are not a lot of them maybe 15-20 total in the rocks. I had a sixline for 2 years and he never touched a spaghetti worm. Also coral banded shrimp, pepermint shrimp wont touch them.