WOOHOO! A Eunicid!

[Lev F.]

I have wanted a Eunicid worm for a really long time. I loved everything about them, their looks, their behavior, and everything else. And on yesterdays magical night, i had gotten my wish. i was scanning the floor of my tank for pods, and I saw it. The great mandibles in full view, a 3 inch long Eunicid worm, pulling into it's lair in the sand. I watched, fascinated as it hunted for pods. For years i have carefully scanned any pieces of live rock for Eunicids, and I couldn't find any. N ow I have one. The question is, How do I get him out of there? He will be lunch if I don't transport him into my Refugium soon. I want to keep him, care for him, and watch him grow. i want him to get big, and when he does, i will buy him a tank as big as he wants. Then i will worship him and show his awesome mandibles to my friends. How do I get him out of my tank without harming him a single bit?

Any advice is so greatly appreciated, and i will provide pics of him as soon as i get him out.

Thank you very much in advance,
Lev.

[Monkeyfish]

If he retreats into a rock take the rock out of the tank and put it into another one.

[Lev F.]

He retreats into a burrow in the sand, so his lair is his burrow. he's not in a rock. Thanks anyways :)

[LeslieH]

Hey, Lev, you sound like my kind of guy! Usually these critters won't ever come completely out of their burrows. They use their bristles to anchor themselves to the sides of it so they can rapidly retract if a predator come along. You'll have to carefully dig up the sand starting at the back of the burrow to flush it out. If you can't figure out where the back of the burrow is try gently pushing a small diameter rod into the sand. Do you have rocks? It's likely the burrow goes under or into them - I see that all the time when collecting - so you might have to remove some. Good luck!

[Lev F.]

Thanks for the advice Leslie. Yep, i have rocks. I'm going to have to go on a worm hunt tonight! Do these guys have a specific diet that is needed to keep them healthy? I could feed him frags if he needs to eat those for his nutrition. I remember the first time I saw one of these guys with his mandibles exposed on a picture. I was like "I have to have one of these." They are way underrated, people say they're "just worms", but in reality, they are beautiful super-predators of the reef. gotta love em'!

[melissa77]

i cant believe what i am reading!!! today, as i was feeding the corals and fishes in my tank, i was staring quietly at a rock and then BANG! i saw something grabbing a shrimp so fast i tought it was a mantis, cuz i found a few in my tank lately, and then i looked again to see it clearly.... 5 antennas were sticking out of the hole, and then the master came out, discusting crap!!! it is about 5 inches long, i pulled the rock out of the tank and put it in a bucket with fresh water to make it come out, it eats fishes... i dont want it in my tank, i even put vinegar in the hole where i seen it.... sorry man, this have to be the most discusting thing i ever seen... dont see your point in wanting to keep that, i didnt know what it was till i look in my reference book,,,, what a nightmare, i put the rock back in an other tank and havent seen it, dont know if it survived.... will have to look closely....

[Lev F.]

LOL, you've just witnessed some classic Eunicid hunting activity. But hey, people have their mixed feelings. Some people like cheese, some don't. No need to be sorry, everyone has to have their opinions! :D

<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big> , Where even Eunicids have hardcore fans!

[melissa77]

the question is, do you think it is deand or do i ship you the whole rock fedex!!!!!

[Lev F.]

I'm not sure if it's dead, they can be hardy critters. If you see him, extract him with something and put him in a cup of salt water. Then you can freeze him, or if you want, ship him to me, or you could ask Leslie if they want it. :D

[melissa77]

i'll sure try that!!!!! thanks

[LeslieH]

Melissa, you've got a eunicid. For Lev it would be "congratulations" but for you "condolences"! I have no idea if one can survive both freshwater & vinegar. If it's dead you now have a large amount of rotting flesh in your tank so I hope you've got a good clean-up crew!

Lev, I do love them and think it's great that you do too. How refreshing to read your comments in contrast to the usual posts on aquarium forums. While it's known that the big ones are predators I don't think there's much information on specific diets. The big bobbits like the one in your avatar are lured out of their burrows for photography by dangling a piece of fish overhead so they'll eat both live & dead meat. Frags probably aren't necessary for good nutrition. I wonder if they would even bother live corals if there's enough other food for them.

[Lev F.]

That's very interesting. So I will probably feed him chopped silversides, little bits of cooked shrimp, and scallop. I'm addicted to worms now :D. Do you keep any live Eunicids?

[Lev F.]

He is out. I will try to catch him. Wonderful Animal.

[LeslieH]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6733632#post6733632 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Dragonet_Dude
Do you keep any live Eunicids?

No, I don't have a tank, but I see a lot of live ones while collecting.

[Lev F.]

Lucky... :D

[garf]

I doubt the vinegar or freshwater did him in, keep an eye open melisa. DD, I don't think he lives in the sand, he more than likely is retracting into the LR. Only sure way to remove it is to remove the LR he is in.

I had a eunicid also, and I also was under its spell. I knew it was around for a long while, and I could never identify what it was. A night of web research and I ID'd it as a eunicid.

The few times I saw it eat was awesome. I really wanted to keep him, plus he was a nice red color. I made the decision that he had to go, as my 6g Nanocube isnt the best place for this predator. I pulled the LR and dunked it in a freshwater filled stock pot. I continuously squirted water in the crevices, and got a lot of detrius out. This went on for 10 mins, then it probably sat there for another 10mins.

Worm was awol for several weeks, then it popped out to nipp at my newest coral. Next sighting, I ripped the rock out, and took it on the back porch and applied a hammer and screw driver to it. I split it into 4 pieces before I found it. It was about 5" long I would estimate, but he split in half during my rockbreaking. I photographed it, had it sitting in 50-60 degree water for a couple hours before I got a PM from someone here in RC that would take the worm for ISU Invertabrate Biology program. Unfortunately, I thought the worm could make it UPS Prioroty with a bit of insulation. He died in transit. RIP worm, I wish I had a separate system to put him in.

http://www.garfnet.com/fish/worm1.jpg

[garf]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6730514#post6730514 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Dragonet_Dude
Thanks for the advice Leslie. Yep, i have rocks. I'm going to have to go on a worm hunt tonight! Do these guys have a specific diet that is needed to keep them healthy? I could feed him frags if he needs to eat those for his nutrition. I remember the first time I saw one of these guys with his mandibles exposed on a picture. I was like "I have to have one of these." They are way underrated, people say they're "just worms", but in reality, they are beautiful super-predators of the reef. gotta love em'!

I know for a fact my worm ate a frag of xenia, nipped at my montipora cap, nipped at my finger leather, ate a small clam hitchiker, all of my stomatellas (i had tons, now none), and a few of my zoa polyps. He may have had something to do with the demise of my clown goby, and cleaner shrimp. I am sure he ate pods also. Of course, he was probably eating whatever I had in my small tank.

GL, I hope you can get him into a safe place. A separate tank maybe best for him, just stock it for him with the grow outs from your main tank!

[sassyfishy]

Uh oh. I've got one of those in a piece of live rock, and I've grown rather attached to him. I called him "Spike". He never completely comes out of his hole - and he's lightning fast when he retracts back into it. The most I've seen of him is about 3".

I haven't had any losses (yet). He's so cute. Can't I keep him?

[finding nemo]

Hey, I have lots of those in my garden only we call them centapeeds, lol, ugly but I bet there mom loves them.
I am happy to see that people love these sorts of animals, they are one of God's creatures and don't deserve to be killed just because they are ugly or discusting.

[Lev F.]

Update:

He's getting bigger. I haven't caught him yet, but I continue to monitor his actions. Once he gets larger I will attempt to catch him. I target feed him with mysis shrimp right now. :D