Saw a really big fireworm in action

billsreef · #1 07/06/2001, 09:22 AM

Hi Ron,

Just back from the Cayman Islands

On a shallow night dive I saw a 4-5" fire worm busy chewing on the end of gorgonian. Had about 1" of the tip of that gorgonian swallowed

Of course you came to mind the minute I saw that worm

rshimek · #2 07/06/2001, 10:34 AM

Hi Bill,

Yup. That is Hermodice carunculata, fortunately gorgonians are about all it eats, and fortunately as well, it seldom is found in reef tanks. I have had about a report a year from hobbyists for the last 5-6 years that accurately describe it.

If one ever makes it into a tank, they are easy to catch with a pair of forceps or tweezers and remove.

JohnL · #3 07/06/2001, 11:09 AM

Hey Bill, was that 4-5 inches or 4-5 feet

billsreef · #4 07/06/2001, 01:01 PM

hehe, 4 or 5 inches, still enough for me to do a double take

I've seen plenty of them during night dives in the Carribean, but never that big

Saw a few large spaghetti worms and some large brittle stars to boot

Lutefisk · #5 07/07/2001, 09:16 AM

Be sure to check out the picture of the 5 FOOT (1.5 meter) worm in Borneman's "Aquarium Corals." If it weren't for the caption I wouldn't know that it wasn't just a magnified shot of some aquarium worm.

I'd hate to run into him on a dark night.

Paul

rshimek · #6 07/07/2001, 11:14 AM

Hi,

On the NW coast of North America is a large polychaete called Nereis brandti. It gets to about 4 feet long. It spawns by swimming up at times of the full moon and rupturing in the water column at night.

The first time I ever had about a dozen of these fellas swim out of the deep dark murk at me under water at night, almost - almost, I say

- made me swear off aquaeous ethanol.

Lutefisk · #7 07/07/2001, 06:11 PM

does "rupturing in the water column at night" mean that it only gets one chance to do it right?

I'm glad we ended up reproducing the way we do

I would have been there with you reconsidering the ethanol food group as well as simultaneously voiding it from my system with a bunch of those four foot long worms coming up at me.

Paul

rshimek · #8 07/07/2001, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lutefisk

Hi Paul,

does "rupturing in the water column at night" mean that it only gets one chance to do it right?

Yup. This has been referred to as "The Big Bang Method of Reproduction"

- generally there are lots of worms, both male and female in the water at spawning nights, so the odds are not as slim as it seems.

billsreef · #9 07/07/2001, 10:17 PM

A four foot Nereis sp

I know how scary the Atlantic Nereis virens can look, and it only gets around 6-8 inches on the average. I can't imagine a 4 foot worm with those type of mouth parts. I think it make me drink more aqueous ethanol though

rshimek · #10 07/08/2001, 10:25 AM

Hi Bill,

Yes, the jaws are impressive, but the critter is apparently herbivorous. It uses the jaws largely as pinchers to grab algae...

billsreef · #11 07/08/2001, 10:46 AM

Interesting how seems the larger a creature gets the lower down the food chain it seems to eat. Sort of like the largest sharks and whales eating small zooplankton.

rshimek · #12 07/08/2001, 11:13 AM

Hi Bill,

Yes, this is a common phenomenon. But the worm is simply a herbivore and it is eating large algae. The sheets of the green alga, Ulva where it is found my reach several feet in length.

By the way, "small" for whale zooplankton is in the eye of the beholder. The major food for these large baleen whales are things like mature Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba which can reach about 5" long. These critters are small compared to the whale, but are really bigger than a lot of other planktonic animals.