Goniopora Worm

[Reefdrumz]

Hi Dr. Ron,

I was wondering if you could possibly ID this worm that has been living on my Red Goniopora?

I'm not sure if it is a good critter or bad. It doesn't seem to harm the Goni, but it does come out quite frequently and cause the polyps to retract. This is the best picture I could get of it. Hopefully it is ok.

Thanks In Advance.

[rshimek]

Hi Brian,

Similar worms have shown up from time to time before on this forum. I have never been able to get a satisfactory identification on them as I can't really see the characters I need to see. I think they may be syllid polychaetes, but only because they look vaguely "syllidish" to me, and I know that syllids are often commensal on larger sessile inverts such as sponges. Perhaps Leslie H will be able to get a better handle on this one than I am able to.

In any case, it is likely to be relatively harmless, as generally symbiotic organisms don't harm their hosts.

[Reefdrumz]

Thank you!

I will try and take a better picture of it, but my camera isn't really the greatest. Hopefully someone else can chime in and give me some more ideas.

Should I worry about the fact that when it comes out all the polyps retract? Do you think this will stress the goni out eventually? I have tried to remove the worm once but it proved to be quite a challenge.

[rshimek]

Brian,

I really wouldn't worry overly about it. Unless you can see actual predation on the coral, I would doubt that it is doing any significant harm.

[LeslieH]

If this is the same species as in a previous posting then it is a syllid polychaete. The pictures haven't been good enough for me to know what subfamily of syllid, let alone genus, or feeding behavior, sorry.

[Reefdrumz]

Thanks Leslie, sorry I couldnt get a better picture of it. I will try again, but I think I have reached the limitations of my digital camera.

[Javeo]

I have the same on my green goni, been there forever and i can see no damage on the coral.