Wom? ID

[Ashlar]

So I was cleaning up some wires under my tank and I happenned to glance up.. HOLY COW!!

This.. thing.. is about 18" long, about the diameter of a pencil. The front looks like the back, and there don't appear to be any bristles. It doesn't seem to have the 'rings' that other worms have, nor is it smooth like a peanut worm- it almost looks like tiny scales.

In the main body, you can see peristalsis moving lumps of what appears to be sand, so I'm guessing it's a filter feeder. Anyone ID this critter?

http://www.rowelab.com/fish/unknown1.jpg

http://www.rowelab.com/fish/unknown4.jpg

http://www.rowelab.com/fish/unknown5.jpg

[dc]

Cool! Hopefully it will be a good guy. Have you tried using a flashlight to see if it comes out at night? One with a red lens sometimes keeps them from retreating too fast. Hopefully one of the worm guys will read this and have an idea what it is.

[Sk8r]

Neat! All I can tell you is that almost all worms are beneficial, and clearly this is a sand-cleaner at least part of the time. I'll be anxious to hear this one id'ed.

[Ashlar]

Oh, I have a head lamp with a red lense.. almost every night I'm sitting on an upturned bucket staring at all the life that I only see then- stomatella, collonista, peanut worms, mysids, tiger tail sea cuke, peppermint shrimp, micro brittles.

[Ashlar]

Aha! Leslie (over at Dr. Ron's forum) ID'd it as a member of the peanut worm family..

http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic45345-11-1.aspx

[Sk8r]

It's really got a pretty pattern to its skin, very subtle. May it live and thrive in your tank!

[dc]

It's always fun to see new things, critters, etc.