worm id please

[kdriscoll]

Doc:
Went to Oklahoma for three months & left 135 gallon tank with friend. The tank got really dirty. Moved to a new house, did a 50% water change RO/DI water. After moving live rock noticed about 20-30 3/4 to 1 1/2" long worms. Removed about 20 with my hands and did not get stung. I found out after the fact that some do sting. What are these, how do I get rid of them, are they good, are they bad? What should I do.

Thanks for the help

Kevin

[kdriscoll]

Sorry I hope these work

[kdriscoll]

sorry I hope this works sorry everyone

[Russ Braaten]

You have baby bristle worms. They are a great way to get rid of dead critters and over feeding. I have had some fish die and those worms made short work of the carcases I could not reach.

Some say they are bad but in fact they are a great clean-up crew.

[rshimek]

Hi Kevin,

You should put them back in the tank.

These are small fireworms, and are probably not "baby" anythings; likely they are fully grown. There are many small species found in marine tanks.

See this article for information about them, as well as article for more basic information about the general group (called the polychaete worms).

These are highly beneficial animals; probably the best scavengers you can have in a tank.

[kdriscoll]

Thanks Dr Ron. I will leave them alone. Thanks for everything

[Warnberg]

By the way, they are called fire worms for a reason.... handle with care and use gloves or you may just find out why they are called fireworms...

JMO