Worm?

DRC Archive General Saltwater Discussion
1

I found this long brown cylindrical object about 2" long coming out of the rock. Anybody have any one seen something like this before or thoughts on what this may be?

2

if we had a picture i bet we could. lol

3

… now to find a working camera… verdict_in

4

This isn’t my pic but this is what it looks like. The site i found it at called it Sipuncilid or Peanut Worm. Anyone know if its is detrimental to reefs?

sipunculid.jpg

5

wow never seen this kind before. it almost looks leach like on the upper end in pcture. weird looking bulbed end also. is there only one that you know of? i am sure we all have some weird stuff just never see it.

6

This is the first time i have ever sen something like this.

7

If it is in fact a Sipunculid Peanut worm then they are supposed to be harmless. There are many critters in the sea and may be different species scientist that have never seen that feed on corals, but… it’s pretty unlikely. Best way to look up inverts is usually Ronald Shimek’s Pocket guide to marine inverts. I feel like I’ve said this 20 times on the forum in the last week, but you can pick them up at most reputable LFS.

The rest of probably don’t see them too often because many fish and most true crabs as well as hermit crabs will eat them. Few people set up and run a tank with out placing a single crab of some sort in the tank.

If you can’t get a good photo and would like me to take one you could bring it to me in a bottle of tank water and I will try to get a photo to Dr. Shimek. If you’re thinking about just killing it and don’t care what it is I might still like to get a photo. I love inverts and like to learn more about them and I find random critters in the hobby. After all for the first 2-3 years in the hobby thats just about all I kept.

Jon

8

I have seen these in a tank… Keleighs’s 29g had about 5 in it. I never saw them harm anything, even though they lived between some corals. They will sweep the sand and/or rock as far as they reach for detritus and algae. All in all, a good CUC addition.

9

Thanks everyone! This is awesome because this is a cool little organism!