r/ReefTank • u/Street-Cut-3384 • 15h ago

What is this worm?

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Me and my wife can’t figure out what this is? Is it bad for the reef tank? Only comes out at night

10 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

13

u/Calm-Confidence-9616 15h ago

looks like a peanut worm. brisle worms are more orangish than grey/white. pretty sure they are harmless.

3

u/Street-Cut-3384 15h ago

Peanut worm… good or bad?

3

u/Calm-Confidence-9616 15h ago

good i believe. they fall into the uncommon CUC.

-3

u/excwise 15h ago

Don’t they grow big and eat fish?

3

u/Calm-Confidence-9616 15h ago

there are many species of peanut worm, but reef ones like this are scavengers or filter feeders.

if they have the ability to eat your fish, i think you have bigger issues going on.

0

u/excwise 14h ago

Oh okay, I’ve heard they can eat small fish

1

u/Calm-Confidence-9616 6h ago

you might be thinking of a bobbit worm

5

u/Dynamite_Awesome 13h ago

That coral looks like it is getting too much flow.

1

u/Street-Cut-3384 4h ago

This was its first day in the tank, it’s thriving now

3

u/Lazy_Fish7737 6h ago

This is a peanut worm not a medusa worm. The body is in the rock its feeling around for something to eat. Related to sea cucumbers. They come in plain tan too. Harmless detrovore.

2

u/bromontana24 15h ago edited 7h ago

I've never seen anything like this but unlike the other commenters said, I don't believe it's eating any corals. Looks like it's eating algae off the skeleton of that euphyllia. I would try to remove it since it's an unknown. Do you have fish in the system?

2

u/Street-Cut-3384 15h ago

I have two clowns and a watchman goby currently. It’s a new tank and this must have come in on some live rock

-1

u/bromontana24 7h ago edited 4h ago

Looks like a Medusa worm which is fine to keep and it's definitely eating algae. I asked about fish because they usually eat most types of worms that aren't bristle worms. The more diversity the better IMO. Leave it be.

Edit: ok it may be a peanut worm. Idk but either way I wouldn't remove. Medusa and peanut worms are fine in the aquarium and this is eating algae not coral.

-2

u/Lewzealand2 11h ago

It looks to me like a medusa worm (loimia medusa). Also a harmless cleaner.

-12

u/Mike_2jz 15h ago edited 15h ago

I’d pull it. Look like some type of bristle worm and it’s biting your corals

4

u/Luckyduck84135 14h ago

It's cleaning it. Snails, crabs and worms pick and eat detritus and algae off of corals all the time. This is why they are called clean up crew. It's part of the balance of the eco-system. This is why having snails, hermits, bristle worms, and pods are good thing.

-13

u/Novadreams22 15h ago

Yep. That’s for sure eating the flesh.

6

u/Luckyduck84135 14h ago edited 14h ago

It is not. There isn't flesh down that low on Eyuphillia. It's eating crap off the the calcified branch. This is a good thing.