My 2 foot Eunicid Worm

[Samw]

Originally Posted by untamed

If you've seen them eat (as I have many times), they have an awesome set of jaws that only become visible just before the grab...but those jaws are kind of like insect mandibles/pincers. They are well designed for "grab and hold", but I just can't see how they would be able to remove any large section of a fish. Certainly not in a single bite. I suppose if it could get a hold of a fish for an extended period of time, it might be able to repeatedly regrasp and leave a good wound when the fish finally escaped.

Shimek has a good article on them at the bottom here:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-04/rs/index.php

Yes, I read that many times and considered putting this quote earlier.

"However, the largest Eunice individuals seen in nature are impressive predators. Individuals have been reported to strike upward from the sediment surface, grab a four-inch long fish swimming above the sediment, pull it under the sediment and presumably snack on it at its leisure."

"They generally appear to be harmless scavengers, however, even I, a self-proclaimed vermophile, would consider them amongst the "usual suspects" if some small fish such as fire fish or small gobies disappeared without a trace."

Mine isn't large enough to grab a 4" fish. But I bet it could grab a dime size hippo or a neon coral goby while they are sleeping. My dime size hippo tang was really tiny and wouldn't take much to take a chunk out of it but I can't see another fish doing that during the night when it occured. I'd like to err on the side of caution. In addition, all of my blue tangs in the past would sleep in the rockwork. This guy sleeps near the surface or near algae but never in the rockwork. Thought that was unusual.


http://www.reefs.org/library/aquariu...98/0198_2.html

"Eunice aphroditois , a common eunicid polychaete. Although many species are omnivorous scavengers, the majority of species in this family are predatory, and their pharynx (muscular jaw apparatus, described in the original article on polychaetes) is equipped with a complex set of jaw plates capable of crushing small prey. "

[justinl]

Ive always been a fan of annelid worms myself, but I know they can cause problems. congrats on the removal, hope you got the culprit of your tank troubles. I can't remember where I read it, but I've heard of accounts of these worms striking at fish and chopping them in half from the speed and power of their jaws.

[Veng68]

Spicy Eunicid Cone

Cheers,
Vic