Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
By Bob Goemans
.jpg "Hermodice carunculata (Bearded Fireworm)")
Not Reef Tank Suitable
Not Suitable for Fish-Only Tank
As for the ones that get added without our knowledge and fall into the category of 'bad guys' those in the family Amphinomidae are commonly called bristleworms or fireworms. They generally arrive as a hitchhiker in some hole in live rock and/or in the calcareous areas of some corals. There are two mentioned here, with one being a very good scavenger of dead organic matter (Eurythoe complanata) and the other (Hermodice carunculata) a scavenger of anything it can get! Both have poisonous setae or hair-like spines along its sides, which are very brittle and can easily break off and cause a painful experience if you pick one up without gloves.
Should you ever be unfortunate enough to get stuck by these bad guys, I suggest the following - dry the area by directing air from a fan or blower over the area. Do not under any circumstances wipe the area dry. Once dry, use tape such as masking, duct, or clear cellophane tape to 'blot' the area. This should allow the bristles sticking in your skin to stick to the sticky side of the tape, hopefully removing most of them. Repeat as needed. Then dab the area with rubbing alcohol or vinegar. Or try a mixture of 1 part household ammonia to 10 parts water or sprinkle a meat tenderizer on the area. This helps denature the toxin and provides a reduction in the burning sensation. When the area appears to be free of bristles and is dry, apply an over the counter antibiotic ointment. If there's lingering pain or swelling, consult a physician.
Keep in mind both of these worms can multiply quite rapidly when there is a ready supply of food. Aquarists that overfeed are inviting them to reproduce and they can do so quickly via asexual reproduction. They can also, via "fragmentation", divide themselves up into new worms. Any type of food will be quickly consumed by these worms and the more food there is, the more worms. Fortunately most of those seen in aquaria are the genus Eurythoe complanata, which if small, are not a threat, as would the Hermodice carunculata species.
As for ridding the aquarium of these scavengers, suggest only removing the larger ones as they may damage or kill some corals, anemones, and clams. The smaller ones, less than 1 or 2 inches (2.5 - 5 cm) should not be a problem and may serve as a food supply for the Banded Coral Shrimp, Arrow Crab, Dottyback Pseudochromis dutoiti/fridmani, and/or the Flame Hawk. In fact, I've even seen a Tubastraea polyp swallow a fire worm that crawled onto it while it was open.
If they do become large and noticeable, it is time to bait them out. Since they are nocturnal creatures, they feed mostly at night unless real hungry! Take a whiffle ball and insert a piece of defrosted shrimp/fish flesh and wrap the ball loosely with a lot of fishing line. Use enough fishing line so the worm has some difficulty in finding its way through it to get to the bait in the center of the ball. Place the ball, weighted with a small weight, on top of a large net at the bottom of the aquarium late in the evening. Early, "very" early next morning, the worms should be intertwined/feeding on the bait. Simply grab the handle of the net and lift the whole affair out of the aquarium.
Another fairly good method in removing these pests is using a short length, about 10 inches, of PVC pipe. Drill some holes near each end, place a piece of defrosted shrimp flesh in the center of the pipe and fill each end of the pipe with Eheim Ehfifix media. This course plastic media makes it slightly difficult for the worm to make its way to the center bait. Once there, the worm feeds and grows fatter and will find it extremely difficult to get out if you have used the right amount of this plastic media. By lifting out the length of pipe early in the morning and pushing a rod through the pipe, any worms inside can easily be extracted. There are also small traps used for trapping fish and/or unwanted crabs. They can also be baited and used to capture these pests. The following two bright orange worms with white bristles along their sides are some of the worst examples and should be carefully removed when larger than an inch or two (2 - 5 cm).
