Bristleworm romance??

ErikAnderson · 11/29/2008, 01:05 AM

First some background about my tank: 40 gal tall, been set up for 5 years, crashed a few times, lost most of the coral a few times, however i have some monster worms and the brittlestars to back up the tanks age

I have been away from my tank for a few days, so i am sitting in front of it watching until the lights go out. I figure what the hell, pour a scotch and turn the kitchen light on dim.

I am treated to an explosion of night life, including what appears to be hot bristleworm love.

I caught 4 monter worms (well, not Oregon Reef size, but over a foot long, big for my tank..) doing this and managed to catch the last one on my iphone.... crappy pic

Here is what happens:
The worm comes out of its hole exposing 1/2-3/4 of its body, it sticks its head out in the water colum, from what it looks like, searching for the best flow.

then it flips back along its self, you know, pulls a wormy U-turn. and crawls down it's body until its head is in and its rear is out of its burrow maybe two inches.

at this point it starts pumping its body, ejecting a whiteish cloud (poop? rock dust? wormy duck butter????) up through a membrane that was clear and is now visible (like a straw) that it left behind when it did its cool double back move.

Never seen this before, and i have watched my tank for hundereds of night hours, even with red lights in total darkness. Tonight 2 min after the ligts go out, before the corals can even extend, all hell is breaking loose.

Here is one junky pic, i got 4 others, but they are just as garbage.

the smudge on the bottom of the worms tail is that mucus straw i was talking about.

any ideas? am i about to be over run by bristleworms? Or were they just taking a dump? I know something in my tank is munching on my zoos, but so far they have only stuck to the free hitchhikers

so i am inclined to let it pass, not to mention they only eat the stingers off them, and never enough to kill one.

OwenInAZ · 11/29/2008, 01:50 AM

That is way cool. I'm going with duck butter

Seriously though, I think it's crazy the amount of biodiversity in the tanks we never see. I mean, I'm not up at 3 AM looking into my tank! But once in a while I'll sit and watch the tank when the lights first go out and it really is like you say, all hell breaks loose.

And I really don't have any idea what that worm is doing

ErikAnderson · 11/29/2008, 01:53 AM

man, you need to sit in front of your tank with the s/o (if you don't have a s/o its a hell of a pick up line... "hey, want to come over to my house, put a red head lamp on, and watch the worms mate in my fish tank while getting smashed on merlot???") and watch your tank late at night.

Its worth it.

reefworm · 11/29/2008, 06:53 PM

Duck butter? Etymology please

reefworm · 11/29/2008, 07:00 PM

never mind! :O

ErikAnderson · 11/30/2008, 01:59 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by reefworm
never mind! :O

i hope you did not google that.

11/29/2008, 01:05 AM	#1
ErikAnderson Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Oak Harbor Posts: 83	Bristleworm romance?? First some background about my tank: 40 gal tall, been set up for 5 years, crashed a few times, lost most of the coral a few times, however i have some monster worms and the brittlestars to back up the tanks age I have been away from my tank for a few days, so i am sitting in front of it watching until the lights go out. I figure what the hell, pour a scotch and turn the kitchen light on dim. I am treated to an explosion of night life, including what appears to be hot bristleworm love. I caught 4 monter worms (well, not Oregon Reef size, but over a foot long, big for my tank..) doing this and managed to catch the last one on my iphone.... crappy pic Here is what happens: The worm comes out of its hole exposing 1/2-3/4 of its body, it sticks its head out in the water colum, from what it looks like, searching for the best flow. then it flips back along its self, you know, pulls a wormy U-turn. and crawls down it's body until its head is in and its rear is out of its burrow maybe two inches. at this point it starts pumping its body, ejecting a whiteish cloud (poop? rock dust? wormy duck butter????) up through a membrane that was clear and is now visible (like a straw) that it left behind when it did its cool double back move. Never seen this before, and i have watched my tank for hundereds of night hours, even with red lights in total darkness. Tonight 2 min after the ligts go out, before the corals can even extend, all hell is breaking loose. Here is one junky pic, i got 4 others, but they are just as garbage. the smudge on the bottom of the worms tail is that mucus straw i was talking about. any ideas? am i about to be over run by bristleworms? Or were they just taking a dump? I know something in my tank is munching on my zoos, but so far they have only stuck to the free hitchhikers so i am inclined to let it pass, not to mention they only eat the stingers off them, and never enough to kill one.

11/29/2008, 01:50 AM	#2
OwenInAZ Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Flagstaff, AZ Posts: 2,409	That is way cool. I'm going with duck butter Seriously though, I think it's crazy the amount of biodiversity in the tanks we never see. I mean, I'm not up at 3 AM looking into my tank! But once in a while I'll sit and watch the tank when the lights first go out and it really is like you say, all hell breaks loose. And I really don't have any idea what that worm is doing __________________ Owen Professional Bacteria Geek "Ree... cy... cling?" "One day it's a bowl full of cherries, one night I'm suckin' on lemons and spittin' out the seeds" Current Tank Info: 90 gallon tall reef

11/29/2008, 06:53 PM	#4
reefworm Registered Member Join Date: May 2000 Location: Waxhaw, NC USA Posts: 2,139	Duck butter? Etymology please __________________ "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." - Thomas Jefferson Current Tank Info: 29 gal. reef/assist with 75 gal. at the school

11/29/2008, 07:00 PM	#5
reefworm Registered Member Join Date: May 2000 Location: Waxhaw, NC USA Posts: 2,139	never mind! :O __________________ "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." - Thomas Jefferson Current Tank Info: 29 gal. reef/assist with 75 gal. at the school

11/29/2008, 01:53 AM	#3
ErikAnderson Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Oak Harbor Posts: 83	man, you need to sit in front of your tank with the s/o (if you don't have a s/o its a hell of a pick up line... "hey, want to come over to my house, put a red head lamp on, and watch the worms mate in my fish tank while getting smashed on merlot???") and watch your tank late at night. Its worth it.