fish eating worm?

Question

ok we have a salt water tank with a lot of live rock and anemones and fish. but the thing is 1 of our starfish disappeared, 2 dory's disappeared, and 2 of our clownfish disappeared....we asked the guy at the fish store what might have happened and he said that there might be a worm in your tank forming from the rock and bacteria that is eating the fish. does anyone know what im talking about? the guy said its about the size of a kids pinky finger and can tear a fish up within seconds. Help me and tell me if you know anything about it?

Answer 1

He's referring to bristleworm. Here's the bad type:

The name "bristleworm" is a label loosely applied to describe all Polychaete class marine worms, but it is members of the Fireworms Amphinomidae family that have earned the name of being what most aquarists consider to be "true" bristleworms.

Primarily it is the Pherecardia (Pacific), Hermodice (Caribbean), and other related species that one needs to be concerned about. These Fireworms are errant (roving) carnivores that can cause much damage in a reef tank. They bare toxic bristles on their bodies that can inflict a sting of a very painful degree, posses strong jaws for feeding, and can reproduce quite rapidly.

They are not selective about what they eat, but usually prey on all types of other motile (moving) and sessile (attached or stationary) invertebrates, such as corals, crustaceans, mollusks, sedentary type as well as other errant type bristleworms.

Being particularly aggressive predators, they may even eat small fishes, if an opportunity presents itself.

For these reasons preventing these destructive worms from accidentally getting into, or removing them when found in a saltwater aquarium system is recommended.

There are traps you can purchase for bristleworms. You should be careful if you catch them as they have stingers all over them.

Answer 2

There are different types of bristleworms, a few of which can be problems to corals, sponges, and clams (these are usually called "fireworms"), but these are unusual to get in your tank. I've got three saltwater tanks, all with the more common bristleworms, and these don't bother the fish or other tank inhabitants (unless they're already dead). Mine are out at night and feed on shrimp pellets.

ZTM may be on to a more likely predator with a mantis shrimp, but even these aren't that common. These can be aggressive predators, and they hide on the rock where you may not even notice that you have them. These can create a number of problems in that they can cause a pretty nasty wound to a human, and they can shatter glass.

You also say "one of your starfish" - some seastars are predatory, as are come crabs (including the emerald, arrow, and Sally lightfoot) if they're large enough and the fish are inactive (at night).

If your fish suffered from a disease (bacterial or otherwise), you would probably have notice symptoms of spots, thick slime coat, or unusual behavior before their deaths.

While I can't rule out bristleworms or a disease (bacteria) as the cause of death, I would suggest looking to what other animals might be in your tank (mantis shrimp or otherwise), and double checking the water parameters of your tank (ammonia=0, nitrite=0, nitate <30, pH 8.2-8.4, salinity 1.024-1.026, and temperature 76-82o) to be sure your conditions are optimum for the fish. Even though most fish can live outside this range, the further you get away from the "ideal" conditions, the more stressed your animals will become and the more susceptible they'll be to disease, parasites, and predators.

You also don't mention the size of your tank or how long it's been operating. You may have stocked too many (or too large of) organisms if this is new (less than 6 months old). Since you're attempting hippo tangs (dorys), your tank should be around 75 gallons to accommodate an adult (around 1 foot in size and active swimmer). Your tank may not have enough of a bacterial population to handle the wastes from the fish.

If the animals are dying soon after you buy them, you may need to look at how you're acclimating them to your tank. It's best if you float their container in the tank for 15-20 minutes. Then open the bag, pour some of the water down the drain, and add some from your tank and wait a few minutes. Repeat this several times so the animals can get accustomed to your water chemistry slowly. Don't put any of the store water into your tank, because it may contain disease oganisms or parasites. It's better if you quarantine new animals in a separate tank for about a month before you add them to your main tank to prevent disease and maybe find some unwanted hitchhikers.

Answer 3

Have fish started going missing in your tank? Do you hear that suspicious clicking coming from your live rock? Chances are, if you have live rock, you have hitchhikers like harmful mantis shrimp or crabs. This trap will help you get rid of these pests by using a release sensitivity adjustment to trap shrimp crabs inside. X-terminate the problem with the X-Terminator.

http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/217586/product.web

~ZTM