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Oenone Worm


zoltarblue

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Sunday night even before my lights went out I saw a large Nassarius snail literally get grabbed by a worm need my rock work. it coiled around it and started pulling it under the rock. I grabbed the snail but it was covered in a snot like goo. The worm looked like just a bristle worm also. I did some research and have concluded it is this dreaded beast. Tonight I set a tube trap for it. Unfourtunatley my snails were all over the trap. The worm has appeared from under the rock. I scared it and it went I am guessing back into the rock. I have removed the rock and have it in a bucket filled with my tank water.

 

 

 

Question is how do I get the worm out if it is still in there. I do not want to break the rock apart. I have read soda water and even boiling the rock. Do not know anything about any of this. I am assuming boiling the rock will kill everything coraline etc on or in the rock. Suggestions and thoughts please.

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can try doing a fresh water dip for five min....might bring him out of the rock so u can get him out... other than that everything else will kill everything on the rock and it will cause a cycle in your tank when u put it back in....so I would try the 5 min fresh water dip.....

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You could also try a hypersalinity dip on the rock to get the worm out... 1.040 for ~1 minute. I have used this to get pests out of rock before. Although, I cannot say I have heard it recommended recently.

 

Realize that most any dip like this will reduce the "wanted" population as well.

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Revive wont kill beneficial bacteria and it will drive living things out of the rock;pods, brittle stars, etc.. I've thrown bristle worms in the toilet and an hour later they're still moving, so not so sure about FW or hyposalinity dips with these critters. If there's sponge on the rock FW and hyposalinity will kill it. Depending on the size of the sponge and water volume in tank it may or may not cause detectable ammonia spike. You can purchase bristle worm traps. They are inexpensive and they work. It takes patience and a little time, but the traps do work.

 

BristleWorm%20Trap%201.jpg

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Thanks for the responses. I put the rock and it is a large one in a white five gallon pickle bucket over night. I put in enough salt water to covert the rock to try and keep it alive. To test if I got it I put a small piece of shrimp also in the bucket against the wall. The shrimp is gone this morning so I guess that means I definatley got him. I am worried about killing everything on the rock like everyone has said with most of the methods and starting a small cycle again when I put the rock bak in. This rock has many many hole it is very poreous so it is going to be next to impossible to guess which hole unless he sticks his head out and I see it. I have heard of the club soda trick before as well, something about submerging the rock in it, the high CO2 content drives everything out of the rock. Will this kill everything else though on it? Going to try something this morning so keep the comments coming please

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Got him. I picked up the rock and he had a hold of that piece of shrimp and just fell into the bucket with it. Might have had to do with the water being cold also not sure. Kinda looks like a bristle but that snot stuff was everywhere under the rock and on the shrimp so pretty darn sure it is a Oenone especially since I saw it attack a live snail

post-2632858-132517376173_thumb.jpg

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This is intersting. I always thought I had two types of bristle worms. One i see is pink with bright pink edges and doesn't grow long, it gets wider more than longer. The other one gets very long and fat and is more grayish/beige. I looked at pics online of this oenone worm and it looks like the gray/beige one that I have in my pico. It's fast! The pink ones are slower.

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I agree with Zygote on one of his earlier posts about letting the worms stay. This one though after I saw it attack that snail I just couldnt. Yea Jan this sucker was super fast to. If it had not gone back in the rock right when I saw it lord knows when I could have gotten it out or what else it would have killed.

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