Unresolved Ugliest Thing Ever

So I posted this about a month ago on my boyfriends account and the only suggestion (besides scared people) I received was a mutated bristle worm. I now have my own account and I am still so curious what this creepy worm is, and if anyone else has seen one in their tank....

Now don't get creeped out or run and hide, here it is chillin behind the frag rack:


I sent a pic to my zoology teacher from last semester and this is what she said:
"it does look like a bristle worm which would mean it is one of a group of polychaete worms (Phylum Annelida, Class Polychaeta as you may remember). From the look of it, it may be a worm called Plathynereis (parapodia and associated setae are longer than I would expect on these guys), but it is hard to tell. Worm identification is notoriously difficult and often requires looking at the animal's jaw."

One person said mutated bristle worm.. but this looks so much different than a bristle worm. I have seen bristle worms in the same location of my tank and they look nothing alike. For comparison purposes, this is what a bristle worm looks like:


Has anyone else seen this guy? Or does anyone know what he is?

 

wow cool but i have know idea???????

 

It's a syllidae.


----------------
Sent from Tapatalk, so please forgive grammar and spelling

 

Hmmmm, I thought I answered with this link and said to scroll down to Syllidae last time.

 

Oh wow, I just went back and looked. When I saw your post all I saw was "Ack!!!! Holy cannoli!" hahah I remember telling brian and laughing and going to look at the worm move around some more. The bottom part sort of looks like a signature so I guess I missed it.. Sorry about that!!

Anyway, it sort of resembles the syllidae worms that I looked at online. This worm seems to have many more legs than the syllidae worms. The segments of this worm are much thinner, similar to the bristle worm, and they have one long leg per segment (giving it more legs). In the pictures/video I saw of the worm from the syllidae family, the legs seemed to be straight and somewhat rigid. The worm in my tank had legs that were very.. whats the word.. flowy? They curled around when it moved, unlike the syllidae worm. Maybe I'm wrong, but I just haven't seen a picture of them that resembled the worm in my tank...

 

im gonna throw up haha

 

Maybe look up phyllodocid then.


----------------
Sent from Tapatalk, so please forgive grammar and spelling

 

maybe possibly a young and small euchlid worm? (spelling)
I had one over a year ago and you want to get it outta there asap if thats what it is

 

Get one of those hang on containers like at the pet store, put him in there and keep an eye on it!

 

If LeslieH shows up, she can possibly identify it to the species level, and will certainly be able to confirm the family. You might try messaging her on here. She's also on several of the other reef and photography forums, and is a worm specialist.

Cheers,



Don