Worm Question

I recently purchased a zoo colony and when it was placed in the tank, my cleaner shrimp went right to the piece and pulled a 2 inch worm from the rock, it looked like a nightcrawler, it did not have bristles or legs, it was smooth and reddish in color.

The shrimp dragged it into the rocks and he emerged seconds later which leaves me to believe that the form got away.

I googled bristle worms and could not find a worm that resembled the one I saw.

do you think something ate it or its going to wreak havoc on the tank ??

If so how do you get them out ?

 

There are a few types of bristle worms. The smaller red/pink ones are just immature versions of the larger ones with bristle IMO.

I would not be concerned. Not uncommon for shrimp or hermits to completely pick over new frags and rocks for worms and tasty algae.

 

it was 2 inches long, are shrimp and crabs capable of killing and eating a worm that big..

 

Oh sure.

Arrow crabs will take on huge bristle worms.

Munch munch....

 

I just have hermits and a few different types of shrimp..

No arrow crabs, all crabs I have had in the past at my snails.

I offed all my crabs since I could not keep snails, the snails were more important.

 

Might have been a peanut worm. And yes, the shrimp will eat whatever they can pick from new additions. I had a peppermint pick all the tiny hair algae that I couldn't get off a frag once before the hermits could get to it LOL. I also had a cleaner shrimp eat all the stomatellas and a cerith snail in my DT.