Okay holy cow what is it ?

[Moose]

So the auction was awesome, and we bought some live rock, LAst night we were taking it out and this and more were crawling out... What is it? I think we are going to have to bleach the rock, but is this something I can get rid of from the rocks? It's about the size of a sharpie marker, and about 4-6 inches long.....

 

[TomD]

I think its just a cucumber and if so you can keep it as good part of a cleaning crew but wait for others to confirm. I may hold off that may be awesome rock with a lot of goodies why do you want to bleach? Any aiptasia or anything? Probably bristle worms and things that are good for your tank in there from a really established system....

 

[Turbosnail]

Just looks like a large bristle worm to me. Either way I wouldn't bleach the rock.

 

[TomD]

I really think thats a cucumber but whether I am write or wrong I couldn't agree more don't bleach it. Do you have a QT system? You would be killing so much good life.

 

[Moose]

I don't have a quarentine, but can easily set one up in a tub/bin and have a skimmer I could Put on... Was thinking of bleaching in case it was something harmful to the tank...

 

[cstmpprl]

I think bristle worm also.

 

[pbienkiewicz]

it is a definitely a bristle worm. Years ago I had some that were a good 8+ inches long. It looks like you only got part of him when you pulled him out. When you feed you will see them come out of the rock work. They will eat up any left over food or waste. If that is the only thing I would not bleach the rocks.

 

[TomD]

So there ya go and its not a bad thing. Don't bleach the rock! Even a big bristle as gross as they look can be great for cleanup. I used to keep a large brittle star so if a fish ever died I wouldn't know about it and neither would my water chemistry...same concept..Treat for flatworms and all the norm but don't bleach, imo.

 

[Moose]

Should I try to feed and pull them, I have read large bristle worms can hurt corals, and yea, there is another 4-5 inches, he came out while the rock was in the bucket with wet newspapers.... I remember upgrading and when we moved the old tank stuff to the new, there was huge worms, the fire ones, and I got stung/Hairs all in my hands... Learned to use gloves back then... That guy is just a different color, and was/is flatter, not covered in bristles... I told me husband it's alien like, I also remember the giant one they found in the aquarium once, eating their corals.... If this is a bristle, it's crazy looking...

 

[Moose]

Thank you for the help! I really appreciate it!

 

[Moose]

What are people using for dipping rock, SPS... Interceptor is no longer available and their new product sentinel has another chemical a In it.. Is it still okay? Or is there something else?

 

[jason401]

Interceptor is only need if Acropora corals have red bugs on them. I would set up a small tank and quarantine the rock for a bit. Keep a close eye on it and look for anything you think would be harmful or invasive.

 

[bdaley]

lol, that is one of the bristle worms I was unable to get out of the rock, I spent hours and removed over 200 plus large works, about 4 inches of a bucket filled with them.

 

[afrankiewicz12]

its a bristle worm and they are good... personally i would not even quarantine... i love those little guys for eating detritus

 

[Moose]

lol, that is one of the bristle worms I was unable to get out of the rock, I spent hours and removed over 200 plus large works, about 4 inches of a bucket filled with them.

Oh geez... Lol it's ok, I just thought it was like alien invasion or something... It's in a bucket of tank water with pump, my house is at 70 degrees so I didn't put a heater.... Watching it....
Giant bristle worms seriously creep me out...

 

[pbienkiewicz]

If you have a sump or refugium throw him in there.

 

[bdaley]

you should have need the hand fill of bristles I had when getting them out of the tank the rock was in, but don't worry Anthony was there to laugh at me. Such a good friend lol.

 

[wpeterson]

Bristle worms are usually good aquarium citizens in the cleanup crew.

It'd be a tragedy to bleach a nice, live rock like that.

If you can't live with the bristle worms, one alternative would be to do a hypersalinity dip. You can prepare a bucket with 1.035 to 1.040 salinity saltwater. Dipping the rock for a minute or so should cause a mass invertebrate exodus of bristle worms (and many healthy, helpful critters) off the rock and into the water. You can rescue any helpful invertebrates from the bucket.

We had good luck at removing bristle worms from live rock with this method, but trying to keep a reef tank without bristle worms is a lost cause.

 

[Moose]

I Know, we do have bristle worms, and like I said before when we transferred the rock to the new tank it was scary lol... But as long as I don't see the monsters like this, I'm good. Ah aha I like the idea of the her salinity, I haven't seen anymore crazy large ones beside the two... I don't want to bleach it lol, I thought it was so e bad horrible crazy eating killing bug so I thought it was my only option...
That's funny Anthony was there to laugh at you... I screamed like a girl, ( good thing I am one ) the first time I seen the ugly monster bristle worm. Few years ago... Then I would wait each night with a flash light for him....

 

[JohnK]

If you want to get rid of the big scary ones, try putting some stinky food in s womans old stocking and leave that in the tank overnight a few times. The worms will come out for the food but get stuck in/on the stocking.

You definately don't want to try to get rid of all of them, but there's no harm in thinning the herd and keeping only the cute ones.