Ummm.. what the hell is this guy?

[shrimpstan]

Hey guys,

just doing my usual shrimp staring when i came across this ugly mofo.

can anyone tell me what it is and more so whether its ok to put it back into the tank or just toss it out.

she's a big bugger probably round 8cm long!!

judging by the colour of its inside bits i guess it cleans the substrate??

[shrimpstan]

try to get a better pic

[jayc]

Freshwater nereid worm or commonly called a Ragworm.

Most probably harmless to your shrimp, but I'd toss it. I don't want worm in my tanks personally.

[shrimpstan]

thanks Jason, the weird thing is i havn't added anything to this tank in a few months and havn't ever seen it before.. i just wonder where it came from??

[Baccus]

Looks like a type of bristle worm

Try looking up Polychaete, from what I quickly read there are hundreds of types some are harmless, some can/ will eat shrimp and shrimplets but are usually harmless to fish and generally eat decaying vegetable matter, and are good for aerating substrate.

Think I will stick to blackworms for that task myself, the marine bristle worms are freaky enough without finding them in tanks too.

[shrimpstan]

yeah still no luck finding out exactly what type of worm it is but even if its not harmful to my shrimps it aint going back into the tank. its soo ugly!! very very skinny.. the worms suggested looked to be a lot fatter.. but has like a million legs

[scottymac]

I have found these little buggers in my tank as well,

I have also found some info that they may attack shrimplets.

I am wondering if getting rid of them is a case of taking all shrimp out and doing a full clean out.

Just a bit scared of a nitrogen spike if I use internal parasite clear to try to get rid of them.

Sorry to Hijack your post but I was wondering what other shrimp keepers experiences with these worms are?