Looking for Spaghetti Worms

[metalhead]

Well, that's news. I didn't realize Dennis was now selling live marine copepods, too. His original business was live phytoplankton and then he added oyster eggs. Looks like he has now added live copepods.

My LFS keeps them in stock so I've used them on a couple of occasions with very good results. I'm going to have to give him some grief though since he's got a whole shelf of marine snow and no DT phyto. ;)

[Ninong]

Were learning a lot today.But where's my worms.

If you're looking for cerretulids, I don't know of anybody selling those online.

I purchased six of the so-called spaghetti worms from Inland Aquatics and was very pleased with them. You don't really need six. Three would be more than enough because they reproduce readily in reef aquariums with decent sand beds. Don't get the expensive ones unless you have money to burn. Get the cheaper ones. You won't see any new ones for the first six to eight months. After about a year, you will have at least twice as many as you started out with. After about 18 months, you will have ten times as many as you started out with.

If you buy them from Inland, just add them to whatever else you're getting from them. No one in their right mind would order just spaghetti worms and nothing else because of the cost of overnight shipping.

I didn't get any of Gerald's spaghetti worms at IPSF but I assume they're the same as Inland's. I did get several other things from IPSF. I don't know if FedEx has improved since I last ordered from IPSF back in 2003 but back then overnight from Hawaii took two days. I just checked IPSF's website and it looks like they're now saying PM delivery. Maybe that means that they will ship it in the morning and FedEx will deliver it the next PM (usually around 5-6 PM)?

If anyone is getting ready to place an order from either Inland or IPSF, just post what you're thinking of getting BEFORE you place the order and we can tell you what's up.

[Ninong]

My LFS keeps them in stock so I've used them on a couple of occasions with very good results. I'm going to have to give him some grief though since he's got a whole shelf of marine snow and no DT phyto. ;)

DT's live phytoplankton has to be shipped overnight refrigerated (dry ice) and it has to be kept in a refrigerator at the LFS. Not only that, it has an expiration date printed on each bottle. Dennis uses five months as his claimed shelf life. That's because Rob Toonen did a performance test on Dennis' phytoplankton several years back and the viability drops off after about six months. You want to try to buy it as fresh as possible and you can't order it direct from Dennis. The problem is that many LFS who do stock it find that they can't move it fast enough after the shipment comes in and then customers won't buy it if it's already two or three months old. Another potential problem is that you never know it it was properly cared for at the LFS before you purchased it. Each bottle has to be stored upright, not on its side, and each bottle has to be gently shaken at least once a week.

I purchased mine from Premium Aquatics online and it was only two weeks old when I bought it. The overnight shipping is expensive. I called all of the LFS in my immediate area (meaning within 60 miles) and none of them carried it. The closest LFS that carried it was in Lafayette, 100 miles from my house. I called them just to see if they had any in stock. They did. I asked the LFS genius on the phone to please check the bottles for me and tell me the expiration date. He wasn't even aware that it had an expiration date. He checked. His stock was more than a year past the expiration date!

[Steve McKay]

Thanks again,Ninong.

[Ninong]

You're only 250 miles from Inland Aquatics, so I think they would be the better choice as far as ordering live critters is concerned.

[Ninong]

Just as a point of information, whenever you order expensive stuff (live critters) to add to an aquarium that already has existing fish and other live animals, always exercise common sense when adding them. Read Inland's advice for good tips. Just scroll down the page and follow their instructions for adding a "detritivore kit" just to be on the safe side.

Always feed your tank well a few hours before adding any live critters. Always turn all the lights off. Always float the bags for at least 20-30 minutes first and then do either a slow-drip or follow Inland's instructions on adding tankwater to the bag. Always wait until two or three hours after all of the lights have been turned off before adding anything, otherwise you might be adding some extremely expensive snacks for your fish.

[Steve McKay]

You are right about that.I'll probably go ahead and order what worms they have now,which is just hair worms unless they have recently received some spaghetti worms.I'll figure out what else to get to make it worthwhile.Thanks.



No snacks for the fish.

[Ninong]

You are right about that.I'll probably go ahead and order what worms they have now,which is just hair worms unless they have recently received some spaghetti worms.I'll figure out what else to get to make it worthwhile.

It's difficult to talk about online livestock using common names. The worms that Inland Aquatics calls "spaghetti worms" and that they claim are terebellids do NOT look like the typical "hair worms" that you will see pictured anywhere online. That may be because the common name "hair worm" has been used for a variety of polychaetes. In any case, your "spaghetti worms" from Inland will not look like "hair worms" that you will find pictured online.

Dr. Ron Shimek insists that Inland's spaghetti worms are not terebellids. Inland's Morgan Lidster insists that they are indeed terebellids.

The "spaghetti worms" that I got from Inland were sort of a red color. They were supposed to be orange but they looked more red to me. They reproduce both sexually and asexually. All reproduction in our aquariums will be asexual. I started out with six of them and I had probably 200 of them after two years.

[Steve McKay]

Thanks Ninong,I'll have to give them a call.

[lori]

i was just wondering is there such thing as to many of these worms.?if year after year there is more,do you have to get rid of some?also i thought bristle worms can be bad,my leather coral was getting stung by one that lived next to it then got stressed and died.at least thats what the owner of a reef store told me????is this write?saw web site and very interested on these worms

[Steve McKay]

We are not talking about bristle worms,and for the most part bristle worms are good for a reef tank.you must have had one of the very few bad ones.We are talking about spaghetti worms.By the way this thread is 8 years old.

[Ninong]

We are talking about spaghetti worms.By the way this thread is 8 years old.

This thread is not eight years old. You just started this thread this morning. It's not even a day old yet.

[Steve McKay]

Oh Ninong,just having a little fun.

Welcome to Reefland lori.

[Ninong]

i was just wondering is there such thing as to many of these worms.?if year after year there is more,do you have to get rid of some?

Their population density cannot exceed the system's available nutrients and available real estate. The so-called spaghetti worms are considered valuable additions to a deep sand bed because they populate the top layer of the sand bed and keep it in motion. They're suspension feeders. They trap particulate matter that drifts past their location.

...also i thought bristle worms can be bad...

The so-called spaghetti worms should not be confused with the so-called bristleworms. However, neither the worms that we commonly call spaghetti worms nor the worms that we commonly call bristleworms are harmful. There are some so-called bristleworms that are corallivores but those are not the ones that we purchase to add to our reef tanks. As an example, the Caribbean fireworm, Hermodice carunculata, which looks like a woolly caterpillar, is a corallivore. It's definitely a bristleworm if you want to base your name on its physical appearance because its bristles can be quite painful -- that's why they call it a fireworm. Dr. Ron Shimek discusses some of the harmful polychaetes in this article.

If you would like to see a worm that will definitely eat your corals, then take a look at this 6-ft beauty that Steve Weast pulled out of his tank. That worm was eating a lot of his corals every night. So yes, some bristleworms actually do eat corals. That one did. However, instead of calling that one a bristleworm, we should call it a eunicid because we can identify it down to family at least. And yes, it is a bristleworm. The bristles just aren't as obvious as they are on other bristleworms.

...my leather coral was getting stung by one that lived next to it...

Do you have any clear, close-up photos of this bristleworm, especially close-ups of the head? Sometimes it's possible to get a tentative ID if the photos are really sharp and in focus and show enough detail. Calling it a bristleworm really doesn't narrow things down all that much because there are more than 6,000 different species of worms that could be called bristleworms.

...at least thats what the owner of a reef store told me????

Did the owner of the reef store go out to your house and make a positive ID on this worm?

Can you describe your bristleworm? How long was it? What color was the body? What color were the setae (bristles)? Did it come out under bright lights or only after the bright lights were off? Did you actually see it eating your coral? Bristleworms don't sting anything, certainly not corals. The bristles are defensive in nature. The bristles make them unappetizing to most, but not all, fishes. The dottybacks from the Red Sea don't seem to mind eating bristleworms in spite of the bristles.



P.S. -- Please don't tell me that the LFS owner actually told you that a bristleworm stung your coral to death? If so, we will have to add that to our list of dumb LFS sayings.

[lori]

steve your not very nicei know i answered some questions that were posted years back but come on...i felt soooooo stupid about that.be nice im newha ha!as far as the bristle worms no he did not come out i discribed it and what was going on.it was in the rock,size of a tooth pick with bristles and brown.this was a while back then he sold me a one spotted wrasse to eat them.must have worked have not seen any any more.anyways i know you guys were talking about sphagetti worms and you guys also mentioned how good the bristle worm was.so i was just wondering.by the way i had no idea there were so many different ones.thats good to know.thank you

[Steve McKay]

I was just having fun lori,I apologize.I've done the same thing and felt stupid too we all have.

[lori]

all good steve.i am not really good with computers.we dont mix well i was just having a little fun also.two can play at this game

[Steve McKay]

I think I'm in love.;)

[Parrothead]

I think I'm in love.;)

God help us, ones in ohio, the other in Seattle, I'm getting flashbacks to you've got mail

[metalhead]

DT's live phytoplankton has to be shipped overnight refrigerated (dry ice) and it has to be kept in a refrigerator at the LFS. Not only that, it has an expiration date printed on each bottle. Dennis uses five months as his claimed shelf life. That's because Rob Toonen did a performance test on Dennis' phytoplankton several years back and the viability drops off after about six months. You want to try to buy it as fresh as possible and you can't order it direct from Dennis. The problem is that many LFS who do stock it find that they can't move it fast enough after the shipment comes in and then customers won't buy it if it's already two or three months old. Another potential problem is that you never know it it was properly cared for at the LFS before you purchased it. Each bottle has to be stored upright, not on its side, and each bottle has to be gently shaken at least once a week.

I purchased mine from Premium Aquatics online and it was only two weeks old when I bought it. The overnight shipping is expensive. I called all of the LFS in my immediate area (meaning within 60 miles) and none of them carried it. The closest LFS that carried it was in Lafayette, 100 miles from my house. I called them just to see if they had any in stock. They did. I asked the LFS genius on the phone to please check the bottles for me and tell me the expiration date. He wasn't even aware that it had an expiration date. He checked. His stock was more than a year past the expiration date!

Yeah, my guy feeds them though I'm not sure with what but guessing cyclop-eze or something similar. Every time I go in there he's got several containers of DT pods out with the lids off. At any rate, every time I've bought some from him their all good. I'll PM you his number if you want more info about this.