Bristle Worm with 9 Lives?

[postie]

In my 90-gallon reeftank I had this worm...bristle worm. He was a good foot and a half long (stretched out I measured him at 19 inches and he's about 3/4 inches wide. Worms this size don't come along every day so I treated him with the utmost of care (feeding, watching, etc.). Keeping his size in mind, I would have to say I am POSITIVE there was only one of these guys in the tank (many small ones of course). Well, this worm decided to up and die...he crept out into the light for a couple of days, quit hiding altogether, curled up and passed away. I must say I did not know how to save the life of a worm. I removed him from the tank and disposed of him.

That is not the end of the story. Two nights later...while poking food into the crevices of the rock for the starfish...who pops up for a meal but my LARGE worm! A bit shorter, but perfectly healthy. Just thought I'd post this to see if anyone might know what happened here.

 

[Lockart]

The worms are regenerative. If a segment broke off for some reason, it could have regrown into a new individual.

FYI- My husband tells me there have been discussions posted about keeping bristleworms in tanks. The reading I've done ("The Reef Auqarium", by Delbeek and Sprung) does indeed say that certain SMALL (2" or less) bristle worms clean detritus, but that the variety that grows large like yours is not good for a reef tank under any circumstances. It says that they can/will feed on corals, clams, and small, sleeping fish. You may want to check into this more...

-Renee

 

[postie]

I wondered if they could regenerate...earthworm-like, but was not sure. I have also been keeping a close eye on the worm since I, too, have heard the negative side. I've known about this worm for about 2 years and so far he seems to have bothered nothing. I did have a sleeper goby jump into the overflow and die about 8 months ago, but this has been the only incident and I don't know if it was related to the worm or not. I kept a clam for about a year and the worm did not approach the clam to my knowledge...I traded the clam for some other things with a friend last year. Thanks for your response...I hope this worm doesn't get cut up into too many pieces!