Nudi? Nubi? not sure wat it is.

[TheSnoek]

This morning I glanced at my tank and saw wat I think is a nubi?

Couldnt snap it, moved really quick across the glass, 2 of 'em..
Description as follows:

Rectangular in shape, completely transparent except for a single dot on each end of it..was the strangest thing i'd seen (apart from the cast of Backstage) about 6mm. long.

Is it friend or foe? never seen it before..tank still cycling..at about 5ppm now on the nitrates..
almost there..

Thanks
The Snoek..

 

[AndreT]

Snoek,

The way you describe them sounds like it could also be flatworm.

Flatworms are reported as being bad and you should try and get rif of them. Apparently six line wrasse and manderins eat them.

Here is a flatworm:

Must also add that not all flatworm look like this. There are many different species.

 

[AndreT]

Here are different flatworms:

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/flatworms.htm

 

[TheSnoek]

​

that is exactly it!! saw two of 'em....

so this is not friend? damn. so if i ever hope to keep corals I should get
these guys out the tank huh? Will nuke them next time I see 'em..feel awful
having to assasinate these guys..​

 

[TheSnoek]

This tiny creature is a Flatworm - Amphiscolops sp. This type is virtually clear, and quite small. The rounded end is inflated like a sail, and stretches in the direction it wants to travel, then like a suction cup it grabs the glass and pulls the rest of its body that direction. This is a benign type and you shouldn't worry if you see any in your tank. I've seen them on and off in reef tanks as well as refugiums. Reef-safe. - Melsreef

A rule of thumb that I heard last week by one of the speakers at the Midwest Marine Conference is that if there arre 3 lobes on the 'tail' then they are probably bad. If there are two, like yours, they are ok.
Even the bad ones are only supposed to be a problem if their population gets out of control and they completely cover a coral preventing it from getting any light. - Reef Vision Discussion Forum.

 

[Alan]

Best way to keep them under control is with the use of a predator, not all flat worms are harmful though.

 

[Tom]

We had these black ones and I vacumed them out of my system during the water changes.

 

[TheSnoek]

from wat have i read..if these worms are anything but clear, ie red,black,blue in colour..then they are hazardous.

 

[djmurray]

Gee never seen these before o well learnt somthing new

 

[AndreT]

I have lots of them. Or rather had in my previous nano. Never caused any harm.

But the reading above is interesting in any case.

 

[djmurray]

I was moving my live rock today and i saw a funny 2-3cm worm it was white with little niks its sides like a patten and it burried itself in the sand and then into the whole 0n the LR anybody know what it is?

 

[AndreT]

Search bristle worm. Probably the most common worm in aquariums. There should be loads of pics on google so you could tell quickly.

 

[djmurray]

Ya its one of those buggers...Should i search or leave the guy in the tank?

 

[AndreT]

Leave them. They are magnificent detritis cleaners and quite harmless.

 

[djmurray]

Ok will they harm me?

 

[AndreT]

Not sure. But don't confuse them with fireworms which will harm you...haha.

 

[djmurray]

LOL the guy was white with a little black...Its my fault i went and bought LR from a place that i normaly dont and i could see the rock was overcrowded with little wormsnut then i saw this piece by itself and took the bugger..

 

[TheSnoek]

um..wat do fireworms do to you? :mellow:

I won't lie..some of the random stuff you get in tanks scare the shit out of me...

 

[djmurray]

Ya me 2 you just know that you have fishes and corals and bang you see a little snail, Worm etc moving across the gravel....

 

[AndreT]

Fireworms sting/burn, not really sure. All I know is it hurts apparently.

Snoek, yes I got stung once, I don't know by what. I dropped the piece of LR and had to restart my aquascaping. The wound burned for like 5 minutes. From then on, always wearing dishwashing gloves when aquascaping.