um... i've found out that since they can be larger than you think, the part thats out is usually nothing compared to what is in the rock. They also get skinnier (if thats the right term) when they are out really far and they are wider when they pull in. Take this for example, when hes out like 5 inches, he has 12 + inches inside of the rock, with lots of leverage so he can pull in really really really fast. I put a frozen krill in there to lure him out and then i was going to grab him with big salt water tongs but after a few 10min sessions he took it before I could touch him. it was crazy. DO NOT TOUCH THEM... they are bristle worms but they are also called FIRE WORMS because they will sting or better burn you if you touch them. I haven't touched one, and I am not about too. We caught the one we have in a 2.5 gallon tank by scooping up some sand with a net when my tank had a problem and he was in it. I wish i had time to post pictures of it but i just have too much homework as a physics major. The large one we had in a rock and we knew which rock it was in but after leaving it out for 3-4days in a small 10gallon tank waiting for it to come out, i decided i needed that rock in my main tank (because of all the stuff that was going wrong i didn't wnat to have to move stuff to put a rock back later, and the rock was the biggest i have) so hes in there now, which really sucks... but i can't do much about it, ive tried making a plactic bottle into a trap by putting frozen shrimp in it with teh lid on nad then cutting a slit for the worm to crawl into, that didnt' work and i even bough the trap that they can go in but cant escape but its really big in my tank (the trap) and i can't place it well in a 29 such that its by a worm rock. But I wouln't worry too much, you probably have dozens of them, if you ever look at your tank at night I'm sure you'll see a bunch. I feed less now and what I do put in its frozen food like formula two, before i basically only used flake food which would go into the holes of rocks and I think the worm would have a buffet, any time of day if it wanted. Don't worry to much about it, you can't get rid of all of them and they aren't a problem unless they are really big and then if you can't provide food they might go try to eat something. They are bad to corals sometimes, I'm sure it killed my first anemone by biting or stingin' its base... and I've heard of people saying that they ate their clams. So I have at least some experience when it comes to those stupid worms, I hope I dont get any big ones when I get my next set of live rock ::sigh::
They're all under the gravel and are about 1/2". Like I said they're a worm that looks like they have several small legs like a centipede. None of them are active. They just sit there under the gravel. Thanks
