Bristle Worms???

[ropemed]

I've just noticed that my live rock is working alive with small white ant-like bugs. They're a clear whitish color with a white stripe down thier back and they're fast. Any idea what these are????

[mhossom]

I'm not sure what they are either. I have them in my tank as well. I am sure that they are not bristle worms. I have a few of those as well.

[tendar]

sounds like copods to me which is a good thing have. Check your tank at night with a flash light some thing red over it and look at all the stuff that you never see during the day.

[jon]

How big are they? If they are probably either Copepods or Amphipods.

Copepod: (these things are tiny, .5-2mm as juveniles, you can probably see them on the glass close to the sand)
http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/graphics/images/copepod.jpg


Amphipod: (these are bigger, 2-10mm, more likely to be seen on your live rock)
http://www.thaireef.com/images/creature/amphipod.jpg

[Chuck S]

Good Pics Jon!

Yes I concur as well. They sound like amphipods and coepods. These are good as Tendar said and I hope they keep multiplying as they are an endless food supply and lean towards a healthy system.

[kevinpo]

Here is a picture of a typical bristle worm found in the home reef. These are very benefical in keeping the sand clean and will eat some types of algae.

HTH,
Kevin

[kevinpo]

Here's another one:

Kevin

[kevinpo]

Here is a picture from my critter collection /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif .
It is of a Amphipod. They eat mostly algae but will also eat meaty foods.

Regards,
Kevin
There are some wierd things that come out in our tanks at night /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif