Caterpillar?

[earman88]

(No photo, sorry).

Yesterday I saw what appeared to be a red and white striped "caterpillar" maybe 2mm in diameter crawling into a small pore of my live rock. It seemed slightly fuzzy. I just caught the second half of it, which was maybe 1cm long.

I definitely have never seen it in the tank before. My newest addition is a small cluster of red mushroom coral, maybe he hitchhiked on it.

Any ideas as to what this was? Thanks.

 

[kbuser92]

Bristleworm. Theyre good guys, just dont touch him.

 

[Waddi]

+1
They hurt A LOT! But as long as you dont touch them, they are a great member of a reef tank!

 

[earman88]

Awesome, thanks a lot! I would like to see him again, is there anything that makes them come out? Night time?

 

[parrotchute]

Yup, night time or bits of shrimp once they get bold enough. They can grow pretty good and are a very beneficial member of the clean up crew.
You can catch them at night with a red (or dim white) flashlight. Usually with light they'll scurry back into a rock.