Spaghetti worm

Care at a glance

The spaghetti worm lives hidden in the sand or between the rock and by day shows only its pale, spaghetti-like feeding tentacles, which fan out across the substrate to catch detritus and plankton. At night it often stretches them out even further.

To new reefers this can look alarming — as if some parasite is crawling out of the rockwork — but it's a harmless, even beneficial hitchhiker that helps keep the substrate clean. Unlike its similarly-shaped but predatory cousin the bristleworm, it doesn't attack anything; just leave it be.

Good to know

• Filter feeder — needs fine suspended food
• Active at night
• Digger — needs fine sand

Related species

• Coco wormProtula bispiralis
• Maxima clamTridacna maxima
• Christmas tree wormSpirobranchus giganteus
• Crocea clamTridacna crocea
• Astraea snailAstraea tecta
• Magnificent feather dusterSabellastarte magnifica