Bobbit on the Brain !?!

[Badfish]

Thanks to a recent ID post I found out that what I thought was just a "Big Weird" bristle worm is in fact a Bobbit worm. So after a long weekend with a red lens the Good News is that I think I found the little SOB's cave.

Now here's the Bad News.




$*%#!


FML it's in my beautiful +6" Lobo and I have no idea how it get it out without hurting the coral.
Does anyone have any advice on how to get rid of the worm but keep the Lobo?

[MyNemesis]

Take the Lobo out of the tank and put it in a separate container for a day or two. Throw an extra piece of live rock with lots of nice holes in there and see if he moves in a day or two. If he doesn't, take the Lobo to someone with a saw. Lobos are real easy to frag. You may wind up with two nice Lobo pieces and one less Bobbitt worm. Best to do it now before it moves or turns into a much bigger problem, literally and figuratively.

[Tankster]

break the rock open with a screwdriver and a hammer

[nate_newton]

Try the separate container with another piece of rock, and leave a nice trail of food.

[redemer123]

yeah I agree with taking it to the saw, im seeing an awful lot of these bobbit worms show up lately. makes me happy I started with dry rock

[AJ :)]

That's a tough spot.

Would a freshwater dip help?

[Badfish]

Thanks for the input everyone,

Here's my plan of attack.
1) Coral Dip
2) Place the coral in a buck with tank water, heater, and another piece of rock with a lot of holes for a few days. Leave a trail of food in there and hope he switched caves.
3) FW Dip
4) Hold it over a bucket of water and repeatedly jam a sharp object in to its cave until it comes out.
5) Scream really loud insults at it.
6) Find some one with a frag saw who is nice enough to let me use it.
7) Feed the Brain to some Poor underprivileged Zombies

As you can see right after plan #3 I start running out of "Good" ideas; #6 seem like it's going the most effective method but least preferred due to the fact that I have no access or experience with a fag saw.

[MizTanks]

This may sound strange but....I noticed when I was treating my tank with Flat Worm Exit I double dosed the tank and inadvertently killed many many of my bristle worms. What's strange about this is it was only the larger worms that were affected. They came crawling out of the rock like crazy and within 20 min of treatment I had pulled 20 dead or dying worms from the tank.....it's an idea

[slapshot]

None of that will work.... Sorry. First they never completely leave their lair. They stretch themselves through several rocks. If he is in there then take out the rock, fill a turkey baster with boiling water and squirt it in the hole. If he is in there he will come out. My guess is it is just a through hole. Their lairs are usually bigger and full of frags. When I finally got to mine's lair I filled two big jars with coral frags. Look carefully, they build tunnels to connect the rocks. They are like silk mixed with sand and coral pieces.

I really believe many many tanks have them in them and just don't know it yet. People who lose fish, can't seem to get their corals to grow probably have bobbits.

[Badfish]

Bobbit 2 Badfish 0

Ahhgg.... the Beast escaped my clutches! He wasn't in there (luckily I was able to tell before I took the Lobo to the saw), AND he picked off a Peppermint shrimp yesterday.

I guess I better I had better dig in for a long fight , looking like a few more sleepless nights in which to get my Capt. Ahab on.