Hula ʻauana



They will kill it with FIRE!



Some time back (December 24th of 2010 to be exact) I wrote an open letter to our Hawaiian Lined Fireworm. It turns out we have several of these bristle worms and I have decided they deserve a bit more street cred than they get out there on the Interwebs.

Unlike Aiptasia which you would like to kill with fire but shouldn’t because it will spread the plague through your very reef, the Hawaiian Lined Fireworm shouldn’t be killed with fire because it’s your creepy friend. Yes, I said it, yes I know there are many websites that will tell you differently but they are wrong and these bristle worms are your friend. They’re not your attractive friend you always take clubbing with you to look really slick, they’re your weird friend that lives in the basement and rarely showers but you know always has your back. You also may not want to hug this friend because it stings, but that’s neither here nor there – we all have prickly buddies when we get right down to the nitty-gritty.

Syringes, not just for diabetics and drug addicts!

Doesn’t this look pretty? It’s so gentle and sways so preciously inside of your tank, peeking out like a feather duster, positively radiating elegance. It’s like this delicate creature has popped out of your live rock to wave good morning with glassy tentacles. Then you realize it is infesting your entire reef and hell bent on stinging your precious coral. You come to terms with the fact that it is evil and probably has a criminal record in several countries and Interpol has been hunting it for years. Then what do you do with your Aiptasia?

Kill it with fire!!! Okay, scratch that, killing it with fire would not be the best option in this particular instance. You can kill it with Kalkawasser solution which is pricey, or buy things like Chem Marine, or Stop Aiptasia…but that isn’t fun either. It’s also expensive. Compared to other things you will buy for your tank it isn’t terribly expensive but it isn’t cheap either and if you’re like me you’d rather buy something like coral, or feeder fish, or Jeffery’s, or even…another eel! Not some pricey chemical that could possibly hurt your precious coral, feather dusters, or other interesting creatures – like those Hawaiian Lined Fireworm that patrol your rocks and substrate.

Today, I bring you the rarely referenced solution that will cost you a whole $.25. Gasp, shock, awe, 25 cents!? Impossible!