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These aren't scary to people DIRECTLY, but ISTR that they can be a SERIOUS problem in aquariums. There was a tale online a while back about an aquarium hobbyis

These aren't scary to people DIRECTLY, but ISTR that they can be a SERIOUS problem in aquariums. There was a tale online a while back about an aquarium hobbyist who realized the coral he'd brought into his very fancy tank apparently had a bobbit in it, and how he eventually got it out. You can't just pull it out; apparently, it'll split, and then you have TWO of them. https://whyy.org/segments/liz-bobbit-worm/ https://whyy.org/segments/liz-bobbit-worm/ tl;dr: he got it out, but it was SEVEN FEET LONG.

ceejayoz 3y ago
I remember that thread! I briefly flirted with saltwater reef tanks before deciding it was way, way more than my ADHD-addled brain could take. Great summary of the key moments.
- ubermonkey 3y ago
  There are several things in life that look really cool, but that I also know myself well enough to avoid. Saltwater aquariums are on that list.
yreg 3y ago
> apparently, it'll split, and then you have TWO of them. This sounds like a myth to me so I tried to confirm / debunk it. It seems that all the online reporting goes back to a story about a specimen found in Woking aquatics[0]. The store manager said that when the worm broke into three pieces, the head piece lived on and the middle piece moved around as well. I'm not confident that means that the middle piece grew a new head and continued to live. Can anyone here shed more light on this? [0] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-24523612.amp https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-24523612.amp edit: btw, the story linked by the parent is great
- ceejayoz 3y ago
  It's certainly plausible. https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/local-news/bobbit-worms-split-sections-regenerate-6236955 https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/local-news/bobbit-worms-spl... > Marine biologist Dr Nicholas Higgs - who works at Plymouth University's Marine Institute and was a PhD student at the Natural History Museum in London - said: "Many species of bristle worm have the ability to regenerate parts of their body, even the head or tail.
bluedino 3y ago
This needs it's own submission.

ceejayoz 3y ago

I remember that thread! I briefly flirted with saltwater reef tanks before deciding it was way, way more than my ADHD-addled brain could take. Great summary of the key moments.

ubermonkey 3y ago
There are several things in life that look really cool, but that I also know myself well enough to avoid. Saltwater aquariums are on that list.

yreg 3y ago

> apparently, it'll split, and then you have TWO of them. This sounds like a myth to me so I tried to confirm / debunk it. It seems that all the online reporting goes back to a story about a specimen found in Woking aquatics[0]. The store manager said that when the worm broke into three pieces, the head piece lived on and the middle piece moved around as well. I'm not confident that means that the middle piece grew a new head and continued to live. Can anyone here shed more light on this? [0] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-24523612.amp https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-24523612.amp edit: btw, the story linked by the parent is great

ceejayoz 3y ago
It's certainly plausible. https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/local-news/bobbit-worms-split-sections-regenerate-6236955 https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/local-news/bobbit-worms-spl... > Marine biologist Dr Nicholas Higgs - who works at Plymouth University's Marine Institute and was a PhD student at the Natural History Museum in London - said: "Many species of bristle worm have the ability to regenerate parts of their body, even the head or tail.

bluedino 3y ago

This needs it's own submission.