In early 2003, I began to notice the severe recession of soft corals like ricordea, xenia, and zoos. While this occasional recession was always present in the past, it was now getting to the point of being ridiculous. I suspected that something was feeding on these corals as they would be fine by day and gone by morning.
I staked out the tank one evening with a red lens flashlight in an attempt to catch the suspected villainous shrimp or crab. What I saw caused many sleepless nights.
But what perplexed me was, how did this monster that I estimated to be a least five feet long be able to escape detection. After a few more nights of observation, I determined that this worm was living in the ¾†PVC rock supporting structure. He would come out at night and feed, while retreating to the safety of his PVC tube by day.