[char1278]

We have a 55gal tank, and it is just beautiful, but we now have noticed that there are these grayish looking centipedes. They have multiplied, they will sting your finger if you are not careful. They have upset my clown fish and anemones. so much that the anemones won't stay on the rock. What are they and what can I do to control them.
Char1278

[RyanG]

Do you have a picture of them?

[phat]

sounds like bristle worms...

[Kevin W]

buy a 6 line wrass and an arrow crab

[monty]

I also have these centerpied things, quite a few, i hadnt noticed a problem and assumed they were going to be good for the life cycle. Are they or should i get rid???

[passinetti2007]

I heard that a few bristle worms are ok in your tank but if they are all over the place you need to get something to thin them out. And yes they will sting you and it hurts. It feels like you have slivers in your fingers or whatever and you can't get them out for a day and since the bristles are made of calcium they will eventually disolve in your skin. Sometimes the bristles contain a small amount of toxin and will make your skin swell up but other then that it's not serious.

[mtfabel]

Yeah I've been stung by bristle worms before. Not to bad but still sucks. Bristle worms arent deadly by no means but they do and will feed off of corals so it is best to get rid of as many as you can. Your LFS should have a bristle worm trap. I have never personally used one but I have heard that they work.

[c-c]

Bristleworms usually come hitchhiking on live rock. Do you have corals? The bigger ones will damage your corals and must be removed. Arrow crabs do remove them but they are not reef safe. I had a lemon peel angelfish that contantlly picked at a certain live rock, and I discovered it had a bristle worm. I think he got him as he disappeared after that. However lemon peel also nip at corals. The sixline wrasse is reef safe and quite peaceful, so may be okay for you. If the worms are upsetting your fish, you might separate that live rock into a separate tank and treat aggressively.
Good luck on getting rid of the little rascals.
c-c