[Blackjacktang]

I was looking in my fish tank today and i saw a bristle worm! i went to look it up but then i looked for it again and it was gone! I have some quastions about them.

1. What can be bad about a bristle worm?
2. is there any thing good about a bristle worm
3. how do i tanke it out.
4. how did it get in my tank.
5. will it kill my live rock, blue tang, my clown fish, my jawfish, or my cleaner shrimp?

Here is a pic of what it looks like. Pic is from Google here is the website: http://www.richard-seaman.com/Underw...aFusca0603.jpg

[lynnvangsnes]

Bristleworms, in my opinion are good to have. They are great scavengers, and help keep your sand stirred. However, if they begin to multiply, you may have water parameter problems. Also, they do have stickery stickly spines on them and they will stick you. I think they are mostly out at night looking for food. They can be tricky to remove, and if you break them, they will become two. If you decide to remove it, I think you can devise a trap, then just remove the trap. The other specimens won't bother it.

[AMS]

it depends on what type of bristle worm it is. there are a lot of polycheate worms that are simply scavengers and detritivores, and they are a beneficial component in a reef ecosystem. the beneficial types are usually small (up to 3"). there are some that get quite large that can, but don't always, attack corals and tridacnid clams. if its one of the big ones (and by big i mean 5"+), then i would recommend trying remove it from the tank using one of the bristle worm traps available at your LFS.

anything that you see crawling around in your tank prob. came in on the live rock. most are relatively harmless and in many cases beneficial. all part of the reef ecosystem.

if the bristle worm population gets too out of control, some of the pseudochromis species such as the sunrise dottyback will eat them and keep their numbers in check.

[msbdiving]

Bristleworms have gotten a bad rap. If they get too large, then it can be a problem by stinging your livestock. If you start seeing injuries that you can't explain, keep an eye out at night. If you see large ones try to pull em out. Small 1-2in are not bad. They are good at eating detrius and stiring things up in the substrate. You can make a trap, suction them, if your fast, pluck them out with a turkey baster or something so you don't physically touch them with your bare hands. If you see one, there are probably hundreds more you can't see. They come most often in live rock. Again, as long as they don't get too big, your livestock should be ok. Try no to overfeed as that just ends up feeding them and contributing to their growth.

[Kimjo1]

I agree.... BUT if you see 1 you have 20! I would set a trap and get out the bigger ones.... you will NOT deplete them! When my 75G crashed due to shock.. everything was dead within hours (came home to it) and about 200 bristle worms (small, big and huge) came to surface and rocks and were taking over the tank and eating all the dead fish! I was AMAZED AND SICKENED by the amount of them in the tank. BTW it was a 75G 7 yr old reef set up.

[Blackjacktang]

i have set a trap and i have not coght something for 4 days.

[DoLceNBeLLa]

You can try lowering the amount of food you're using by doing very direct target feeding for each animal. That way the left over food is really minimal, which will make that trap look mighty fine.

[jvharding]

IMO and Experience Bristle worms were detrimental to my system I lost a few corals and a clam. Best Way for me to remove mine was to discover the piece of live rock it was residing in and remove that piece for 4 to 6 hours The worms leave the rock looking for water. I know this is not a good idea for all reefs but it is effective if you have found a large worm attacking your pretties!

[c-c]

Jack,
I am hearing yu say you remove the rock to dry ground, and then wait for the bristle worm to exit. What do you do if your rock has corals attached to it?

I have been able to cut one in half with a knife, the one half shrunk back into the rock. Does anyone know if that kills it or if it just grows back again?

[Krazy]

This thread has been moved to the current forum.