[IceMan]

so much debate on them i want to know what you guys think, good or bad?

[NATIVEVAMAN]

There have been many articles concerning bristle worms and I know of none that say they are anything but good for the tank and its diversity.

[Taras1]

Always had'em. Never seemed to bother anything.

[Dr. Clyde]

I know I have 1 big one (6" al least) I don't think he has ever bothered anything.

[dinor2]

I like them when they're small, is there a particular wrasse that eats them? I'd just rather not be stuck with a foot long one! And they're starting to get big.

[capitalb]

From what I've heard, they are bad. I believe they fall under the category of reef pests. They bore holes in soft corals and my black percs always wind up with a face full of bristles.(looks uncomfortable)The lfs sells bristle worm traps that are very effective.

[capitalb]

My true black perculas just laid a batch of eggs and while observing them cleaning the eggs,I noticed a bristle worm near the spawning site and both male and female percs have a mouthful of bristles.I hope these bristles don't affect the eggs.

[IceMan]

don mess with the babies huh!

[capitalb]

I believe bristle worm traps were made for the main purose of removing these pests from the reef.I've been trying to remove them all but its difficult.If they hurt my black babies, I'll be very upset.I hate them more and more every day.LOL

[jpkarnes]

My wife is a bristle worm hunter supreme. She sneaks up on them with long tweezers and holds them up with extreme pride. Also, there appears to be a smaller number since I added a six line wrasse to the group. Unfortunately, I lost a peppermint shrimp and a cleaner shrimp as well (. Personally, I don't trust those bristley creatures!

John K.

[capitalb]

Those dam bristle worms ate my black babies. THEY ARE BAD....VERY BAD

[Taras1]

Are you sure it's just the bristleworms? My Maroons have laid eggs twice in my DT, cared for them and everything. From what I've read, the fry need to be fed rotifers and raised in a seperate tank if they're going to survive. Otherwise, it's a free lunch (for everyone else)...

[capitalb]

Yea pretty sure. These eggs were only 2 days old and laid very close to the substrate.I observed the clowns trying to fight off the worms and coming up with mouths full of bristles. I've been breeding clownfish sucessfully for 2 years now with rates of 99% survival. If you have any questions about breeding them, let me know. Here are some pictures of my oscellaris.
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...08/fish002.jpg

[IceMan]

Originally Posted by capitalb

Yea pretty sure. These eggs were only 2 days old and laid very close to the substrate.I observed the clowns trying to fight off the worms and coming up with mouths full of bristles. I've been breeding clownfish sucessfully for 2 years now with rates of 99% survival. If you have any questions about breeding them, let me know. Here are some pictures of my oscellaris.
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...08/fish002.jpg

nice! i have a couple false percs ( only apx. 1.5" now) that hope will eventualy breed. anything special i need to do, watch for, know?

[capitalb]

The oscellaris are one of the easier clownfish to breed. Try to provide a safe place and a flat surface for them to lay their eggs on. A piece of a flower pot, ceramic tile, or just a very flat rock. Also, make sure your pair is healthy. Feed them a variety of food including mussels, squid, table shrimp,and I usually throw in any leftover silversides, brine shrimp, clams, etc...into the blender.This will last in the freezer for about 6 months. If you would like to speed up the breeding process, every night at dusk, throw in some frozen rotifers. This will let them know it's time. Their babies will have the food they need for survival. Babies will need live rotifers and live rotifers only to get them from larval stage to the fry stage. Let me know when you get to this point and I will help you. Good luck!

[IceMan]

Originally Posted by capitalb

The oscellaris are one of the easier clownfish to breed. Try to provide a safe place and a flat surface for them to lay their eggs on. A piece of a flower pot, ceramic tile, or just a very flat rock. Also, make sure your pair is healthy. Feed them a variety of food including mussels, squid, table shrimp,and I usually throw in any leftover silversides, brine shrimp, clams, etc...into the blender.This will last in the freezer for about 6 months. If you would like to speed up the breeding process, every night at dusk, throw in some frozen rotifers. This will let them know it's time. Their babies will have the food they need for survival. Babies will need live rotifers and live rotifers only to get them from larval stage to the fry stage. Let me know when you get to this point and I will help you. Good luck!

thanks alot, i dunno how fast to expect them to mature. but i look forward to the prospect of breeding them, honestly though if not for the wife and kids i'd sell them... i'd rather have the black, or maroons with white stripe. i prefer the black clowns but the whole NEMO thing came into play.

[autumnandbrett]

I have bristle worms and I have notice them getting quite large. We remove them as we see them. I also just bought an Arrow Crab, we wait till the tank is dark and then you can actually see the arrow crab pulling them out of the rocks and eating them. Plus the arrow crab is very interesting. I have tried the trap they sell and it is worthless in my opinion.

It's all fun!

[JackedupSOB]

Ive always seemed to have them in my tank but rarely ever see them. They have never seemed to be a problem. But then again I have never had a very large one

[IceMan]

just an idea... they are a detritavore right? if you don't want them in DT why not drop them in the sump? LR chamber should benifit from them and you don't have them in DT. anyone tried this?

[Taras1]

Yeah, they're detrivores, primarily. I've seen them in my sandbed and cruising around at night. My Melanurus Wrasse picks through the sand for them. I have 'em both in my 'fuge and DT.

[Gohn]

Anyone read the Feb/March 08 CORAL Magazine? Ck. out pg. 60 - nice pic. of 52 inch bristleworm that was chowing on some tasty shrimp, fishies, coral etc. - I'd prefer not to have them hanging around to grow into a big prob. like that. It is a fun read though. They do supposed to be beneficial to a point, chowing on waste etc. - me - I prefer nassarius snails, hermit crabs and certain sea stars instead for cleanup.

[autumnandbrett]

I agree, they get up in your rocks or under corals and eat away, they don't always come out and say here I am. My arrow crab is doing a wonderful job, plus kinda interesting to see him in the tank. If you do take them out, be sure and use tweezers or something, because they do sting.

[divot1]

Bristle worms are GOOD & BAD. Good because they do what nature intended they scavange! Eat up extra food that hits the bottom. They are bad because THE REALLY big ones eat ALOT !!!! sometimes maybe even munch on things they're not supposed to. Plus I have a bad reaction anytime I touch one of them accidentally. My fingers swell and I get small hives and my fingers kinda go surface numb for about 24-48 hours. Not a big deal just aggravating. Anoher reason they are not my favorite scavanger in the tank. If you have an over abundance of them you are probably feeding them instead of your target fish or other.

[NAS]

Ahh, Yes... the age old question to hug a bristle worm or not...

I have lots of tanks. In one tank (6 years running) I have pulled two bristle worms out of it. Six line wrasses are great for munching the little buggers. Back to it, my big tank Next to none. I perodically pull a piece of live rock out an throw it in a bucket of fresh water over night. any of the little buggers that are there usually crawl for their lives and die a horrible death. My main tank rarely see them.

My big eaters tank. Lots of them. Always pullin them out.

I think that it's like any thing good and bad. I don't belive that you will see a lot of them if your waste/organics are down, ie. not over feeding. The other side of the coin (big eater tank) lots of waste and organics sludge lots of bristle's.

I have one recorded event of a bristle worm eating a clam. Isaw him and could not get it out of the clam.

Fire worms and bobbit worms are way way worse.