Bristle Worms!

[KanUCme]

I found one when I turned on the lights the other day, I ran and grabbed some tweasers and plucked it out and flushed it. Then again today I found one while I was pulling some hair from my aquarium. Where do they come from, what do they eat, and how do I get rid of them?
TIA

 

[mixalis]

Leave them alone. They're part of the life of a reef tank, they probably came in on some live rock, and are beneficial detritus eaters and sand bed stirrers.

 

[dmentnich]

Agreed, leave them. I gave away my arrow crab because he ate them and I was lacking them. My LFS had told me that they ate corals- untrue! (though I think there are 5 or 10 types out of thousands which can be harmful.) They will, however eat a dead snail or fish and if they are present in suficient numbers will do so before the rotting flesh fouls your tank. They will stir a DSB if you have one and help keep things in check. If for whatever reason you want rid of them (I would leave them) an arrow is a very efficient predator. Run a search to find info on them. Here are a few links (sorry, I thought I knew of more to answer the question)http://www.reefs.org/library/article/bristleworm_sandbed.html
http://www.rshimek.com/reef/sediment.htm

If you want more info on them I have a small list of threads, but it can get mind-numbing to read all the info.

 

[esmithiii]

Leave them be. They are beneficial. Many people pay good money for them!

E

 

[Chucker]

Yet another reason to check the reefs.org library.... Rob Toonen's Bristleworm FAQ.

 

[HARRISON]

Interesting change over the last couple years. People used to claim that were terrible and that you had to hunt them down. I actually sat with a flashlight and tweezers in the dark to get rid of them like a good reefer should..hahah Now they are popular to have and everyone says to keep them. People actually buy them. I have seen them in my tank now and leave them alone. I can say that I have never had a problem with them so far. My only concern is that they will mess with my clams. If they do I will be on the war path again. But for now they have bought a little time

 

[MiNdErAsR]

Oh my GOD! They are absolutely horrible! You better pluck them all out and send them to me for proper <ahem> disposal.

 

[KanUCme]

OMG, IM a bristle worm killer!

I guess from now on I will leave them alone, someone told me they ate corals, and were posionous... no more LFS advice on that I guess. Thanks peeps.

 

[Eboman]

From my experience.....the LFS gives advice that's about 10 years behind (or advice that's completely wrong).

I had a peppermint shrimp that ate most of my bristleworms, so I went to my LFS and asked them if they sold bristleworms and they looked at me like I had horns sticking out of my head.

I can tell you that my LFS has caused me more heartache than help (can you say Skilter?..how about Seaclone??).

Bristle worms are a good thing. While some are poisonous, they are very rare and unless you plan to play with your worms, I wouldn't worry about it even if you had a "fireworm".

Eboman

 

[DK]

What if it is 12" long? Would you keep that one?

 

[cindywennin]

Yep. The bigger they are the more detrious they eat

 

[afss]

i got one thats around 12 inches, another that is 18 inches or more.. can't ell for sure, i never see it all at once.

Leave them alone, ore send them to me
don't worry about being a killer, i too was fed bad info when i first started. A local LFS in florida told me that i had to get rid of the worms and the best way was to fresh water dip my rocks for alteast 1 minute each. I did it, and i can only begin to imagine or appreciate the loss of life and bio diversity that i must of lost.

Scott
_________________
blue moonshine photos

 

[danmhippo]

Mine wouldn't stay still for me to measure them, but A couple of them are definetly over 12".

 

[KanUCme]

If mine ever grow to 12" I will let you come and take it home with you, but you got to do it bare handed... Lol. Thanks for the info everybody!

 

[HARRISON]

Funny since I read this the other day I was looking for a goby in my 10 gallon cutting tank and noticed a huge worm. This guy was about 8 or so inches that I could see. Kinda funny, this little tank has not been set up very long. I did get some good shots of a smaller one the same day in the front of the tank. Now before this post I haven't seen one in weeks...hahah

[ January 05, 2002: Message edited by: HARRISON ]</p>

 

[KanUCme]

I have been looking a little closer into my aquarium and I see a decent population of bristle worms, I would say 10 or more. Is this a problem? When does it become a problem? Benifits or having them?

 

[danmhippo]

What problem, I don't see a problem!

A good indication that you have a good sand bed. I'd have to say I got hundreds (if not thousands) of Bristle worms in my 150G + 45G sump.

 

[slimy]

No problem with more bristle worms. For the population to grow, there really must be more excess food that the current population can handle.
About the only reason I can think of to remove these worms is that some people aren't comfortable putting their hands in a tank with the larger specimens. But as was said earlier, the bigger the worm, the more garbage it'll eat.