Bristleworms Good or Bad

[Basile]

Ok , read alot about these guys, and the question seem to arise because , some say, "oh they're good scavenger" others , they are a nuisance and can get to your fish or corals, and bla ..... So which is it, I'm asking because i just pull one out 7 " long. So should i've kept it or not

 

[lcstorc]

If I am remembering the threads correctly, yours was not a bristle worm.
Regardless they are a great part of a CUC as well as a sign of extra nutrients in the system. For a bristle to get that big or if you have many bristles that tells you that you are either over stocked or over feeding. They can only grow and reproduce when the nutrients are there for them to eat.

 

[Basile]

If I am remembering the threads correctly, yours was not a bristle worm.
Regardless they are a great part of a CUC as well as a sign of extra nutrients in the system. For a bristle to get that big or if you have many bristles that tells you that you are either over stocked or over feeding. They can only grow and reproduce when the nutrients are there for them to eat.

It came from a new rock i just started this tank, it was wandering around i guess to find food.That was another worm Lynn lol. Its from the same tank, it only had algea. So do i keep them or kill on site.

 

[ReefLady]

I've never seen any serious advice that said

they are a nuisance and can get to your fish or corals

The general consensus is that they are harmless scavengers/detrivores, and are beneficial to a reef tank. If they get very large (5+ inches), they may irritate corals, but that is not a definite. I wouldn't pull out a large bristleworm just because it's a large bristleworm. Watch you tank, see if anything doesn't look "right", watch the tank at night, etc.

Hobbyists tend to categorize all "bristle worms" together. Understand that the simple, commonly found, flesh colored bristle worm is not predatory and not destructive. However, there are other similar polychaetes that can get large and predatory. Best not to generalize.

I don't think a poll option of "kill them all" is really fair, until you understand exactly what you have in your tank, and have verified "bad behavior" (which, btw, is very unlikely). I doubt there are many established reef tanks out there that do not have a few bristle worms as inhabitants.

 

[Basile]

I've never seen any serious advice that said
The general consensus is that they are harmless scavengers/detrivores, and are beneficial to a reef tank. If they get very large (5+ inches), they may irritate corals, but that is not a definite. I wouldn't pull out a large bristleworm just because it's a large bristleworm. Watch you tank, see if anything doesn't look "right", watch the tank at night, etc.

Hobbyists tend to categorize all "bristle worms" together. Understand that the simple, commonly found, flesh colored bristle worm is not predatory and not destructive. However, there are other similar polychaetes that can get large and predatory. Best not to generalize.

I don't think a poll option of "kill them all" is really fair, until you understand exactly what you have in your tank, and have verified "bad behavior" (which, btw, is very unlikely). I doubt there are many established reef tanks out there that do not have a few bristle worms as inhabitants.

Ok fair analysis can you modify the poll from "kill them all " to remove when large, let say . Thanks. Yes ; like i mentioned in my other poll, http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/polls/45302-night-survey.html i do a survey at night when i get a new rock, and it came from that very same rock i found that other swiming worm. But when unsure of a critter i didn't buy or put in there, safety first for the inhabitant. Thanks for your input, let see where the poll goes though be interesting the responds about peoples opinions, but if you can change the Kill thing... ya a bit harsh, but i'm not one for worms yuk!!!LOL

 

[BigAl07]

I am a HUGE fan of BW. They work hard for you behind the scenes. They may irritate a coral for but a few minutes but normally nothing long term. I don't even give them a second thought now unless I'm actually TOUCHING something in the water or FROM the water

 

[ckusnierek]

Yes they are great dritivours and will make quick work of dead fish if one dies. But they are also rock borers then over time could turn your rock into swiss cheese and cauae a catastrophic rock fall.

But still I am in the "Keep Em" camp.

 

[BigAl07]

Chris I believe (and I have been wrong before) you're mistaken about one thing. They aren't known to be "borers" as they don't have the right anatomy (mouth parts). They do tend to inhabit and hang out crevices and such but they aren't "Rock Borers" or I can't find anything substantial that says they are. If you have something proving otherwise I'd love to see it and learn more.

 

[Daytonben]

I generally cull them out when I can because I have accidentally touched them more than once when moving a rock and got a painful reminder that I am not supposed to do that.

Do they hurt the corals etc?
I think the prevailing opinions here are accurate and they tend to be a good cleaner in general with only mild annoyance to corals at msot. But, again, if I am going to have something in there doing the cleaning work, I want it to be an organism that I enjoy watching or don't have to worry about getting zapped by.

 

[Clownfish518]

Bristleworms have a place in nature and our systems. I think our tanks are healthier if we let nature do its thing, then they virtually run themselves.

You should always have gloves on when putting your hands in the tank. Not just to protect you hands, but to protect the aquarium from what is on your hands. I have seen some nasty infections from handling rock.

 

[Frankie]

Oregonreef.com

 

[nicoleblkwidow]

I voted keep them, but I have a length limit. I just pulled one out today that was 4"+ and he is plant food now. I like the little guys, but the big guys make me a bit nervous. We have a healthy population in our 180.

 

[Basile]

Oregonreef.com

That scares the hell out of me Frankie! Specially since i'm planning to do rockwork with pvc myself. Now on that note , those holes that people drill in their pvc when they do rock sculptures, i guess when i do mine i shouldn't drill holes then . What do you think?? No holes for PVC???and cap all ends??

 

[SeahorseBT]

If they get too big, I pull them out. Otherwise, they are good cleaners.

 

[Future]

I call him Vile Beast (Some of you may have seen this) The conch is 2inches long and "VB" rang in somewhere around 3ft.
He does the clean ups before they have a chance to turn catastophic.

 

[Jeremy0322]

Basile, are you going to have a sump and if so how large? I would say keep it, catch it, and then sump it, but thats just my opinion.

 

[Basile]

Basile, are you going to have a sump and if so how large? I would say keep it, catch it, and then sump it, but thats just my opinion.

Actually the one i took out was from my algae biotope, and i was affraid for my seahorse that are in there, in my nex tank i'll have a fuge yes but no sand just Cheato and maybe some snails.

 

[Jeremy0322]

Actually the one i took out was from my algae biotope, and i was affraid for my seahorse that are in there, in my nex tank i'll have a fuge yes but no sand just Cheato and maybe some snails.

I dont know, if it was a little smaller I would say ship it to me...haha...i wont have any in my rock because of how I got the rock.

 

[rmlevasseur]

If I can easily pull one I do, but otherwise I don't worry about them

 

[theanimalslaugh]

I generally don't kill them, but just a minute ago, I was scraping the coraline off my 8g biocube, and this foot long green bristleworm, that I have been trying to catch for the longest time was totally out in the open, so I cut it in half with the razor blade and took it out. So after I made sure it was dead by putting it in fresh water, I noticed this red kind of sharp looking thing sticking out of where I had cut it in half. So I got out some tweezers, and pull it out, and sure enough, it was like a quarter of the body of a hermit crab. Well of course this piqued my interest, and so fully disected it, and there must have been the bodies of at least three hermit crabs in this worms intestines. I can't say for sure that it had killed them, but I think from now on, when it comes to the really big ones, its definately 'kill them all'. Plus they just gross me out.