Bristle Worms

[Orvin Farmer]

I know that Bristle worms are not totally a bad thing,but....when does it become a bad thing? And how and the world do you go about getting rid of these nasty little things. Did not realize how big a couple of the ones in my tank were until yesterday. I saw a rather large one, and told my wife I was going to get the snorkel and go diving...saw a snake in our tank. Well not really on the snorkel bit but, when I moved the rocks that I did need to move, along with a few others I removed three (two looked like fire worms) of these worms. Well, let's say they were HUGE by my standards. Extended, they would probably go between 5 to 7 inches long and about 1/2 inch wide. I know I have others, I dont think they are this big...But I did not think these were that big either.
How can I get rid of them????? Help!!!!

 

[Montanareefer]

I see no reason to worry about the size of the bristle worm now. If they were going to do harm they would have done it regardless of size. Have you noticed any problems with corals, fish or inverts? For me they would stay in there until proven guilty!

 

[Orvin Farmer]

At this time they have not caused any harm. There do seem to be getting more of them all the time tho. Rabbit like things. Keep multiplying.

 

[Brucey]

Orvin .... I'm with Monty. I too have some over a ft long now and as wide as your small finger ..... scared the living daylights out of me first time i saw one with a torch ..... but I have never seen them do any harm, they are great scavengers and are pretty cool to look at, at night.
I say let them be
Brucey

 

[dwall174]

What eats them

I got hundreds of them in my tank! So far no problems with them, However my tank is only 6 months old & I don't have many corals in my tank because I'm just starting to add corals. Is there any thing (reef safe) that will eat the bristle worms just to help keep them in check.

 

[caja]

bird wrasses, maori wrasses and sunset wrasses will eat bristleworms, as well as dottybacks. I would imagine that they would tend to go for the smaller bristleworms and not the big ones.

I've got an 8" one in my minibow. ugly as hell, but so far it hasn't bothered anything.

 

[cheeks69]

My watchman gobies take care of mine although I wish they didn't:smirk:

 

[wooddood]

from what ive heard on previous threads on bristle worms are fine if keft under control,i would just thin them out starting with the biggest ones and keep the rest in check from now on.

 

[Playa]

Cheeks that is one AWESOME picture!

Congrats!
PS: my refugium is full of them

 

[cheeks69]

thanx Playa It's amazing how wide they open their mouths

 

[Playa]

Yup you never know, maybe they have a little Grouper in them

 

[kfra]

Cheeks,
I love that picture, Makes me want to catch some of mine and go Fishing in my tank. LOL

 

[dwall174]

Cheeks Great Pic

Originally posted by cheeks69
My watchman gobies take care of mine although I wish they didn't:smirk:

Cool picture I was thinking of getting a watchman goby Well at least he shouldn't starve in my tank.

 

[Orvin Farmer]

Thanks for all of the replies. I t is nice to know that they are not a terrable thing to have. YEA It would be a b#@$# to get rid of all of them. I did by the way get rid of the big ones that I caught, the ones I was talking about in my first post. I also have a ton of them in my sump...I was wondering if that is where they came from in the first place. I have tried to keep them in check there too. I catch the ones I can and leave the rest...as I said before..multiply like RABBITS. Thanks again..
Hey Brucey if you ever get a pic of that ft long worm with his torch, I am sure we would like to see it. With or without...lol
Cheeks69 Great pic I wish I could get a good pic of my Tangs that turned out that nice, too damn fast for my camera. By the it goes ckick, all I get is a nice pic of a tail if I am lucky.

 

[Nautilus]

Nice shot there Cheeks.

I have seen them kill a clam and stunt the growth of polyps and they love to hide inside of the LGP corals I have.

I used a common throw away container with X cuts with the edges pushed in alittle. baited with frozen brine and left in tank overnight. Had to put a rock on top of the container to keep it on the bottom.
I still have thousands of them and like most I have some that are hugh.
Some times I think I have a worm tank on display.... LOL

 

[tankgirl]

cheeks, Ditto!!! Awesome pic!

Gotta share this one, from reefs.org - won the pic of the month
Hermodice Crunculata Bristleworm
a big one
(sorry I can't remember who took the pic)

 

[Maxx]

Thats a fire worm I believe.....
Those REALLY suck to find unexpectedly. I have several bristles in my tank and don't notice any ill effects. I have a 20H w/ 3 clams on the substrate.....no issues. In Daniel Knops book on Giant Clams, he hypothesizes that clams have a biochemical defense against bristle worm intrusion. He says that in all probability the clams w/ bristles inside them are already sick and the worms are able to get in then.
Just my 2 cents,
Nick

 

[Nautilus]

Thanks for that info NICK.