What kills Bristleworms?

[Shack]

Earlier I yanked out an 8 inch bristle worm. Boy, was he hairy! After closer inspection of the tank I found that I am infested with tons of smaller ones. How can I handle this problem?

[alf2]

HI. I thought bristleworms were good for the tank. I'm sure they are. I beleive that arrow crabs will eat the bristleworms. Bristleworms are suppose to be good for the sand and such. But anyway thats what i've read and heard But I'm sure someone else can give you more info on it.. And to think I was having all sorts of a time just trying to get the bristleworms lol. But I do have them now and I plan on keeping them

[podman]

if you wish to rid your tank of them, good luck, you'll need it.

leave 'em be. if you dislike their looks, cutting down on feeding and increasing the number of hermits and such will decrease the bristleworm population. but they are pretty harmless, until you rub your fingers on them.

[Shack]

I was told that they eat snails, hermits, polyps and some corals

[Rick O]

I suppose that some of the bigger ones could be a nusience but the smaller ones are totally safe and good for your tank.

[triggereel]

you can add some type of wrasse to your system to rid the bristleworms but, also say goodbye to all your snails, hermit crabs, etc. I know a Tusk will remove them but also remove your smaller fish. Good luck catching them if you really need to get them out!

[Alice]

Bristleworms are good They will eat any dead animals they find, as well as left over fish food and all manner of detritus. As was said, just don't pet them.

Introducing crabs or fish to eat the Bworms may bring you a lot more trouble than the worms themselves!

Alice

[Shack]

Oh, i guess i was misinformed. 2 different people told me that they would eat my polyps and corals and are a nuisance. I guess ill leave them in there then.

[erasmu]

I think you will find that most people with newer DSBs will purposely introduce bristleworms to their tanks. They are great scavengers and do not bother healthy creatures. If something is dead or dying, they will soon appear. Dr. Ron Shimek, who is one of the foremost authorities on sandbeds, says that true bristleworms are very beneficial. Leave the worms in and be glad that you have them.

The only problem with them is that as they get larger, you need to be more careful moving rocks around barehanded. If you accidently grab a larger one, it will hurt. There are some home remedies that are good for disolving the bristles, but I don't remember what they were (vinegar maybe?).

[ChrisIsBored]

I've yet to read any ACTUAL story of someone having their polyps, snails, other critters eaten that wasn't due to something in the tank dying and the bristle worms then consuming the rotting flesh.

Bristle worms are good for your tank and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

[blaneperun]

Anneldia and class Polychaeta. I have included a recent page I finished on these
Predators on my educational reef site thesea.org.

http://www.thesea.org/asp/brist.asp

The one you are seeing in your sand bed (DSB) should not cause any problems, actually they have some benefit to the bed from the standpoint of aeration. The longer works, ones in the fireworm’s for example are very dangerous to reef inhabitants. Aside from preying on small fish and snails they will eat coral, soft corals as well as sps. Some in fact bore through clam shells and eat the living tissue. Most in the family are nocturnal feeders and stick to the confines of the rock. I have listed several ways to rid yourself of the nuisance on the page.

Regards Blane
http://www.thesea.org/graphics/ads/F...hics/zooad.jpg

[erasmu]

Blane,

No offense intended, but that page on your site makes many very definite statements with no data, scientific studies, or even first hand observations referenced to support them. I did not search the rest of your site, so I am not aware of your credentials. However impressive they may be, I am reluctant to accept much of anything that you state on the bristle worm page. Have you ever discussed any of this with Dr. Ronald Shimek or other authorities? My views my not be representative, but I always reserve judgement upon reading unsupported statements.

[JennM]

Love thy worms. If you don't love them, send them to me

I've read that some people will PAY $0.75 per worm Sheesh I've got a gold mine living in my seahorse tanks! For some reason they ADORE PE Mysis shrimp -- they come out in droves whenever I feed either of my horse tanks.

I should get a picture of the throng of worms in my 20 XH horse tank here at the store, but for now, here's a pic of my 37 home horse tank with my H. reidi mare, Sunshine.

http://www.imagine-ocean.com/images/sunshine_worm.jpg

Jenn

[Brooke]

erasmu-

I think Blane was referring more to the large flatter, wider, fireworms. These are technically bristleworms and can easily destroy a captive system. It is important for us to know the difference. The ones pictured on his site are of the fireworm variety.

The smaller rounder bristleworms in our tanks are mostly harmless and help clean up detritus, dead critters, etc.

[Alice]

The pic on Blane's site looks to be of Hermodice carunculata, the predatory fireworm, but unfortunately, the heading of the article was just "polychaetes" and didn't make it clear that the fireworm was the nasty you'd want to eliminate.

Blane, maybe you'd want to revise that to avoid confusion.

Just my $.02

Alice