Bristle Worms

Isda · 04-08-2006, 10:49 AM

From what I've read bristle worms (although ugly and painful to the touch) are ok to have in your tank since they also are cleaners. My question is, do they have there own population control? (If there is less to "clean" some will starve and die off.) If not, is there a natural predator that is reef safe I get. They kinda spook me since they look so much like centipedes and there seem to be growing in population.

jennyf78 · 04-08-2006, 02:41 PM

6 line wrasse, or cleaner shrimp, bicolor phsudachromis

ChrisPrusha · 04-08-2006, 04:37 PM

They should have their own population control, yes.

Fly Guy · 04-09-2006, 02:13 AM

If they seem to be rapidly growing in population you can deal with them by getting something to eat them like already mentioned but you most likely need to evaluate you nutrient import/export ratios. Most likely there is some overfeeding going on.

I once had way too many predatorial fish going on in too small of a tank. On TOP of that i was overfeeding them to boot. I thought the bristleworms were kind of cool. It was not uncommon for me to find them over a foot long and six inchers were commonplace. Im seriously not exxagerating. Ignorance is NOT bliss i soon found out as when they get too big and in too great of numbers they will begin to thrash your tank including eating corals that arent 100% healthy.
Evaluate what youre feeding your fish and ask some questions. I have found that feeding your fish just the right amount and types of food is better for your entire tank for many more reasons than just the bristleworms.

Loverotties · 04-09-2006, 08:09 AM

6 Line wrasse works good!

tims · 04-10-2006, 09:07 PM

another nice way .. dont feed the tank for a few days.
then take a few pieces of sinking pellets and place them an open area that you can reach. have net in hand and wait a few minutes.. scoop and toss the ones you get... dont worry there willbe plenty of overs still hiding inthe tank

UkrainianReefJunky · 04-10-2006, 11:13 PM

Arrow crabs love bristleworms! They are reef-safe, but make sure you don't have a Coral Banded Shrimp they will kill arrow crabs.

Isda · 04-14-2006, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fly Guy

If they seem to be rapidly growing in population you can deal with them by getting something to eat them like already mentioned but you most likely need to evaluate you nutrient import/export ratios. Most likely there is some overfeeding going on.

I once had way too many predatorial fish going on in too small of a tank. On TOP of that i was overfeeding them to boot. I thought the bristleworms were kind of cool. It was not uncommon for me to find them over a foot long and six inchers were commonplace. Im seriously not exxagerating. Ignorance is NOT bliss i soon found out as when they get too big and in too great of numbers they will begin to thrash your tank including eating corals that arent 100% healthy.
Evaluate what youre feeding your fish and ask some questions. I have found that feeding your fish just the right amount and types of food is better for your entire tank for many more reasons than just the bristleworms.

Aaarrrgghhh! 6 inches to a foot long.

That's 5 inches too long for my taste. Ok, I definitely need to assist the population control while they're still small. At this time I have a yellow tang and 2 skunk cleaner shrimps. Although I've been really reluctant to buy any type of crab this is a very good reason to get one. So I'll get an arrow crab. The 6 line wrasse, I can't do at this time. I have my tank under quarintine for the next 2 months (ick breakout).

Isda · 04-14-2006, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tims

another nice way .. dont feed the tank for a few days.
then take a few pieces of sinking pellets and place them an open area that you can reach. have net in hand and wait a few minutes.. scoop and toss the ones you get... dont worry there willbe plenty of overs still hiding inthe tank

Is there another way besides the net? They really creep me out, and the thought of them wiggling in the net...yikes! I know this sounds really wimpy but I hate centipedes and they look so much like them. Thank goodness there isn't saltwater equivalent to the cockroach, otherwise I'd never go near my tank.

If there are, PLEASE don't tell me.

ChrisPrusha · 04-14-2006, 09:10 PM

Quote:

If there, PLEASE don't tell me.

Uh, ok.

On another note, are arrow crabs reef safe? I'm not so sure.

VWD · 04-14-2006, 09:58 PM

Yes as far as I know they are,

tdwyatt · 04-22-2006, 01:10 PM

Just stop feeding the tank so much, cut feeding back to what the fish will eat and clean up while you stand and watch them feed ONCE every 2 days. This is more than they will get in the wild, and will force your omnivores to increase their portions of algae consumption in your tank.

HTH

fishtank88 · 05-13-2006, 07:50 PM

a six-line wrasse works well and looks good so thats a double bonus right there

Geoff · 05-13-2006, 10:50 PM

not a fan of arrow crabs. they will also clean out your tank of feather dusters. i would rather have the filtering capacity of the feather dusters than have an arrow crab.

they will also only pick on the smaller bristleworms. that is only after all of the easy feather dusters are gone.

has anybody ever seen a 6-line wrasse eat a bristleworm? i have not, and i have been hearing this for years, but i do not think that it is true.

just slow down on your feeding. if fed properly you will almost never see a bristleworm unless you are looking at your tank at night.

G~

BRI690 · 05-17-2006, 10:09 AM

I would suggest putting a limit on nutrient iport as well

But I would just like to say that there are special traps for bristleworms that you can buy at a LFS. I have never used them though and am not sure how well they work. Just wanted to put the idea out there