Strange critter??

[mdarr]

Hi everyone I'm new to this forum and I can see there is a great wealth of info on this site! I have had a 75 gallon reef tank now for about two years. I have a variety of coral as well as fish. Unfortunately, I've been noticing an increase in a critter that I can't identify. Attached is a pic of it. They range anywhere from just a centimeter long to two or three. They bury themselves in the substrate during the day (I guess to avoid the light) and then come out at night. There are literally hundreds of them!! They are a worm-like thing with bristles all over their body. I have had them for some time but they have multiplied exponentially in the last couple of months. Are they harmful and if so, how do I get rid of them?? thanks!!

[Richard E. P.]

Try putting your rocks in fresh r.o. water to try and drive them out. These little things are bristle worms ,and they are bad news. They may sting you if you touch them, not sure. I've also heard that putting krill in panty hose in the tank will somehow "catch" them, also not sure if this is true, but it sounds possible. I believe arrow crabs eat them, and I'm sure something else must feed on them.The only thing I know works for sure is to physically catch them(I used tweezers)and toss 'em. If you've got hundreds, you may want to try anything and everything.

[mojoreef]

hey bud they are brissle worms and are good for your tank throw it back in

[mdarr]

I just noticed in the archive an article on them. Well, if their good for my tank then I'm gonna have a FANTASTIC tank as many as there are!! I think I'll get a couple or three of those crabs to help keep the population down a little. Thanks everyone!!

[Solstlr]

Hope ya all don't mind if i throw my 2 cents in here, so here it goes. I know there is a lot of differing opinions out there on the benefits and drawbacks of bristleworms. They are excellent for turning over your sand, but they reproduce in exponential numbers if you don't provide something in the tank to keep them in check. In fact, some species have been documented in some literature I have read as actually preying upon fish when they get to be full grown.

I say, put an Arrow Crab in your tank and let it go to town. It will never eat them all, but will have fun trying. The pantyhose-meat trick is also a very good, easy and inexpensive way to rid yourself of these creatures. What actually happens is as the worms come to feed on the meat, they get their wonderful little spines (such the sarcastic one here!) stuck in the fabric, and can't get away. Simply discard the "trap" in the morning and you can reduce your population dramatically after a few tries. It worked very well for me, but since that point, I have used an Arrow Crab very effectively in keeping these interesting organisms in check. Like I said, whether they are good or bad in small numbers is easily debateable, but when their numbers swell, they are very much a pest species.

Hope it helps.

Brian

[asmith]

I tried to reply to this thread earlier, but it disappeared while I was typing my reply.

They are good. Don't take them out. They will eat detritus and left over food. They are also great at mixing up the sand bed. They may reproduce quickly, but their numbers will reach an equilibrium. Be happy that you have them. Many aquarists pay good money to add them to their tank. I am one of those reefers.

Andrew

[sculpin]

It is true that there are potentially harmful polychaetes which sometimes arrive with live rock. However, the above pictured species is not one of them. Instead, it is a harmless, and in fact helpful, detrivore which consumes the excess fish food and fish excrement in your tank, thus helping to prevent nitrate buildup. The anti-polychaete mentality is becoming increasingly antiquated although it is still espoused by some of the old guard (although not formally trained) "experts", who refuse to accept methods not in accordance with their own.

[FishDaddy]

Hi mdarr and Richard E. P.!

Good to have you both with us!

I agree that these are some of the "good" wormy things! As previously said, people pay good money to get those!!!
Here are some good articles and sites with lots of info on the critters in your tank:
http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/
http://www.aquarium.net/1096/1096_3.shtml
http://www.aquarium.net/misc/b_issues.shtml
and check the "Without a Backbone" section of this site:
http://www.reefs.org/library/aquariu...ers/index.html

Please tell us more about each of your tanks, and again, Welcome to The Reef Tank!
Dick

[Richard E. P.]

I must appologize for my ignorrance on the "bristleworms", I was missinformed about them when I first got in the hobby years ago and to be honest I haven't given them much thought since. I'm new to this again, and apparantly alot has changed in the last couple of years. It continues to be a learning experience, which is what is so great about this forum.

[FishDaddy]

Richard,
Not to worry! I went after the first bristleworm I found in tank with a vengeance!! Got rid of that evil beast, too!
Like everyone else in this hobby, I learn something everyday by reading, discussing, and from experience with my own tanks. Many things have changed over the years and that is why TRT is here....to discuss and learn the most current methods and ideas.
Dick

[Doug1]

HI mdarr and Richard
Glad to have you aboard
IF you have a surplus of BW its cause they are getting plenty to eat, a given organism cant exceed the available food supply, so cut back on food, give some away or introduce a predator to keep numbers where you want them, however keep in mind a reef environment is rarely a warm fuzzy place, and everything is food on the reef. The trick is to have enough diversity to support the corals you highly value, and thats where the everchanging art of reefkeeping comes in. An icreasing understanding of marine bio sure comes in handy

[DaveJ]

Who knows, maybe in a few years the popular opinion will be that bristle worms are bad. As it stands now, most of them are good. A few species can cause problems, but they are rare by all accounts.

I have a book that I purchased when I started too that said bristle worms were bad, that they could eat fish like firefish that "Lock" themselves in at night. The photo that illustrated it was of a very sickly/dead firefish that they were probably cleaning up.

[carolina98]

Actually, most all of the above are true... bristleworms are good for the sandbeds most of us are using as part of a biological filtration system, but as illustrated in this photo, can be ah-hem "uncomfortable" (bad?) for the fish.

In this picture, I think the Cinnamon Clownfish was defending his anemone against one of the larger bristleworms. That was my guess about his "pin head" condition. I asked an expert if the bristles would harm the clown, and he said no... they would dissolve or dislodge within a few days or so. They did, but during that time I also saw a few bristles in the anemone. If both of these animals hadn't been in good condition, the bristles could have made them sick, and eventfully possibly even die from the ensuing infection.

So, I can understand the arguments about bristleworms from both sides. Having said that... we wouldn't keep a reef without them!

[carolina98]

P.S. The bristleworm in your photo could very well be one of the bad ones. Not meaning to scare you, but it seems that I remember reading that occasionally the fire worm comes in on live rock from the west coast of Florida. This worm looks red to me. Is that where you bought your rock?

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the usual run-of-the mill bristleworms clear like, or creamy grayish? I have a photo of a large one, but don't want to weigh down the page too much with pictures. Our worms are also more flat, with the bristles running down both sides.

You might want to ID this particular species of worm just to be sure. It's not often that the bad worms make it into our aquariums, but it does happen, and it's best to err on the side of caution.

Connie

[Doug1]

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